4x5 recommendation

[rubenmg]

Hello,

I need a 4x5 camera for landscapes but i don´t know every possibilities. I have lenses for sinar, but i need less weigth than sinar what is your recommendation? Thank you very much and excuse me for my english,

Ruben

[Dave Miller]

Ruben, I have a Shen Hao which I can recommend, I chose it for its light weight. I find the weight of the kit comes from the accessories like darkslides and extra lens, and of course the tripod. May be this is where weight could be saved. Good luck in your search.
http://www.shen-hao.com/E45.html

[Mick Fagan]

Ruben, I too have a Shen Hao, it is an excellent camera and relatively cheap brand new.

There are others which are lighter and slightly smaller like Tachihara, Osaka (which I think is made by the Tachihara).

One feature if you wish to wing it and travelling very light, is to choose a camera that can be folded with at least one small sized lens attached. My Shen Hao travels with a Fuji 150 W lens put in backwards, this is really great when travelling very light.

Your Sinar lenses will work with any LF camera, so don't be in a hurry to get rid of them.

A search of the archives should get you many threads on LF cameras.

Mick.

[Antje]

Same thing here, I also have a Shen Hao and like it a lot. It's reasonably small and light and travels well folded.

Antje

[David A. Goldfarb]

Your Sinar lenses will work with any LF camera, so don't be in a hurry to get rid of them.

That is, if they have their own shutters, you can use them on any camera. If they are in DB mounts, they require a Sinar shutter, which could be adapted to other cameras, but in general, cameras that could do this wouldn't fit the description of "lightweight landscape camera."

There are many fine, lightweight cameras available for landscapes. What is your budget, are you looking to buy a new or a second-hand camera, and do prefer a monorail or a folding flatbed camera? How light is "light"? Are you backpacking for several days with food and a tent, requiring the lightest possible camera, or are you doing shorter trips, or staying close to the car?

[jeroldharter]

I think you want a field camera rather than a monorail view camera. Which field camera depends or your preferences. All involve some compromises. for example, the Shen-Hao is light, but I think the bellows draw is limited so you focal length is correspondingly limited. Some might have long bellows but they don't compact well you so might be limited on the wide focal length. Some are really cool (Technicardan) but unique and seem awkward to set up. Some people like the look of wood vs. metal. My choices would be:

• Toyo 45 AII or AX - good all around, solid, lenses 90-300

• Canham 45 DLC - less refined than Toyo but lighter, better bellows, greater movements, lenses 75-450

• Arca 45 F-Line - excellent engineering. A svelte monorail field camera that is packable. no real limitation except somewhat heavier and the most expensive.

[Ian Grant]

You can add Wista to the list, will take a 65mm - 300mm lens. However for the price there's nothing that will get close to a Shen Hao.

Ian

[John Kasaian]

If you want to stick with monorails there are certainly light wieght options---the Gowland Pocket, Toho, and Arca Swiss come to mind. For wooden field cameras the lightest would probably be the Nagaoka but it has relatively short bellows, which brings up the point of which focal length lenses you'll be shooting landscapes with---make sure your new camera has the bellows to accomodate them.

[Bruce Watson]

The Shen Hao is too heavy for me. When I went light, I went really light. I've been using a Toho FC-45X which was the lightest camera I could find. I added an Arca Swiss style quick release plate and some levels to the back standard. It still comes in at less than 1.3 Kg.

I've been using my Toho for about six years now. Thousands of sheets of film. The Toho is surprisingly stiff and rigid. It's not without it's quirks, but they are easily mastered. I highly recommend it for backpackers and general use.

Look too at Kerry's lightweight lens articles. Very useful stuff.

[rubenmg]

Thank you all for your answers! Recently I "read" an article in Magnachrom about shen-hao cameras and I think taht is an important possibility. The aesthetic like me very much, is the type of camera that I want but i don´t knew the "veracity" of the article. I need a camera that I can transpor in a normal bag, and not detachable like sinar. I walk a lot of km whit the equipment and i can not allow too much weight and i need something manageable and "rapid" assembly. I am going to visit shem-hao website and too the others recomendations, thank you!

Ruben