First 4x5 View Camera... Best Value Award:)

[Takizawa]

Assuming a new (not used) camera:
Which 4x5 view camera do you think provides greatest value per dollar and why? Assume the main purpose is for Landscape photography.

Note: Even if this question was posed before I value your current-day opinions! Thanks!!

[Rick A]

I dont think I would spend on a brand new view camera, the used ones are usually in excellent condition, and sell for pennies on the dollar. Same with lenses, incredable glass for cheap, or expensive, depending on what you want. Accessories are another story, even those sundry items such as film holders, light meters, and focusing cloths are dirt cheap in nearly new condition but used. You can buy an entire kit ready to shoot and have money left over to stock plenty of film for less than the cost of some new cameras.
But then, I'm a penny pinching cheapskate.

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I bought a Burke and James 5x7 recently for $150 on eBay.

[tim k]

I dont think a new camera would win this award.

[Takizawa]

If used what would be your advice? It doesn't seem like there is tremendous selection on Ebay? Is it more a matter of waiting a few weeks and taking the best of what comes out? Thanks!

[2F/2F]

Beater Crown Graphic or similar. Cheap, well built, light, reasonably capable in terms of features, and located everywhere.

[Jon Shiu]

For new, there is a camera called "Shen Hao".

Jon

[Rick A]

Almost any Calumet or Cambo, Omega, Toyo View can be had very cheaply, and all are very capable. There are many more models, decide if you want monorail or field camera.

[Mark Fisher]

If you are shooting landscape, you probably value portability and don't need a ton of movements. When I went through the same decision, I bought a new Tachihara although I considered a Shen Hao also. A press camera like the Crown Graphic may be enough, but I would feel pretty limited. I have an old Speed Graphic that I use for playing with homemade lenses and I wouldn't like it for general shooting. If you want inexpensive and still easy to use and don't care about portability, I'd probably get an older Sinar. They are a bit more than the Calumet or Cambo, but they are really a work of art.

[Ottrdaemmerung]

I have two 4x5 cameras at present:

1. Graflex Crown Graphic. Excellent press camera and works well as a view camera -- which mine must, since I inadvertently busted the rangefinder mechanism not long after buying it. But no worries, since I would rarely shoot it handheld, anyway. It's built like a tank and relatively light, and folds up into a little package that can be stuffed into a rather small bag. It sets up quickly: just put it on a tripod, pop the front open and the back unfurls with a metal hood covering the ground glass, making a focusing cloth almost unnecessary. Its main disadvantage is lack of rear movements. So it's not that great for shooting architecture, but excellent for portraits and other situations where you would want front movements but not rear.

2. Calumet 540 monorail. This gives you full movements in every direction, but it doesn't come off its rail easily, so it can be a pain to lug around. Some people carry it intact in a huge case; I flatten the standards parallel to the rail and stuff it into a large hiking backpack. Other minor disadvantages are that it doesn't set up as quickly (when stored flattened) as the Crown, and it doesn't have an integral hood, so I have to use a jacket or focusing cloth to see what I'm doing.