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Old 18th February 2017, 10:04 AM
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GoodOldNorm GoodOldNorm is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Lincolnshire UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveP View Post
The Chanonix models are great cameras, a bargain for what they are, and it's a current company so getting spares etc should you need em is not a problem. But second hand there's no doubt Linhof, Wista, Toyo, MPP etc all made superb cameras. It's all down to how much you want to carry and spend.

A few further thoughts:

- one of the main day-to-day usability factors is the quality and brightness of the ground glass screen, which is the one thing the technical spec or online photos doesn't tell you.

- give some thought to lensboards, don't buy a camera where lensboards are unavailable. Ideally stick with the technica type ones because they are widely available, and you can then easily and painlessly switch cameras with the same set of lenses should you decide to change camera later.

- don't ignore the weight of the camera, because with a lighter camera you can get away with a lighter tripod and tripod head, which then further reduces your load.

- don't bother with a expensive or inconvenient hood solution, its easy and effective enough to shade the lens with your hand if need be.

- decide what the biggest filter you're likely to need is and then use stepup rings to being smaller lenses up to that size. Or use a square system (Lee etc) and fit an adaptor ring to every lens.

- 50 or 60 year old lenses can perform perfectly well, no need for anything too modern and expensive.

- when buying a lens the operation of the shutter is as if not more important than the condition of the glass. Old shutters are fine if working, modern copal shutters do have the edge on ease of use.

- a 210mm f5.6 should work well for head and shoulders shots, they were ubiquitous among studio photographers back in the day so are plentiful, and hence often cheap.

- don't forget all the other stuff you'll need to accumulate. Loupe, film holders, darkcloth, cable releases (one per lens), light meter, means to develop, neg storage sleeves etc.
Thank you for all the useful information Dave, there is a lot to consider.
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