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The next step

Grayhand

Well-known member
Ok, when I look trough the photos for the last 6 months I realize that 98% of all my photos is by AFDlll + Hartblei 45mm tilt/shift and P45+.
So the next logical step must be a technical camera...

I just bought a Fuji X-E1 because I do need a smooth camera to bring with me when I scoot new territory for photos with/by my P45+ back.
I do use a Fuji GS645S, 60mm, as a scooting camera for my 4x5 camera with the same film. It works really good.
And the interesting thing is that the Fuji X-E1 is very close to my P45+ camera in "pictural gestalt" with my older Mamiya analogs lenses.
So the question is what technical camera to look for?

I want to be able to shoot analog film + my P45+ and use tilt of the lens and shift of the digital back. For now the maximum wide I am looking for is a 47mm.
And I do not want a camera with a bellow, does not work on my windy beaches...
Is there any alternative to the Arca Rm3Di?
Yes I do want to pic your brains, I know a lot of you have already been long gone down this road :talk028:

But the most boring thing about this constant development is to have to sell old gear!!!
So I think it is time for Jack and Guy to step forward and take responsibility for the Dantes inferno!
It is time for the "Dantes gear shack", where we can trade in our old stuff for what we want to try next.
For a (very) small, nominal fee, we could enroll in this new brilliant business scheme here at the inferno.

And do please remember that I stand first in the queue, so please mind your elbows :D

Ray
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Standard answers are Alpa, Cambo, Arca with probably your access to a good dealer as important as the actual flavor of system IMHO. I have Alpa which I love but it is a bit of a construction kit when you add capabilities. (Min t/s would be 50mm too btw). However, I'd happily use any of the others and have done on brief occasions.

Personally, I think that the Cambo is excellent value for it's flexibility & capabilities.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Speaking of Cambo - the WDS gives you the option of either film or digital. The WRS on the other hand was made specifically for digital. The WDS is larger and has split controls (front and rear) while the WRS is smaller and has all its controls on the rear. Both take the same lens board and both have t/s lens available.


Don
 

Shashin

Well-known member
With what other have said, Linhof and Silvestri are alternatives as well.

BTW, if you want a small companion camera, the Sony RX-1 and RX-1R are really great for scouting.
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
The Cambo WRS is the better body (over the older WDS), but you can still shoot film with it too. You need the WRS-1068 SLW adapter. This allows you to use RB film backs with the Cambo.

Actually, Ray, the next step is not a technical camera. It's the IQ260, then the technical camera.... :ROTFL:

ken
 

weinlamm

Member
I'm not sure, if you are sure with your tech. cam. "Widest Angle 47mm" let me think about all... For me a tech. cam is perfect in Wide Angle - longer lenses I only would take if I had live view in field ( IQ1 and up ).
 

Grayhand

Well-known member
I was hoping for a new product that I´m not aware of :D

I have been looking my self almost cross-eyed at the usual suspects in technical "pancake" cameras.
But it looks, to me, that the main focus on this system has been the possibility to shift.
Tilt looks more like a late "add on" to the cameras. (Maybe with the Rm3Di as a exception?)
But I scarcely ever use shift, or level my camera :eek: My primary tool is the tilt!
I DO need tilt of the lens plane + shift on the back, that is all. And I DO need a ground glass + a graflock back.

One of my main problem with many of the technical cameras is the kludgy lens mounts that are often stupidly expensive.
But I don´t need a pathological exact focus ring system for the lens mount.
I do not have that today on my Hartblei, and I focus without problem, (most of the time).
So it means that I all the time come back to cameras like the Linhof Techno.
But that implies bellows...
And if I could accept bellows, then the Walker Titan XL 4x5 would almost be a working solution for me.

And I do not use a lens shorter than the 45mm Hartblei.
I do have the 35mm to my AFDlll, but it is "always" to wide for me.
But I do quit often feel the need for longer lenses with tilt, 65 - 90mm.

Regarding a new digital back, wheels are turning ;)
If the first focus is on the back, then it would automatically be a 80MP back!
But If I first get the camera that my heart needs and the lenses I use, then 60 MP is almost overkill.
80 MP = tears over all the bad lenses, 40 MP = joy of hove good the lenses of my system is working.
And my printer is only a Canon iPF8300 and there 40 MP is good.

Hmm, is there not a section of GetDpi dedicated to iPhone photos?
That would solve all my gear questions :D

Ray
 
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Geoff

Well-known member
The bellows arrangement on a Techno may look similar to a larger 4x5, but its controls are much more precise and its a pretty sturdy piece of gear. Its main features are its simple lens mounts and traditional movements, although focusing is GG (typ) and not as direct as the measured approach of the pancake cameras. Detailed reviews are available.
 

Januarys_LP

New member
Hi all, and thank you Ray for bringing up the topic! Similar thoughts going through my mind right now...
In case you are interested here is a very detailed review of Techno I stumbled upon, with some thoughts and comparisons with technical pancake cameras as well as issues and peculiarities of using technical cameras in general:
Review: Linhof Techno
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
- want tilt without it being an "add-on"
- want a body where the shift is natively on the back
- want something like a Hartblei 45
- want to shoot film or digital interchangeably

Sure sounds like an Arca Swiss RM3Di or RL3Di with a 47XL to me!

I'd actually think maybe more of an RL3Di than RM3Di only because it supports up to 4x5 film backs. But that's just me.

If you haven't found it yet here is a tech camera overview and image circle/movement visualizer.
 

Grayhand

Well-known member
Well Doug, when I do the same kind of aretmetik as you, I also get (roughly) the same answer as you do :D

But two questions remain:
-Is it a graflock system on the back of the RL3Di?
(Then I could use my film back directly)

-What is the price of the "lens cone" for the 47mm lens?
(I just need the "cone" to mount the lens in, I do not focus by number, only by ground glass. I just need to set the infinity point.)

It is not the easiest thing to get "deep" information on this kind of cameras of the net.

Ray
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Hi all, and thank you Ray for bringing up the topic! Similar thoughts going through my mind right now...
In case you are interested here is a very detailed review of Techno I stumbled upon, with some thoughts and comparisons with technical pancake cameras as well as issues and peculiarities of using technical cameras in general:
Review: Linhof Techno
Done by one of our members and well worth a read.
 

Grayhand

Well-known member
Thanks to both January_LP and Shashin for rubbing my nose in this article!

I will go up north next week, so maybe I should hunt down Torger up there and squeeze his Techno a bit, just to get a feel for it :D

Ray
 

mmbma

Active member
Alpa Max or if you are crazy like me, go for the XY.
Unbelievable camera, my favorite of Alpa by far. It's actually portable in a medium sized bag so the weight is not a deal breaker for me.

Techno is another great camera, sensible trade off on the rear element but gains rigidity and portability. Depends on what work you do but coming from an AFDiii, you probably wouldn't find the limitation of the Techno to be really limiting.
 
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