Frank Petronio
Not Available
Bought a well-loved, dirty 4x5 Linhof Technika IV (made in 1961) on eBay and invested some elbow grease into making a good user out of it. Removed the rangefinder and related mechanisms as well as the the swing-out folding focusing hood. Installed a new red Nylon bellows sold by ecbuyonline (China) and it looks great, extends and collapses the same as the expensive leather original bellows. Clean and lubricated all mechanisms, camera operates smoothly and locks down tight and proper - every movement. Ground glass is clean, with only a faded rectangle marking the area of a 6x7cm roll film holder. A fresnel is properly installed between the ground glass and lens, keeping it safe from scratches and fingerprints. Top strap is piece of self-attaching Velcro tape wrapped to the inside. It is robust, clean, and adjustable. No lens or lensboard, or infinity stops or focusing scales are included. Ground glass will be double boxed and safely packaged. Uses 1/4-20 mounting screw.
Oh and why is it silver? It's a NASA item, it went to the Moon! Not really, but it is all stripped and ready for the black cameraleather.com laser-cut, peel and stick replacement covering. I ordered and paid for it a couple of months ago and promise to forward it to the buyer once it arrives, which could be tomorrow or another month or two. It's the thin black stuff Morgan recommended to me. When I have used similar coverings on previous Technikas and Leicas, they go on smoothly and easily, you can fuss with the positioning too. One note is that where the rangefinder was there are two dime-sized openings that you can patch or leave commando-style. I was promised some extra material to cover these areas.
I've shot 40 sheets with this rig and it is an ideal user. Everything checks out and it is sharp when I shoot wide-open. If your only experience has been with flimsy wooden cameras like Ebonies, then using this finely-crafted, properly designed camera will be enlightening.
Minor issues not to forget:
- The rotating back twists a little too tight for my taste, requires both hands. Maybe it's better this way?
- I failed to neatly trim the extra bellows material inside the front standard. It looks sloppy but you never see it with the lens on and it does not interfere with mounting the lens.
- The rubber-plastic cover over the body latch rotted away, I just hit the metal latch lever the same as before, it is just smaller. Works fine, holds the camera tight, closes nicely.
- The lube picked up some dirt directly around the lower controls, it's fine, just needs a wipe really - see the photo.
- Again, no lensboard, no lens, no scales, no infinity stops, no rangefinder, or focusing hood. And sorry, I do not have old rangefinder parts left over, I ruined and/or tossed them.
$750 plus $25 domestic USA shipping. $100 for international EMS tracked and insured shipping, I will refund your over-payment, will not mark Customs as it being a gift or lie about anything. This has proven to be the best solution for shipping expensive items internationally but it is also expensive. If you want to take your chances with Priority Mail or some other method that is fine, just send me a note absolving me of all responsibility if it gets lost.
This is a great user value for the serious 4x5 photographer.
Thanks!
Oh and why is it silver? It's a NASA item, it went to the Moon! Not really, but it is all stripped and ready for the black cameraleather.com laser-cut, peel and stick replacement covering. I ordered and paid for it a couple of months ago and promise to forward it to the buyer once it arrives, which could be tomorrow or another month or two. It's the thin black stuff Morgan recommended to me. When I have used similar coverings on previous Technikas and Leicas, they go on smoothly and easily, you can fuss with the positioning too. One note is that where the rangefinder was there are two dime-sized openings that you can patch or leave commando-style. I was promised some extra material to cover these areas.
I've shot 40 sheets with this rig and it is an ideal user. Everything checks out and it is sharp when I shoot wide-open. If your only experience has been with flimsy wooden cameras like Ebonies, then using this finely-crafted, properly designed camera will be enlightening.
Minor issues not to forget:
- The rotating back twists a little too tight for my taste, requires both hands. Maybe it's better this way?
- I failed to neatly trim the extra bellows material inside the front standard. It looks sloppy but you never see it with the lens on and it does not interfere with mounting the lens.
- The rubber-plastic cover over the body latch rotted away, I just hit the metal latch lever the same as before, it is just smaller. Works fine, holds the camera tight, closes nicely.
- The lube picked up some dirt directly around the lower controls, it's fine, just needs a wipe really - see the photo.
- Again, no lensboard, no lens, no scales, no infinity stops, no rangefinder, or focusing hood. And sorry, I do not have old rangefinder parts left over, I ruined and/or tossed them.
$750 plus $25 domestic USA shipping. $100 for international EMS tracked and insured shipping, I will refund your over-payment, will not mark Customs as it being a gift or lie about anything. This has proven to be the best solution for shipping expensive items internationally but it is also expensive. If you want to take your chances with Priority Mail or some other method that is fine, just send me a note absolving me of all responsibility if it gets lost.
This is a great user value for the serious 4x5 photographer.
Thanks!
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