tribal-warrior
Member
A number of years ago, I bought a large format view camera from a camera market in rough condition for about $60. It's some kind of old wooden field camera. I don't know much about it but was told that some wood near the back was missing and that I needed to make a replacement from scratch though I don't know the specifics or exact details. To be honest, I don't even know what film format it takes. All I know is that the format it's designed for is larger than 4 x 5. In all likelyhood, It's probably a 5 x 7 camera but there's a slim chance it could be an 8 x 10. It's been years since Ive seen it. It didn't come with a lens and the ground glass is broken.
To be honest, I'm not sure if it's in my possession anymore. It was in storage for a long time but I haven't seen it in years. I hope someone didn't throw it out. I'm going to have a look for it today. The origin plan was to buy a reducing back for it so that I could shoot 4 x 5 film with it. However, Ive discovered that in general, reducing backs are pretty pricey. Then again, there is the option to build my own or adapt an existing back obtained from elsewhere. Though as I don't know a lot about these types of cameras, I would have no idea how to attach it and I guess the camera's original back (including the ground glass) would need to be removed?
After a bit more research, I wonder if it's really worth using this camera to shoot 4 x 5. Some say there are advantages of using larger format cameras for 4 x 5 because you have more bellows to use longer lenses. Though later down the track, I would like to use wide angle lenses on 4 x 5 like 90mm, or maybe even 75mm. And Ive heard it's harder to use the shorter focal length lenses on cameras designed for larger formats (generally more restrictive.) Would it make better sense just to buy a dedicated 4 x 5 camera?
To be honest, I'm not sure if it's in my possession anymore. It was in storage for a long time but I haven't seen it in years. I hope someone didn't throw it out. I'm going to have a look for it today. The origin plan was to buy a reducing back for it so that I could shoot 4 x 5 film with it. However, Ive discovered that in general, reducing backs are pretty pricey. Then again, there is the option to build my own or adapt an existing back obtained from elsewhere. Though as I don't know a lot about these types of cameras, I would have no idea how to attach it and I guess the camera's original back (including the ground glass) would need to be removed?
After a bit more research, I wonder if it's really worth using this camera to shoot 4 x 5. Some say there are advantages of using larger format cameras for 4 x 5 because you have more bellows to use longer lenses. Though later down the track, I would like to use wide angle lenses on 4 x 5 like 90mm, or maybe even 75mm. And Ive heard it's harder to use the shorter focal length lenses on cameras designed for larger formats (generally more restrictive.) Would it make better sense just to buy a dedicated 4 x 5 camera?