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No love for Linhof Techno?
- Thread starter tjv
- Start date
Robert White have posted a short video about the Techno.
If you could elaborate a bit about what you have issues with - and I take it you've acutually used the camera? - it would make for a more useful post.
I've been using the Techno for a few months now, and would be more than happy to answer any questions you have about it.
I have had one demonstrated to me... that was more than enough.
It is a very simple camera with no rear movements, except for a little rise and fall.
Limited extension for macro.
It is not a versatile system camera.
...now, if someone made a cheap and cheerful lightweight camera that was lensboard compatible with a professional camera, that might appeal.
...does it epitomize modern professional photography? (I have seen Sean Conboys using one)
Will you ever appreciate, and graduate to, a better camera?
Crikey, if you think the Techno is limited I'd love to hear your opinion on the Arca RM3D/i, Cambo WRS/WDS or any of the current Alpa's.
You're dead right - how I make a living with this piece of junk is beyond me.
As a person considering to enter MF digital with this camera for landscapes and architecture may I ask what would be more versatile camera out there considering weight and movements?
Hi, Alex...
Rear tilt/swing is invaluable for landscapes... (architecture, anything)
It is nice to be able to adjust rear tilt for different effects after setting up the camera, but you can achieve the same result by tilting the whole camera.
I do not think anyone makes a good light, compact MF tech camera... but the Sinar X is a possibility, as the standards can be rotated 90 degrees for transport.
If you will not be venturing far from a vehicle, then weight and stow-ability will not be as important.
The extension of the Techno is adequate for the Apo-Digitar 210mm, and you will probably not need more extension than that. (I have a Leica-Novoflex 400mm I hope to use, but my 480mm, 600mm and 900mm film lenses will probably not be good enough for digital, unless I nee a very large image circle.)
The standard bellows on the Sinar P2 is about 600mm, and I have conversion bellows that would allow me to to use 2 600mm P2 bellows in a P3, but that is more extension, versatility etc. than most photographers will need.
The Sinar (rear) standards are not rock solid, so care is needed to prevent movement of the standards between shots. I intend to buy electronic eShutters, which have the advantage that you do not need to touch the standards between shots.
Sean Conboys manages it... it depends on your market, marketing, style etc.
Some photographers have "graduated" from full-blown 54 monorail cameras to "limited" MF Tech cameras... but for anyone who has used and fully appreciated a monorail camera, a Techno would be as frustrating and embarrassing as running a 100 yard race with their trousers round their ankles.
Some people make a living with cameras with no movements at all, and with greater DOF with smaller image sizes, and the ability to stack, stitch, distort etc., you can do most things without movements.
I hear Joe Cornish manages to scrape by as well.
The plain and simple fact is that with digital the tolerances are so much greater that the more movements a camera is capable of, the more room there is for error to creep in. If you've spent your life shooting 8x10 then MF digital probably does leave you with your trousers round your ankles.
Stitching and focus stacking are valid techniques, but focus stacking MF images in particular with moving objects can be a time-consuming and frustrating exercise. Movements are a more appropriate solution in most such instances...and with that requirement in mind, the Techno has proved itself to me as a fine tool for the job on many an occasion.