Large Format Photography Australia

Well, yesterday I picked up my new Linhof Master Technika V. Not entirely new, but I know its provenance. It belonged to a mate for about 12 years and prior to that it was owned from new by another mate.

Back around the year 2000 I bought a new Technika 2000 but it fell from a tripod (bloody Arca plates of the era!!) and the castings smashed. I replaced it with a Techikardan which I found to be a dog of a camera. I was still shooting film commercially back then and the 2000 had been a boon with ultra wides (down to 38mm).

Now I'll be able to get back out in the streets and shoot some of my random urban anomalies and detritus which I enjoy so much. Yeah, I did a bot of it with the Sinar but the age old Sinar problem of getting the camera to the shot was ever-present. For a time the Sinar will be relegated to the studio with the 8x10 conversion kit when it arrives.

I know that there was discussion about Shen Hao but I have used Linhofs for just on 40 years and they fit like an old pair of slippers.

The bottom line is that there should be much more stuff contributed by me in the future. In fact, I have been reticent to go out shooting of late because I knew that the Linhof was in the pipeline. I find it amazing how much the kit I use influences the way I work. Do others experience the same?

Linhof cameras are just so nice aren't they.. Everything is and works as you would expect.. Congrats on your new technika. Looking forward to seeing heaps from it ... For what its worth, a 75mm should be fine on your camera in a flat board..

I've got a new addition to the family, but it was so cheap, I would have been nuts to pass on it. I bought a Cambo 8x10 a while back and I've got my Wisner field camera, which I absolutely love but find it difficult to use with wide lenses when I'm focusing to infinity - it simply won't - plus I've got a big store of polaroid film I want to use. So wanted something a little bit more flexible. I had planned to grab a 4x5 standard and bellows for my Cambo but at the same time a complete Cambo 4x5 came up for $200 and so that's what I have. It's incredibly light for a monorail and it's very cute, particularly when stood next to my 8x10. My Polaroid back fits great, all the lens boards for my 8x10 work on it perfectly so very pleased with that deal.

Love technikas myself, I've had a Technika III version 5 for over 30 years, according to my records have taken over 18,000 sheets of 4x5 with it!
use it with everything from 75mm-250mm. Still on the original bellows but I'm going to have to replace the focussing racks, they're shagged.
I also bought a sinar, a P, for my architectural detritis photography and also find it such a pig to transport that I'm still using the linhof most of the time.
All the best, Mark

Is the Linhof Technika considered a field or a press camera? Do you use it handheld much or at all?

Actually I think it's classed a technical camera, really it's a cross between a field and press camera. I have used it handheld, but I only have a cam for my 150mm. I found it quite hand-holdable, but the weight gets to you in the end. I actually found the weight made for less camera shake than many smaller cameras. I also find the optical finder good to use apart from the camera to give you a feel for what lens to use. If I could only have one camera, it would be a technika.

When I had my previous Technika I did use it once hand-held shooting hang-gliders with a 300mm lens. Of course there was no facility for rangefinder focussing (there being no rangefinder) with the Technika 2000 but I was able to set focus at an appropriate distance with the ground-glass and then use a hyperfocal approach.

Ag NO3 wrote:When I had my previous Technika I did use it once hand-held shooting hang-gliders with a 300mm lens. Of course there was no facility for rangefinder focussing (there being no rangefinder) with the Technika 2000 but I was able to set focus at an appropriate distance with the ground-glass and then use a hyperfocal approach.

Question: my two 4x5 cameras don't have distance (or other) markings on them. Is there a tried and trusted method to figure out the hyperfocal distance on such cameras? I assume I would need to get out a tape measure and measure the distance between the film plane and lens plane or something along those lines?

Welly wrote:Is there a tried and trusted method to figure out the hyperfocal distance on such cameras? I assume I would need to get out a tape measure and measure the distance between the film plane and lens plane or something along those lines?

Welly,

I was possibly in error suggesting that I set a hyperfocal focus point. I focussed at the range of the subject (quite distant as it happened) and then allowed some depth of field around that point. It worked.