RE: A couple of questions.

Ehud,

> I am hoping to have about $ 5000 Canadian.
>

$5000 Canadian is roughly equal to $4026 U.S. and for that much money you
can purchase a fine system.

There are many camera choices you could make but I would recommend a good
field camera over a Speed Graphic.

I might even recommend a Kodak Master View with 8x10, 5x7 and 4x5 backs. You
could then start with 4x5 and later have the option to shoot 5x7 and 8x10.
KMVs are harder to find but they are out there and a good one will always
maintain it's resale value. They seem to be going for about $1600-$1700
currently in good condition with all three backs and good bellows.

Take your time and shop around and ask questions of seasoned users. One
great source for large format information is the Large Format Photography
Forum found at

 http://www.largeformatphotography.info/

Lots of articles and archives that you can search and read.

Quality Camera in Atlanta is a good dealer for large format equipment, as is
Mid-West Photo. You can call them both and get reliable help and quality
products. KEH is an option for used equipment purchases, but their staff is
less helpful (knowledgeable of LF) and they have smaller inventories of LF
gear. Their equipment is fairly graded though and prices seem to be
reasonable although not always the best.

Good quality 4x5 film holders can be had for cheap on e-bay; look for the
newer modern holders. Avoid the old highly used wooden ones. 10 holders is
enough for a good start.

Also think about the lenses you are interested in. If possible I prefer
modern shutters that have 1/3 stop aperture marks - this usually means Copal
shutters. Compurs are good too. The more time you spend researching lenses
the better you will enjoy LF work.

Just my 2 cents,

Don Bryant
  
Received on Tue Jul 5 10:13:41 2005