On March 26, 2003 09:46 pm, J. C. O'Connell wrote:
>
>
> Anyway, I suggest any of you yearning for better
> quality images give 4X5 a shot. The lenses and
> "bodies" ( monorails) arent very expensive used
> and give an incredible bang for the buck.
> I spent about $2500 for two cameras, ( a press and
> a monorail view) and 6 lenses used (great shape) on
> ebay. Really good lenses too.( Schneider & Fujinon).
> As a comparison, I spent over $4000 on my P67
> with 8 lenses and of course the quality is lower
> with P67 than with 4X5.
Well one obvious advantage of LF is that cheap old lens are often quite good.
Take a look at the
http://www.hevanet.com/cperez/testing.html
Add in the effect of small F stops and the field is even more even then the
tests show.
Depending on what you use the camera for then shutters aren't even needed. I
forget who said it but I'll quote it anyways
"The pyramids haven't moved in thousands of years. Why do I need a faster
shutter?"
I've picked up a total of six lens. Ranging from 105mm to 19" [480mm] Total
price less then $300 including shipping etc. Only one has a shutter but when
your exposure times are in the multi second range a shutter is just added
weight. My lenses range from Agfa to Zeiss. The process lenses cost quite a
bit new. Now? The 19" I got Saturday was $20. If the rumours are true the
lens I got is a Goerz Dagor. Worse case it's still worth the $20 I paid. The
budget Nikons are a bit of a pain. They are so big they can be hard to fit.
Just something to think about if the front of your camera is small.
Nick
