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Author Topic: seeking advice concerning purchase of technical camera  (Read 1212 times)

christer

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seeking advice concerning purchase of technical camera
« on: November 15, 2015, 07:08:12 am »

Hello from Norway  :)

I am in the process of exploring architecture and landscape photography. So far I have been photographing people and cities, but I have decided to expand my visions and therefore I need some advice concerning technical equipment. I am an absolutely rookie in this field so please bear over with me for sounding like an imbecile.

Medium format is the way to go, I have a Hasselblad system with the CFV 50 digital back and for starters I will stick to this back. My first concern is: which kind of technical camera should I buy? The pancake type or the accordion and why should I choose the one for the other? I have been looking at ALPA, ARCA - Swiss, Cambo wide and Linhof Techno. As for lenses the Rodenstock company seems to deliver top notch quality. The Digaron 35mm TS stands out as a good alternative.

Amy suggestions or links to where I can learn more of this will be thankfully appreciated.

All the best
Christer Hedin, Oslo, Norway
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Theodoros

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Re: seeking advice concerning purchase of technical camera
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2015, 07:38:39 am »

Hello from Norway  :)

I am in the process of exploring architecture and landscape photography. So far I have been photographing people and cities, but I have decided to expand my visions and therefore I need some advice concerning technical equipment. I am an absolutely rookie in this field so please bear over with me for sounding like an imbecile.

Medium format is the way to go, I have a Hasselblad system with the CFV 50 digital back and for starters I will stick to this back. My first concern is: which kind of technical camera should I buy? The pancake type or the accordion and why should I choose the one for the other? I have been looking at ALPA, ARCA - Swiss, Cambo wide and Linhof Techno. As for lenses the Rodenstock company seems to deliver top notch quality. The Digaron 35mm TS stands out as a good alternative.

Amy suggestions or links to where I can learn more of this will be thankfully appreciated.

All the best
Christer Hedin, Oslo, Norway

Is your CFV-50 the new Cmos censor one, or is it the older, larger sensor without microlenses CCD one? I ask because the possible suggestions could be quite different since the backs differ by quite a margin in their behaviour with lenses, as well as on their functionality since LV performance also differs...
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Paul2660

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Re: seeking advice concerning purchase of technical camera
« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2015, 09:13:22 am »

The best advice I can give you, "find a dealer you can demo with and work with them" 

You are referring to a Linholf (large format) and tech camera (pancake, Alpa, Arca and Cambo).  Really not too much the same between these.  There are a lot of photographers on this site using large format cameras and tons more using tech cameras.  Each person can give you the reasons they prefer what they purchased.  However the real key is what works for your shooting style and budget.  Are you going to buy new, or try and buy used.  The reason I refer to a dealer is that most of the tech camera companies, really all of them, rely on a dealer interfacing with the company, not the photographer.  So if anything goes wrong or you have technical questions, you may find it hard to reach out to Alpa, Arca or Cambo.  And now you have the Arca Universalis and Cambo Aptus to consider. 

I believe the camera you have is the 50MP CCD chip (Kodak) so you can take full advantage of movements with this back.  If it's the 50c, CMOS, then as previous mentioned, you will have limitations on movements  and lens options. 

I use the rm3di, Arca, it works for what I am looking for in a tech solution.  But that is just one of many hundreds of solutions. 

But the best way to determine which solution will work for you, is to work with a dealer that can show you the various brands, so you can determine for yourself which one you feel is the best. 

www.captureintegration.com  great place to start.  They ship world wide and carry all three brands you are considering. 

If you have any questions on the Arca rm3di platform, feel free to email me off line.

paul@photosofarkansas.com

Paul C
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Paul Caldwell
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www.photosofarkansas.com

torger

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Re: seeking advice concerning purchase of technical camera
« Reply #3 on: November 25, 2015, 11:15:59 am »

Due to customs it can be costly to deal with US dealers for us in the EU. If you want Linhof/Alpa/Silvestri I highly recommend Linhof Studio in London. I guess it's hard to get local demos in Norway, just like it is here in Sweden.

If buying blind I think the safest bet is an Alpa system, which as far as I can see is the most user-friendly pancake camera. You can do without ground glass and live view on those, using HPF focusing rings and viewfinders.

I'm a view camera fan though myself (I use a Linhof Techno), it has its plus and minuses. You may find useful information in my review of the Linhof Techno, I discuss also other cameras there, you may get some ideas of what would be best for you: http://www.ludd.ltu.se/~torger/photography/linhof-techno-review.html
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