You could get a Cambo Wide RS w/ 35mm lens for 6 to 7k and a refurb Phase One P45+ for around 14k. That would be a pretty good setup for for your budget. I shoot with a Cambo Wide DS and a Phase One back and I love it. I can get almost 20mm of movement in any direction (It's more than it sounds.) I used Toyo cameras for years and they're great cameras but that might be a bit cumbersome to carry around. Give the guys at Capture Integration a call they'll get you setup.
Note my signature. I strongly stand behind my advice as being technically sound and try very hard to provide fair, honest, real world advice but it must be stated up front that we (Capture Integration) do not sell any Hasselblad gear and must be considered biased.
I'd strongly suggest a tech camera over a view camera for what you're describing.
http://www.captureintegration.com/tech-cameras/digital-view-camera/Traditional view cameras run into several problems compared to a tech camera.
Most importantly:
- precision of focus is difficult with view cameras (even those with very fine gearing), especially for wide angle images
- the rigidity of the rear standard of most view cameras is questionable when stitching two frames, even more questionable when stitching several frames, and even more so with wider lenses where the same amount of wiggle room is more problematic.
- they are larger, heavier, and move more in the same amount of wind.
Less important:
- if and when you need to focus stack it's much easier to do with a helical mount with defined distance and hyperfocal markings than with a rail focused view camera
- ground glass focus is much harder when trying to get 40+ megapixels worth of details properly focused on a 645 sized area of the glass than it was to get a 4x5's worth of detail focused on a 4x5 sized area of ground glass. Even with a loupe, experience, and patience it is hard. Of course ground glass can be used on both tech and view cameras so this is more of a sidebar than a comparison between the two.
The following features are often very useful in architectural photography on a tech camera:
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long exposure capable (at least a minute), a dusk shot at f/16 with a center filter and a graduated ND filter can easily require more exposure time than many backs are capable of. Even if you've not gone past 10-15 seconds on a Nikon the physics involved usually mean you'll need 4-8 times as long of exposure on the longest end than you currently use.
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High Res - both because the subject matter and usage often calls for highly detailed images and because the higher the res on the same sensor the smaller the chance of moire in repetitious architectural patterns and fabrics.
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Stand Alone Use - some backs have a battery on-board; others require you to carry an additional external accessory to power/run the back when shooting on a tech camera untethered (this is less important if you shoot only tethered and the back can work without an AC powered firewire hub)
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Large sensor - so that your wide angles stay wide. If you're ok frequently stitching (moving the back only, keeping the lens and body stationary) then this is less important.
That list points squarely to a Phase One P45 or P45+. Not that other backs can't do the job well, but none will be able to match the P45 or P45+ in the feature set outlined above. Well, an IQ180 would fit the bill as well but that is pretty far out of your budget.
We have (or had at the time of this writing) a
Cambo Wide DS and 35mm Lens bundle that fits your needs pretty well and is the most cost effective I can think of. There are several good reasons (features, ergonomics, aesthetics etc) you should consider a "nicer" system such as the RS or Arca Swiss RM3Di but if your budget is limited then I'd encourage you to think of the tech body as a glorified piece of precisely milled metal that holds the lens and back together and spend your limited budget more on the back/lens and less on the body.
Doug Peterson
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Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
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