4x5 toyo 45aii Question

[Willie Jan]

Hi,
A friend of my sells al his stuff and along with it is his toyo field 45A ii (because of medical eye reasons, i know it's sad). I currently use a shen hao and am happy with it, but found out that with longer lenses such as a 360 Tele, it's not that rigid... And now I have the opportunity for this.

Are there among you guys who use(d) a toyo field and can tell me the pro's cons.

A second Qestion is what would be a fair price for it.
I do not want to rip him off.

 

[jeroldharter]

I had a Toyo AX which is the same thing but with a rotating back (you have to remove it to change orientation) rather than the revolving back on the AII. Some people value the revolving back because it eliminates the risk of dropping the back. It is very rigid for a field camera. I had no problems using a Nikon 300M lens on it so I suspect your 360T should be fine. Not sure how much bellows draw you need with that, but probably less than the regular 300.

Prices of course vary depending on age and condition of the camera. I would say that low end is $600, high end is $1000 (American dollars).

 

[Huub]

I've been using a 45A and i am very happy with it. Robust and easy to use. The only thing is that the 360T is about the longest lens you can use without the extra back attachment - but otherwise it's a great camera. Depending on the shape the camera is in and also on what goes with it - € 750,- seems to be a good price for it.

 

[Edtog]

Only had mine for a couple of months but 100% happy with it so far.
(I've got the L version which takes wista style lensboards 5x4 camera )

(I picked mine up for £450)

 

[Philippe Grunchec]

I have a 45AII and use my 5.5/360 Tele-Xenar on it: great camera!
Taos Photographic (in France) has one for sale (used): http://www.taos-photographic.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12_46 950€

 

[tubetime]

I've been using one for about 6 years. It is very rugged and I actually sold a shen hao to buy it. It really is a 'field' camera, mostly metal, not very heavy, folds up nice and small, has all the movements except for the rear tilts only forward and back; and is easy to set up. The locks for the front tilt do the job but are not super positive, and I managed to snap off one of the screws that hold the bellows rails in the extended postition (the other one holds it fine). But I have travelled all over with it with no problems. I think you would have to spend a lot more money to get a better field 4x5. If it's in good shape, I think somewhere around $900-$1100 would be a fair price. You'll need to remount your lenses on new lensboards.

 

[Willie Jan]

I'm already searching for a linhof<->toyo 45A adapter.
I use linhof boards on my sinar and shen hao also

www.eplevine.com has one, but they do not answer my emals.

 

[Andrew4x5]

Linhof to Toyo adapters are available from China, sold through eBay. One I saw was USD115.

Before buying an adapter from anyone, double-check that you are getting the right version. Unfortunately, Toyo have two board sizes, one for field cameras (110mm x 100mm) and one for studio cameras, which is somewhat larger.

 

[Willie Jan]

They mailed me back that the person in charge is away some days. Second their info@ had some trouble. Seems to be solved now.

That's right andrew. There is a 110x110 and a 158x158 version. the 635 45A should fit the toyo 45A II.

I saw the chinese also, but first it's not a original one. The bottom is much diffferent as the original. Mostly the pin that is sticking out in the bottom middle where the linhof board fit into is missing with a chinese version. Second i find the price to high for a copied. If they sold it for $30 i would try it out, but since they moved their prices up to get much more profit, i want the original.

Thanks.