Help!

Hello APUG people.

I've been about this forum for a while now, but never actually got round to posting anything. I have to say that most of the advice, etc offered here is really great & I hope to get more involved!

I've been in the market for a 5x7 camera (preferably with 5x4 & 7 backs) for a while now & am struggling to find anything I'm completely certain about within my price range (about £800/$1200 including tripod, meter, and pretty much everything to get me started in LF). There are a few decent looking cameras on a very poplar auction site, but being a newcomer to anything over medium format I don't really know what I should go for! If anyone could give me some advice on the cameras listed below I'd be more than grateful as this has been driving me mad.

this looks ideal, but I've heard bad things about B&J cameras & the person is selling it on someone's behalf so isn't answering any of my questions. For all you who don't want to clicky linky it's a Burke & James 5x7 outfit with a 6" lens, 4x5 back & some film holders. Looks to be in great condition.

This is a pretty old looking Kodak Specialist 2. Doesn't say anything about the format in the listing, but I'm sure it's 5x7 (please correct me if I'm wrong). I know next to nothing about the camera.

This is an AGFA field camera with some holders. Looks a bit knackered. Again, I know nothing about it.

So yes, if anyone could find the time to advise me on what to/not to go for it'd help me out a great deal as I know not what I do! I apologise for my first 'real' post on here to be seeking advice, but as I say, I need it!

Thanks,

-J

You'll get stung with Import duty and VAT on all those(and on the shipping) because of the size/weight, that'll add over 26%.

There's better cameras available here in the UK, a modern Kodak Half plate camera takes 7x5 film holders as well as they conform to the same International standard.

PM'ed you a link to a good camera at a better price.

Ian

I sent you a PM about a resource to check out.

Steve

Hi joe

The kodak spec is usually 5x7 but you do get a 4x5 back for it.

Dave

oxo said:

Hi joe

The kodak spec is usually 5x7 but you do get a 4x5 back for it.

Dave

Click to expand...

The British version of the Kodak Specialist camera is slightly better made, it's also a Half Plate camera, however as it uses the modern International back convention that mjeans it's fully compatible with 7x5 film holders and Continental 13x18 film holders bas well as modern half plate.

Oh and welcome to APUG BTW

Ian

Thanks for the links Ian & Steve!

This is confusing me a little - if I buy the Kodak Specialist 2, will I just be able to get 'standard' darkslides/film holders/whatever & that'll be me, or will I need to get new ground glass because it's a half plate camera? I'd prefer to just get a camera outfit with everything, but that doesn't seem to be an option without buying from the US annoyingly!

Thanks for the help people!

-J

A British (or US) made Kodakm Specialist will take 7x5 film holders (DDS), Half plate holders or Continental European 13x18, as they are essentially the same outside diameter and the camera has what's termed an Internatioanl back. Before WWII there was no agreed standard and some British cameras still used book-form plate/film holders and German and other Continental European cameras used a variety of non interghangeable holders.

The aspect ratio for all 3 formats is very close

5x7 1:1.4
Half plate 1:1.37
13x18 1:1.38

The same British made Kodak Specialist camera was sold in Britain as a Half Plate camera and in Europe as a 13x18 camera (a fraction larger than 7x5) so the focus screen is likely to be slightly oversized for Half plate. Kodak sold the Specialist 2 with a 203mm f7.7 Ektar in a Prontor SVS shutter here.

Ian

If you can find an affordable B&J in the United kingdom, don't be afraid of it. Compared to cameras costing much more, it is klunky. However, I've had several of them, and they do work. My favorite for a few decades was a 5x7, usually with an improvised 4x5 back.

Brilliant, that's made me feel a lot safer going for a half-plate camera now Ian, thank you.

Why is everyone saying it's such a bad idea to buy from the US? Apart from postage (which isn't actually that much more the from inside the UK) & customs fees, is there something I'm missing?

-J

Joe, I have bought from the US many times so really I'm just passing on that warning that Import Duty and then VAT is paid on top of the item cost and the shipping cost, so for a $500m item with $50 shipping if you're not lucky the final bill is $690 then most companies here (ParcelForce, UPS, etc) charge about £10 tocollect the taxes as well. These taxes etc are compound so you could end up paying 40% more than the selling price so you need to weigh up the purchase carefully, but it's still possible to save quite a bit compared to UK prices.

One thing you need to look for is reasonable front and rear tilt particularly as some of the US 7x5 cameras have very little at all.

Ian

Parcelforce now charge around £18 to collect customs & VAT - Quite a nasty suprise if your item was only $100 to buy.

I'm struggling to find anything that isn't a way out of my price range with decent movements actually. I suppose I'll just have to wait 'til something comes up!

The way I see it the horrible customs fees etc are worth it for the amount of options when buying from the US compared to the UK.

Thanks,

-J

joenail said:

I'm struggling to find anything that isn't a way out of my price range with decent movements actually. I suppose I'll just have to wait 'til something comes up!

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You need to keep an eye on the Classifieds here and on the LF Forum, best way to find equipment is by subscribing and placing a wanted adver here on APUG.

One problem with mamy US wooden 7x5 cameras is the lack of movements conpared to more modern field cameras which tend to be derived from British designs. I saw a metal bodied 7x5 Rittrek for a good price a year ago at a Camera fair, they became Wusta. Finding 7x5 DDS is getting much harder in the UK so you need to take that into account.

You may need to think carefully why you really want 7x5 as opposed to using 5x4 where equipment is more plentiful and and cheaper, as is film.

The way I see it the horrible customs fees etc are worth it for the amount of options when buying from the US compared to the UK.

Click to expand...

You can be lucky and pay no taxes, but it's best to assume the worst on larger items. You need to look UK/US and Worldwide and weigh up the best options.

Ian

I would also like to recommend that you consider a 4x5 camera since they are cheap and plentiful.
Do you really need the bigger size? Are you just going to do contact printing?
My recommendation would be to start with 4x5 and move on to 8x10 later if you need larger negatives.

Good luck

Jesper

I've chose 5x7 because I much prefer the shape of the negative. 5x4 (to me, anyway) seems an awkward, can't-decide-if-it's-square-or-not format, whereas 5x7 just looks 'right'. I will only be able to contact print 5x7 though, which is why I'm looking for one that I can get a reducing back for. The difference between the film price isn't significant enough to stop me, but with 10x8 it's almost double the price & everything's a lot heavier & harder to carry.

Thanks again for the advice folks!

-J