Intrepid vs Chroma vs other new brands

horacekenneth said:

Interested in how these new 4x5 makers compare with each other but I don't really know what I'm looking at other than material (3D printing, plywood). Anyone have thoughts on the pros and cons of these models?

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and Toyo 4x5 field camera. I actually bought one new in addition to the 4x5 monorail I also have.

it’s made out of modern materials, and is a totally serviceable field camera that folds up into a shockingly small and light when folded up. I’ve had no complaints with it.

I would question the long term durability of a 3D printed camera, especially in cold weather. While it might be easy to repair(just print a new piece), it might not be very convenient. There is nothing more frustrating for me, than going out in the field with equipment that doesn’t work the way you were expecting.

Having said that it is certainly possible to create excellent images with a “cheap” camera. Some advice I have read is that your first large format camera is rarely your last. So it wouldn’t hurt to start with a lower cost option until you find out what you need for your own specific style.

Not that they're very pretty or have extensive movements, but Graflex cameras will get you shooting for likely $400 or less. What they lack in movements they make up for in rock solid rigidity. Put an APO Sironar S on a Graflex and you get the exact same images as someone shooting with an Arca Swiss. I think most people would say other than rise/fall/shift we don't really use movements the way the old school shooters had to when they were doing advanced table top or architectural work. A graflex will give you slight movements in all those, and you can throw it in a school backpack with the lens inside. They're very under rated as starter 4x5s.

For true field cameras, I think the Chamonix is the best thing out there. Canhams are probably better but for more $$$ and I don't see that coming back to you. I personally use an 8x10 Gibellini Bellatrix and I'm fairly happy with it. It needed some adjustment at the factory which they did for free, but it's ultralight and pretty easy to work with. I assume the 4x5 version is the same.

Alan Edward Klein said:

....I assume your method of check for vignetting works with a compendium hood. Does it? Also, with a compendium hood, if you lock it's length on one lens, and then change to a different size lens, I'm assuming you'd have to change the length of the hood? Anything else I should be careful of using this MF hood? Or filters? Or Cokin?

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A compendium hood works best when it is closely adjusted to ALMOST vignette the format leaving only a minimal safety margin. Any change in lens, focussing distance, camera movements, or format means the compendium needs to be checked and adjusted every time. This is slow and tedious but possibly justified in a studio situation with complex arrangements of multiple lights. In field photography no one I know has ever used a compendium hood. It's way too cumbersome. Just keep the sun off the lens by shading it with a hand, hat, or dark slide.

Shading with the hand, slide, hat, etc. presents quite a problem if light is coming from the sun as well as bright snow, sand, water reflections, glass reflections, etc..