Orbit monorail, 4x5 camera

[panchromatic]

Any info on a orbit monorail, 4x5 camera? Someone is trying to sell it to me. She says it has a "schnieder lens" on it. Any info would be helpful, quality, and what a good price would be for it?

thanks

 

[Nick Zentena]

Ya got a picture?

Memory is telling me it's a Calumet CC-400 type camera. Same camera but made by B&J. I think.

Lens? Ask for more info. At the very least find out all the info on the front of the lens.

Price? Depends on condition and the lens. But if it's the camera I think it is mint conditon is not a great deal more then $100 for the camera. Maybe $200 at the high side.

Get a picture of the thing -)

http://www.geocities.com/frodo999.geo/calumet.jpg

Does it look like that? Ask how long the bellows are at full extension. Measure the rail.

 

[jimgalli]

The Orbit monorail was indeed a continuation of the Calumet CC400 "tank" monorail cameras. They generally get a bad rap. They're quite useable and can withstand repeated trips to the bottom of canyons from high overlooks. They just aren't pretty. The lens it has will actually drive the value. It would be more like whatever the Schneider is worth plus $75 to $125 over that for the camera if it's in good shape. I sold 2 a couple of months back here on APUG without lenses. Both for $99. ea.

 

[panchromatic]

she did mention she had a lens with it and that in fact it was a schneider. I told it to bring it to my work so we can look at it. Also stated that it was in "excellent" shape. So we'll see.

 

[MattCarey]

I have the B&J version. I like it. The movements are friction rather than geared, but it works fine for me. It also takes the same lensboards as a speed graphic or my B&J press, which is a big bonus to me.

Mine was a gift, but I gather that its cost was just below the low end of Jim's range.

As Jim notes, the value of this one will be highly dependent on the lens.

Matt

 

[Christopher Colley]

I got a used Calumet CC-400 with Schneider Symmar 150mm f/5.6 inside of a synchro-compur shutter with a old case for $100 recently

i would have paid $200, but not much more than that... it is a heavy thing but very usable and with ample movements

 

[m. dowdall]

The orbit was the camera I used for a few years when starting in LF. I'd say that it was a great way to get into LF for a small price. Lots bellows and movements. One of the problems I had was that it was difficult to use short lens' on it. I used a 4 3/8" wide angle dagor (111 mm.) and could only get short rises or small swings before the bellows would bind. I never tried a 90mm. on it but think it might be very difficult to get it to focus on infinity. I'm not sure about this but there may have been one issued with shorter bellows for wide angle work. The other problem was that it is heavy and bulky. Not a camera that you would want to back pack very far, I did it but it wasn't pleasant.

A I sold mine last spring with a case and three boards for $125 canadian.

Some things to watch out for are;
stripped lock down screws on the rail clamps,
the tripod mount might be 3/8" (mine was with an insert reducer to 1/4")
cracks in the metal castings
the bellows are not interchangeable.

even with all that I still say it was a great camera to learn on, before spending big bucks on something I wasn't sure I'd like doing.

Good luck

Michael