Recommend a 4x5 available used that will accept a reflex viewer and Calumet MF back?

[ame01999]

I’m interested in view camera movements but don’t think I’ll ever be good enough to produce excellent photos at more than a rate of 3/100 or so, hence the MF back. I like the look of the Calumet adapters that slide in front of the ground glass. Other adapters look way too thick for that— do you remove the GG every time you switch between composing and exposing the photo? That sounds excruciating.

And the reflex viewer because I found it incredibly difficult to compose upside down in the past. Looking at eBay, it seems reflex viewers are not universal but specific to manufacturers?

The other option I see is a “technical camera” like the Bicam II by Silvestri. But they look incredibly expensive.

I haven’t decided between view and field. Thanks so much!

 

[_T_]

I shoot a cambo sc. Any of the older cambo cameras would do everything you ask and then some with plenty of movements in all directions on both standards but they’re all heavy monorails. I won’t take mine far from the car.

If I were going to hike out into the middle of nowhere I would look at a lightweight folding field camera even though they start at 3 times the cost of my cambo. The weight savings is worth it.

It also depends on what you want to shoot. If you’re doing landscapes the limited apertures of large format lenses will be less of a problem but if you want to shoot anything with a shallow depth of field you’re going to have trouble with something like an f/5.6 on 6x7. And lf lenses with wider apertures are much more expensive and limited in image circle so you might not have the movements you want.

But I think you’ll find that when you slow yourself down to the pace of shooting lf you’ll get more hits than you’re used to

 

[mshchem]

The original Calumet CC-400 series, which were a continuation of the Kodak metal view camera uses a Calumet made reflex viewer. No Graflock back so the slide in roll film back is required, I have one 6x9 works fine.
Calumet are simple and work fine, definitely not a fancy Sinar studio view,

 

[B.S.Kumar]

I can offer you a Cambo SC camera, Linhof Technika lens board adapter and Calumet slide-in 6x7 roll film holders. Send me a message if you are interested.

Kumar