Toyo 45 GII

[Darryl Roberts]

Hi,

Do you have experience with the Toyo 45 GII? If so, what are it's cons?

I'm interested in it because it's geared.

Thank you

 

[B.S.Kumar]

Darryl,

The G and GII are identical, except that the GII has rubber covered knobs, is all-black, and comes with the newer style bellows frames. The GX adds base tilts. All of these cameras have geared rise/fall and shift. Tilt and swing are manual.

The Toyo is the only model with fully geared movements. See: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/fs-toyo-robos-4x5-monorail-camera.173263/

I have G, GII and GX cameras as well...

Kumar

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Darryl,

The G and GII are identical, except that the GII has rubber covered knobs, is all-black, and comes with the newer style bellows frames. The GX adds base tilts. All of these cameras have geared rise/fall and shift. Tilt and swing are manual.

The Toyo is the only model with fully geared movements. See: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/fs-toyo-robos-4x5-monorail-camera.173263/

I have G, GII and GX cameras as well...

Kumar

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Many thanks. Do you enjoy them?

 

[B.S.Kumar]

I use a G, in addition to the older D45M. This is similar to the G in functional terms, but has a thinner rail. I use a Sinar P2 and a Wista 45D as the occasion demands.

Kumar

 

[gdavis]

I recently upgraded from a 45E to a 45G (very similar to the GII as Kumar mentioned). The E has some plastic parts, some of which were cracking or broken on mine so some of the locks didn't really work and movements weren't as smooth as I would have liked.

The G replaces many of the plastic parts of the E with metal, the locks work well and movements are smooth. The G has a geared shift which the E didn't have, tilt and swing are still manual. Needed to replace the bellows which were in worse shape than I expected when I purchased it, but otherwise I've been perfectly happy with it.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

I recently upgraded from a 45E to a 45G (very similar to the GII as Kumar mentioned). The E has some plastic parts, some of which were cracking or broken on mine so some of the locks didn't really work and movements weren't as smooth as I would have liked.

The G replaces many of the plastic parts of the E with metal, the locks work well and movements are smooth. The G has a geared shift which the E didn't have, tilt and swing are still manual. Needed to replace the bellows which were in worse shape than I expected when I purchased it, but otherwise I've been perfectly happy with it.

Thank you very much for your insight.

 

[Mick Fagan]

I have the 45G it is a wonderful camera, very stable and with very good geared movements which can be locked rock solid.

I have found that with the standard bellows, which is all I have, you are restricted somewhat with short lenses. The shortest lens I have is a Fujinon SWD 65mm f/5.6, it needs a recessed lens board to be able to be used on the Toyo 45G. Technically I need the wide angle bellows to use this lens, but as the lens in question has almost no spare room for movements, I use it with no movements. Works well like that, but you are scrunching the bellows up. Hasn't been an issue so far in the time I've had the 65mm and used it on the Toyo.

Attached, is my Toyo 45G with the 65mm lens attached. In this configuration the lens is focused beyond infinity, I need to extend the bellows by about 10mm to 15mm to get infinity focus. As you can see, it is tight, but not an issue as the lens is on a recessed lens board

Mick.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

I have the 45G it is a wonderful camera, very stable and with very good geared movements which can be locked rock solid.

I have found that with the standard bellows, which is all I have, you are restricted somewhat with short lenses. The shortest lens I have is a Fujinon SWD 65mm f/5.6, it needs a recessed lens board to be able to be used on the Toyo 45G. Technically I need the wide angle bellows to use this lens, but as the lens in question has almost no spare room for movements, I use it with no movements. Works well like that, but you are scrunching the bellows up. Hasn't been an issue so far in the time I've had the 65mm and used it on the Toyo.

Attached, is my Toyo 45G with the 65mm lens attached. In this configuration the lens is focused beyond infinity, I need to extend the bellows by about 10mm to 15mm to get infinity focus. As you can see, it is tight, but not an issue as the lens is on a recessed lens board

Mick.

View attachment 253442

View attachment 253443

Thank you very much. The gears are tight/sturdy?

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Thank you very much. The gears are tight/sturdy?

My mistake I see that on your message.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Darryl, not a problem. I just remembered the picture with the standards visible, shows the modular nature of this camera. Look closely at the centimetre numbers and as you go up you will see one with 57 instead of 3 and another with 810 instead of 6. These would be used in the 5x7" and 8x10" formats.

This is a brilliant camera for product photography studio work, which was what many were originally purchased for by many a working studio. I have used this one for product photography in the form of still life photography, plus portrait and in some instances, landscape photography. It is also very good for architectural photography, but I would really like a bag bellows, or as in the case of this camera, wide bellows (which is what the manufacturer supplies but I have never seen).

I use this camera with a telephoto lens, a Komura T 400. This has been quite nice for portrait work as you get a very good out of focus background and the sharpness is not quite there, compared to normal lenses. Meaning that portraits of ladies of a certain age are rendered slightly soft, this has been a bit of a winner for me.

Mick.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Darryl, not a problem. I just remembered the picture with the standards visible, shows the modular nature of this camera. Look closely at the centimetre numbers and as you go up you will see one with 57 instead of 3 and another with 810 instead of 6. These would be used in the 5x7" and 8x10" formats.

This is a brilliant camera for product photography studio work, which was what many were originally purchased for by many a working studio. I have used this one for product photography in the form of still life photography, plus portrait and in some instances, landscape photography. It is also very good for architectural photography, but I would really like a bag bellows, or as in the case of this camera, wide bellows (which is what the manufacturer supplies but I have never seen).

I use this camera with a telephoto lens, a Komura T 400. This has been quite nice for portrait work as you get a very good out of focus background and the sharpness is not quite there, compared to normal lenses. Meaning that portraits of ladies of a certain age are rendered slightly soft, this has been a bit of a winner for me.

Mick.

View attachment 253444

Awesome. I have a Sinar Norma with a 300mm that takes wonderful portraits too.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hi,

Do you have experience with the Toyo 45 GII? If so, what are it's cons?

I'm interested in it because it's geared.

Thank you

a bit heavy and limited movements but a great robust camera. I like mine a lot!

 

[Darryl Roberts]

a bit heavy and limited movements but a great robust camera. I like mine a lot!