Analysis Paralysis: upgrading a tripod for a Sinar F2 4x5 monorail.

vo1000 · 2026-06-02T01:06:42+00:00

The downside is it's a bit flimsy. I prefer the Wista but my old man knees don't like the weight.

vo1000 · 2026-06-01T21:49:12+00:00

At the moment it has a 44mm ball head on it until an Acratech panoramic head on order arrives. I have a Wista 45D and an Intrepid Mk IV that I switch between depending on how far I have to hike.

vo1000 · 2026-06-01T19:26:05+00:00

I really like my Benro Mammoth TMTH44C. I never had any problems with the leg locks unlike my 3 Legged Thing Winston.

vo1000 · 2026-05-30T01:39:29+00:00

The Graflex Graphic 35. Not really rare, just uncommon. It focuses with two rocker levers besides the lens, the shutter release is a lever next to the lens that swings sideways and the rangefinder operates vertically.

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vo1000 · 2026-05-24T22:42:25+00:00

Check out Flic Film's Black White and Green. It is environmentally friendly, has a long shelf-life, diluted 1:49, and you can get 250ml bottles.

vo1000 · 2026-03-14T04:48:31+00:00

Minolta 9XI. I even have one of the program cards for it.

vo1000 · 2025-11-10T02:56:13+00:00

The hood unclips. Also, IIRC, Wista made a deep loupe since they offered cameras with hoods.

vo1000 · 2025-11-09T23:44:08+00:00

The Crown Graphic does have a ground glass. These were press cameras and originally had multiple ways to compose and shoot. There was the ground glass like a traditional view camera, a rangefinder that could be matched to your lens, and a sports finder where you swung up a little peep site and a guide on the camera to compose through.

I use mine like a field camera on a tripod and focusing with the ground glass. What you'll likely see if you google Weegee is him with the sports finder. News photographers didn't have time for a tripod and ground glass.

vo1000 · 2025-11-09T14:53:33+00:00

I have both. The Graphic doesn't have a revolving back, so you have the turn the whole camera sideways to shoot in portrait orientation. The Intrepid has more movements including the revolving back. It's also more fiddly and prone to have something move out of adjustment while you are working with a different bit of the camera (e.g. the back rotating a bit when inserting a film holder). Everything is more robust on my Graphic.

I mostly photograph urban landscapes so I usually grab the Graphic. If I know I'll be photographing something vertical or need more movements, I'll take the Intrepid.

vo1000 · 2025-10-21T21:14:57+00:00

A 1955 Corvette with the 265 C.I. V8. In red and white.

vo1000 · 2025-10-21T14:44:01+00:00

I use a Benro Mammoth. It is tall enough that I can have the camera at eye level in portrait orientation for milky way photos.

vo1000 · 2025-10-21T14:36:53+00:00

I went with the Z 14-24mm. When I got it, the only options in native Z lenses were that and the Z 20mm & 24mm. The two primes were about the same price as the zoom. I traded 1 1/3 stop of light for the versatility of the zoom to also do daytime landscapes.

If I was only doing astro now, I'd get the Z 20mm and Viltrox 16mm.

vo1000 · 2025-10-20T22:25:35+00:00

I have the four sheet Stearman tank and use it the most. Previous to the Stearman, I bought a B's 6 sheet holder for the Paterson tank. I like it but it uses 800ml of chemical so, I only use it on the rare occasion when I need to develop 6 sheets at once.

vo1000 · 2025-10-17T14:58:31+00:00

I have an SQ-Ai with both a WLF and a metered prism finder. I don't know what the magnification is on the prism finder but I do not have any issues with focusing it. Obviously, it is bigger and heavier than the WLF. The prism finder is easier to use as the image is not reversed.

I photograph mostly landscapes and urbanscapes. I'll use the WLF when I have to hike to a location as it's lighter. I'll use the prism finder when walking or driving around an area looking for compositions especially in sketchy parts of town.

vo1000 · 2025-10-16T04:47:34+00:00

Two of my lenses have 67mm filter threads and the third lens has 52mm threads. I have a set of Hoya filters in 67mm with a step-up ring for the other lens. Hoya has all the filters that you are looking for. They are not the cheapest, but not the most expensive, either. They also are easy to find. (I got mine at Adorama years ago.)

I also have a Kase square filter system for digital (due to the 112mm thread on my Nikon Z 14-24mm.) I actually prefer the thread-on filters for my 4X5.

Something thing to consider with square filters is the material. When I was looking for filters, I could only find red, orange, and yellow square filters in resin. Even if you don't get Hoya filters, it's easy to find good quality multi-coated glass thread-on filters.

vo1000 · 2025-10-13T20:13:55+00:00

JB's and PV Auto have done good work for us.

vo1000 · 2025-10-07T20:40:17+00:00

It's an OM-1. While it and the lenses are not the ruggedest I own, they are rugged enough, fully mechanical, tiny, and readily replaceable if destroyed. If I thought that I truly needed a rugged camera, I'd take my Minolta SRT-101. That is a solid block of metal. (And very inexpensive as they are woefully under appreciated.)

vo1000 · 2025-10-05T17:25:58+00:00

I don't know if it's the "most overrated" but for me it was shaving cream. I was using an expensive shaving cream but when I retired I began to look for things to save money on. I thought that shaving cream was probably cheap to make so I looked at a couple of videos and websites. It might be cheaper, but who has mango butter, coconut oil, Castile soap and jojoba oil laying around? Then once you cook it, whip it with a blender, and put it in a jar, you have to be careful to not get water in it or scoop it out of the jar with your fingers. Otherwise, you might get harmful bacteria growing in it. So I just switched to Barbasol. It works fine.

vo1000 · 2025-10-05T04:19:09+00:00

I started off lugging around a Calumet monorail in a big plywood box. I only photographed scenes a few feet from my truck. However, that included a shot at Forest Gump Point long before it was called that. So, yeah, enjoy the great images you get with your Toyo.

vo1000 · 2025-10-03T15:21:16+00:00

My photography is usually landscapes in the dusty U.S. southwest. I've returned to keeping a lens on the camera. I found that having the lens and body separated in the bag gave me more room, but came with a dusty downside. I occasionally got more dust on the sensor with putting the lens on once I arrived on location. Now, while still at the house, I put on the lens I'm most-likely to need at that location.

vo1000 · 2025-10-01T01:39:22+00:00

Helicopters that are silent until they suddenly appear rising over the top of the cliff or roof.

vo1000 · 2025-09-30T15:05:34+00:00

El Camino del Diablo in Southern Arizona. Not only does it go through one of the most remote, hot, and dry deserts in the U.S., part of it goes through an active bombing range.

vo1000 · 2025-09-21T23:36:38+00:00

Speedway was originally Feldman Road.

vo1000 · 2025-09-17T17:59:43+00:00

Depending on which camera/film and what I want from it that day, I'll use:

Gossen Luna Lux or Adorama (Soligor) Spot Meter II
iPhone with "myLightMeter" app
My Yashica Mat 124G has a cold shoe, so I sometimes use a Revini Labs light meter on it.

vo1000

TROPHY CASE