How useful would the following book be for a prospective Master Technika user interested in hand-held 4X5 rangefinder shooting? I have not seen this book, but it sounds promising despite its age...

Karpf, Nikolaus. (Editor) Linhof Practice: An Introduction to Linhof Cameras, Their Accessories, and Photographic Technique. Munich. Grossbild-Technik. 1959, Second Edition.

-- Mark Nowaczynski (archivalprints@home.com), January 01, 2000

Answers

I acquired several Linhof books recently including Manual of Applied Photography (1961), Linhof Practice An Introduction to Linhof Cameras First Edition (1958) autographed by the author Nikolaus Karpf and Large Format Photography (1968).

My comments after reading the selection you are interested in purchasing - EXCELLENT ! Even the recent publications by Kodak , etc. cannot hold a candle to the content in this publication. Jump on it.

Anything that Linhof produces I would strongly recommend. Their content is not affected by printing date. It should provide you with much knowledge and be a constant reference point for your photography.

Good Luck.

-- Michael Kadillak (m.kadillak@att.net), January 03, 2000.

If you find another copy I would love to hear about it. I wouldnt mind having one for myself. I use my old II hand-held most of the time. I was fortunate enough to inherit the complete 3 lens outfit in the original pigskin case with the original small user's booklet, which is a bit battered, but complete. Do any of you know of some Internet sources for these kinds of books? Thanks

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), January 03, 2000.

Linhof Practice is an interesting book. I'm not sure how useful it would be in terms of improving your photography. Much of the book is taken up with fairly detailed discussions of each of the Linhof cameras that were current in 1959. This is interesting from a historical view, particularly if you're a Linhof buff, but it doesn't do anything for your photography. Another fairly lengthy section is taken up with discussing the various Linhof accessories that were made back then. Again, interesting but not useful from a purely photographic standpoint. There is a section on using a view camera and it is good but IMHO no better than modern books selling for 20% of the going price of the Linhof book (which is usually $150 and up in used photography book stores and on e bay). I found a copy at my local university library so I've read the book butI wouldn't pay $150 or more for it except as a collectors' item, not as a photography instruction book.

-- Brian Ellis (bellis@tampabay.rr.com), January 14, 2000.

If you are looking for old books like Linhof practice, try www.oldtimercameras.com (might be .co.uk I'm not too sure)

-- David Kirk (David_J_Kirk@hotmail.com), January 15, 2000.

Thanks to all for the input. I did purchase the hideously expensive 4th edition of this book (1963) which does contain a wealth of information on the Technika cameras including an 18 page chapter titled "The Super Technika as a Hand Camera". These cameras were designed for far more than just ground-glass focussing on a tripod at f22 while previsualizing Mount St-Ansel. The other ways of using the Technika are becoming a lost art...

A wonderful resource for out of print books is The Advanced Book Exchange (www.abebooks.com). This service links hundreds of antiquarian book sellers across the globe. You will be amazed at how easy it is to find multiple copies of obscure out of print photography books all over the world...

-- Mark Nowaczynski (archivalprints@home.com), January 23, 2000.

I'll second Mark's answer that the book is most useful for illustrating the variety of techniques and features available on the cameras. It is certainly expensive. If you want a basic, easy to read, and cheaper book on strictly LF technique I would suggest Steve Simmons book.

-- Donald Brewster (dpbrewster@prodigy.net), February 23, 2000.