Hi... Am looking for a 5x7 camera and was wondering if anyone has experience with the wista 4x5 metal tech with a 5x7 back.Also is it wiser to get the sp over the vx for the micro shift...what the hell is that anyway? I use mostly slightly wide to as wide as possible lenses ...not much teles... so dont need a lot of bellows draw. Is this viable or would it be better to bite the bullet and buy an ebony or a used linhof or deardorf 5x7? Thanks, Emile.

-- Emile de Leon (knightpeople@msn.com), September 01, 2001

Answers

In my opinion, the Wista has short bellows for what I would consider for 4x5, let alone 5x7. You may also find yourself wanting the flexibility to shoot clos(er) subjects as opposed to more distant ones where the extra bellows would be a blessing. People on this forum consistently praise the Ebony, but they are very pricey.

The Linhof 5x7 would be a great camera, but they did not make very many and real nice ones are hard to come by. Plus they are heavy in the 5x7 variation. I would take a look at the Canham 5x7 in either the all metal or the wood/metal version. 6#, bellows to spare and very reasonable price ($2,500). Canham is one of the innovators in the US large format camera business and Keith is truly a gentleman in every sense of the word. Give him a call and talk to him about their products if for nothing more than a reference point.

-- Michael Kadillak (m.kadillak@home.com), September 01, 2001.

You must have overlooked the fact that up to 900mm of extension bed and bellows is readily available for Wista cameras. We carry these in stock at all times. With the extensions the Wista can have as much or more extension then many other wood cameras and many metal ones. There are extensions for field and Technical Wista cameras from Wista and extensions for Linhof from them as well plus extension lens boards.

-- Bob Salomon (bob@hpmarketingcorp.com), September 02, 2001.

I was not aware of that flexibility with the Wista line. Where are the knowledgable salesman when you in the high end camera stores? However, after you add the cost of longer bellows and bed extensions, might it be more cost effective to find a camera that will meet a high percentage of your photographic requirements right out of the box?

-- Michael Kadillak (m.kadillak@home.com), September 02, 2001.

"I was not aware of that flexibility with the Wista line. Where are the knowledgable salesman when you in the high end camera stores?"

Many do. It depends on who you ask. But you can always contact us. And yes, it does add cost and weight. But it is there if one needs it and isn't for those who don't.

800 735 4373 info@hpmarketingcorp.com

-- Bob Salomon (bob@hpmarketingcorp.com), September 02, 2001.

A 4x5 camera with a 5x7 back is still a 4x5 camera, it will just accept a larger film size but in every other respect it remains a 4x5 camera. If I wanted a 5x7 camera I'd buy one and not rely on adding a larger back to a camera designed as a 4x5 camera, especially if it also meant buying and lugging around a bellows extension for it.

-- Brian Ellis (bellis60@earthlink.net), September 03, 2001.

Whilst, as Bob says, you can get an extra-long extension bed and bellows for the Wista tech's, I think he'd agree that in that configuration they cease to be a portable, convenient, bomb-proof folding rig that can be set up in seconds and stowed away in a small and highly portable form. On the other hand, Wista do make a fantastic (if slightly pricey - 150 quid) extension tube which fits on like a normal lens panel and gives you an extra 100mm or so, without having to muck about changing the bellows/bed.

Don't know anything about how you'd fit a 5x7 back to a vx/sp but I suspect that any such modifications would, as with the extension bed, be a bit of a compromise, like trying to use a land-rover as a racing car. I also think you'd have trouble using your "wide to as wide as possible lenses" with that rig.

Wista-fan though I am, this sounds more like a job for one of Mr Canham's cameras.

-- Stuart Whatling (sw@dial.pipex.com), September 03, 2001.

I have used the Wista 5x7 "expander" back on a Wista Field 45 for about ten years. (How to install? Remove the ground glass, and the expander fits on the 4 x 5 back using the same style clips as the 4 x 5 ground glass) I have had no problems with this rig while doing 5 x 7 work. I have used 210, 180, 150 and 90 mm lenses with this set up. The only trick with the 90 mm is that the front standard has to be set up to compress the bellows completely. The front bed has to be dropped to avoid including the focusing rails in the picture. The result is a "point and shoot" 5 x 7. But then again, when you set the aperture at f/45, everything gets in focus.

I consider the Wista expander back effective, and economical way to get into the 5 x 7 format. The back is wood, so there might be an aesthetic issue if you are using the metal Wista.

-- Joe Lipka (JoeLipka@cs.com), September 10, 2001.

I believe the Tachihara 5x7 back that I used was similar. I got tired of the limitations and eventually bought a 5x7 camera. However, it is an affordable and practical way to try the 5x7 format, and has giving me a number of fine images. See my review of the Tachi on the LF page. The new 5x7 I'd recommend would be the Canham MQC.

-- Q.-Tuan Luong (qtl@ai.sri.com), September 10, 2001.

Thanks all for the info regarding this question. The reason I was putting this into consideration is that a sort of light weight metal field camera in 5x7(compared to the Linhof) might be cool despite the limitations since there is not much on the market new these days in a metal field 5x7 folder.How much does the 5x7 back weigh anyway? I always presumed the 5x7 back for the metal Wista was metal also. Again thank you for all the perspectives and info!

-- Emile de Leon (knightpeople@msn.com), September 10, 2001.