rolleicord v

rolleicord v, photographed by anniversary speed graphic & leitz hektor 150mm/f2.5 on shanghai gp3 film

linhof technika iv 6x9

Linhof Technika IV 6x9 | Schneider Xenar 105mm/f3.5

Bought this camera on the 29th of December, 2009. It was my Xmas present. The craftmanship of such a camera is amazing - it dates from ~1960 but you could easily name it "ageless" - with a full metal body and magnificent mechanics all over, this camera reeks of style and class.

It can do front tilt, front rise, front fall and back tilt/swing... it can be fitted with a 120 roll film back or cut film (6.5x9) holders. You can also use a polaroid back on it, although they're a bit rare and their price is nothing to sneeze at.

This is not an easy camera to use, especially with the 120 6x7 roll film holder. You have to use a tripod and spend lot of time adjusting your image (we're obviously discussing tilt/shift here), then your model has to stay still until you close the shutter, adjust the diaphragm, remove the ground glass back and fit the 6x7 film back. With a bit of practice you can do this quite fast, but you still need 30-60 seconds. You also need a very sturdy tripod, because changing backs will definitely rock your camera around - not much, but enough to make you anxious about the final result.

I'm beginning to fall seriously in love this camera - photos soon to come.