rgb (05/02/83)
1) My Canon A-1 has been going strong for about three years
now. Its seen lots of abuse since my philosophy is that if
I pamper the camera, I'll miss the best shots. Although I've
had no problems, I recently sent it to Canon (Lake Success)
for a cleaning and check out. Their estimate for this
preventive maintenance was $65.00. Guess I'll just wait for
the thing to stop working.
2) I also have a Crown Graphic 4x5. Its a good, solid,
folding, field camera but a bit heavy. This really may not
matter much since you have to consider all the other gear
that you need to pack to support the 4x5 (sturdy tripod
[i.e., heavy], sheet film holders, light meter, focusing
loupe and cloth plus options like roll and polaroid backs).
What's an extra pound? Anyway, a lightweight 4x5
alternative is one made by Calumet. The ads claim it is the
lightest (I don't have first hand experience with it). It
doesn't fold up so you have to be extra careful with the
bellows, etc.
In regards to lenses, I don't know much about new lenses (my
stuff is all old). But I do remember an article in Mod.
Photo stating that the Schnieder and Nikkor where of the
same optical quality. However, the author said the Nikkor
might be preferred since it stopped down to f64 as opposed
to f45.