Larger Print Size/Better Print Quality
This first one may seem pretty obvious but it is huge. It would take about a dozen 35 mm negatives laying side by side to cover up the negative produced by a 4x5 view camera. That means (in theory and all things being equal) that if you can get a great looking 8x10 print out of your 35 mm negative you should be able to get a print just as sharp from your 4x5 negative that’s 30 by 40 inches. Of course there are artists that make sharp prints even larger than that with these cameras.

The Use Of Smaller Apertures
Smaller (larger number) aperture sizes can be used when photographing with 4x5 film cameras than with smaller format cameras before diffraction starts to become a significant problem for a given print size. This is great news, especially if you’re going to be doing landscapes, still lives, or any number of other subjects that requires a substantial depth of field to be used.

The Camera Makes You Think
All technical things aside, this may be one of the most important benefits of owning and using a 4x5 view camera. Many photographers, myself included, see the quality of their work increase noticeably, not just in terms of print quality, but much more importantly in the way they begin to “build” their photographs. The way each shot must be carefully set up, the ground glass studied to make sure everything’s just right really teaches the careful photographer about the structure of their photograph and how to consciously improve upon it. In my experience these understandings and lessons will then carry back over to other formats.

There are a number of other advantages to using 4x5 view cameras that would be a bit lengthy to go into on this post. One of the most notable ones being the ability to tilt and shift the lens and back of the camera to change apparent perspectives in your photograph. This is an extremely powerful capability of the view camera that I will right something in depth about soon.

As you know if you've been looking for a 4x5 camera for long there is no lack of variety to be found. This is great as it gives you plenty of options to choose from and allows you to get the best tool for the photographic job you have in mind. However if you're new to view camera and 4x5 photography it can also be rather confusing.

I won't go much into one brand over another in this article. Instead I'll try and stick mainly to general view camera types and features.

So, one of the first things you may want to try and decide on is:

Monorail Camera VS Field Camera

This is a bit of a generalization but for the most part all 4x5 view cameras can be broken up into these two design categories.

Monorail Cameras:
A monorail style view camera is built around a central rail which the camera front and rear slide back and forth on to adjust focus. Typically this type of design allows for more movement of the lens and film planes than a field camera design. (If you're unfamiliar with "camera movements" in large format photography this is just referring to the ability to shift and tilt one or both ends of the camera in relation to the other in order to achieve a desired effect of distortion, or often times correction, such as with architectural photography.)

Another advantage is that monorails usually allow for more bellows extension and therefore a greater capacity for close up or macro work. In adition to this these cameras are usually a bit more stable due to the solid design of a single rail as the central attachment for the front and rear parts of the camera.

On the downside monorail systems tend to be notably heavier and bulkier than field cameras. This may not seem like too bad a thing since you're thinking about moving up to a large format camera anyhow - why not go all out? But it can definitely be a challenge if your photography will have you carrying your camera all over and setting it up and taking it back down multiple times in a short period. And don't forget, with a heavier camera comes a heavier tripod...

Field Cameras:
These cameras are the compact lightweight counterparts to the monorails above. They are most often designed to fold down and collapse in on themselves making a nice compact easily tote able package. A good 4x5 folding film camera usually takes up no more space than an average size slr with a couple of lenses thrown in with it. In addition to the tidy size they are usually constructed of wood where possible (as opposed to metal for most monorails) therefore further cutting back on weight.

The downsides are that they generally have less range for movements and the film plane and lens plane can't be separated by as large a distance, cutting down on their capacity for close up work. **This is not always true however. One exception that pops to mind is Ebony. They make some amazingly versatile field cameras capable of movements that are outdone by very few studio/monorail cameras... but you will pay for that ability and quality.

So in the end, like you probably knew all along, it really just depends on what kind of pictures you want to make. Here's what I would suggest. If you're wanting to set up studio shots in your garage (or kitchen or bedroom...) or if you want to mainly do still life work or close up well lit shots and probably if you want to do architectural work, go with a monorail setup.

If you want to get out and wonder around with your camera and certainly if you want to do landscape work (particularly nature related, ie. hiking or backpacking with your equipment) then by all means get a field camera. It will be lighter and most will still provide you with plenty of movement for most situations, such as focus correction.

I hope that's helped shed a little light on one of the things to look at when you're purchasing a 4x5 view camera. I'll be posting again soon on other features you'll want to keep in mind.

When deciding what 4x5 camera to get, there are a number of feature considerations to keep in mind. While a view camera is typically a very simple tool without a lot of bells and whistles there are always small differences from brand to brand and model to model that can make one camera a better choice over another based on your intended use. The best, most expensive camera you can get hold of may not suit you nearly as well as the bargain model if it doesn't allow you to do what you need with it.

Things to consider:

- How much and what kind of movements do I need in a 4x5 view camera?
This should be one of the first things you consider as it may determine what type of camera you are looking for. (ie. monorail or field) Monorail cameras normally provide the most movements and a good range of each while many types of flat bed 4x5s, such as older press cameras, have very few or none. Field cameras are usually in the middle but some of the higher end brands like Ebony are just as rich in movements as a good monorail camera. If you're main goal is to shoot landscapes then an average field camera will probably do fine as you'll usually only need enough movement gain a little extra depth of field. If, however, you intend to be shooting in the studio or doing architectural shots, look into a good movement rich monorail, such as a Horseman.

-Will you be shooting mainly wide angle, tele-photo, macro...?
This question is certainly on worth considering since getting the wrong camera for these situations can be a real headache and expenisve or impossible to solve. Any 4x5 camera should work fine with lenses in the "normal" range (for 4x5 this runs from about 135mm to 210mm) and a little on either side of that. But once you get too wide or long some cameras start running into problems.

If you're wanting to use long focal length lenses or do close up or macro photography then you're going to need a lot of bellows extension. This is something that many compact flat bed cameras just can't provide. Some models of field camera do offer exceptional bed extension but for the most part a monorail is a better choice since if need be a longer rail can usually be purchased to remedy the problem.

Conversely, if you're making wide angle photos there are a different set of issues to be aware of. You will want to look for a camera with a small minimum extension, in other words one that will allow you to get the lens as close to the film plane as possible. You also want to be able to accomplish this while still having enough pliability in the unexpanded bellows to use the cameras movements. Often this will require a set of wide angle or bag bellows. Another thing to consider is the potential for the front end of the camera to be visible in the photo due to the lens being so far back while focusing for a wide angel shot. Again, most of these issues are best solved by a monorail camera. However, some of the nicer field cameras should not be ruled out if you have the money for them.

These are a couple of things to think about when getting a 4x5 view camera, but there are certainly others. I'll post a continuing list in a few days.

 
I've noticed that a lot of people coming to this site are looking for large format lenses to use with their 4x5 or even larger view camera. Well, that only makes since. That great camera without a lens is just a fancy box and bellows. I thought of adding a section to this site all about lenses but quickly realized that the subject was too broad, at least as broad as large format cameras, themselves. So I'm glad to announce that I've launched a new site all about this subject:
 
The Large Format Lens.com
 
I've tried to keep the layout of the site and the way it works very close to the same as this one, so if you're familiar with the4x5camera.com, TheLargeFormatLens.com will work the same way. I'll continue to update it with general information about large format lenses, including reviews and articles about both old and modern optics. In addition there is the shopping feature that will allow you to view live, continuously updated auctions from Ebay's website. This is a particularly useful feature as many of the lenses used for large format photography are either discontinued items or very hard to come by new, particularly in the U.S. Therefore auction sites such as Ebay are often the best or only place to find what you are looking for.
 
So if you're needing a lens feel free to go and check out the new site. You can use the link above, or I've added a Lenses link in the Accessories drop down menu at the top of the site that will now take you directly to the new site.

4x5 cameras are still very sought after pieces of equipment for many photographers from serious amateur to professional, and for some very good reasons. The capability of the camera to produce rich extremely highly detailed images is not the least of these. Hands down, there is absolutely no digital camera - less than the price of a new car (and even then it's questionable) - that is capable of producing images of the quality that can be attained from a 4x5 negative and a sharp lens. Just as a higher megapixel CCD chip in a digital camera can collect more information than a smaller one so too can a larger piece of film.

Another reason that many photographers prefer working with a 4x5 view camera is the fact that they have more control over how the photograph looks in the end. This is achieved by the built in ability of the part of the camera containg the lens and the part containing the film to be moved independently of each other. This is called "movements" and different cameras can do this to greater or lesser degrees. An experienced photographer can use the movements to manipulate the way the image falls on the film plane to correct for visual distortions or even introduce or exaggerate distrotions to produce a desired effect.

Perhaps the greatest thing about a 4x5 camera is the way that it forces the photographer to think when using it. The additional time needed to frame and focus a shot is seen by many as a negative and would be in a lot of scenarios. You would never use a 4x5 camera for action sports photography for instance. However, it's the fact that the camera demands time and thought from the photographer that leads to a growth and increase in skill from the user. Being forced into this mode of concentration makes the 4x5 a great teacher for photographers. You may find yourself studying the ground glass a bit longer than you would normally find yourself looking at the same scene though your SLR viewfinder - with the knowledge that taking a second shot involves more than pushing down the button in another fraction of a second. I found that this methodical approach then transfers back to smaller cameras and has improved and enriched my photograph making skills over all formats and camera types.