We expect that the Graflex Speed and Crown Graphic cameras will always be our favorite "press-style" 4x5 cameras but you have to have the heart and imagination of a rock to not be impressed by the Linhof Technika cameras.   Our favorite of the line is the Technika IV (or Super Technika IV, if you like having your rangefinder).  These cameras are so solid and so precise, they do practically everything you want such a camera to do, and then surprise you with even more features. Plus, they're beautiful. ⠀ ⠀

The Technika IV has a full range of front movements; plus, if you use the rear bellows extension, you can simulate rear swing and tilt.  The front tilt is center axis, it moves both forward and backward.  Speaking of that front standard, it may be the most rigid of any camera out there.  The rangefinder cams are ultra-specific and proprietary, which can be a pain, but it also makes the rangefinder super precise.⠀ ⠀

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Camera or no, the call of the ocean provides a restless westward pull.⠀ ⠀

Here, a Linhof Technika IV patiently waits it way through an eight minute exposure.

It is moments like this that long exposure work is particularly enjoyable. Sit down in the sand, maybe close your eyes, listen to the ocean, and watch the light move across the world.

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The Linhof Technika IV is such a beautiful and functional 4x5 camera.  If you own a Leica and a Hasselblad, the Linhof completes the trifecta.  But what you really want to make note of is the Schneider 150mm f/2.8 Xenotar.  This is not something you will see often, if ever again; this lens is beyond beautiful.

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Sometimes its a shame to see such beautiful equipment leave the shop, such as this Xenotar 150mm f/2.8 lens, but it's also so exciting to see it go into good hands.

A little BTS photography of a Linhof Technika IV in action.  Thanks to the infamous, Jim Hair, for getting this shot of Zeb Andrews in "front" of the camera for a change.

A Linhof Technika IV eclipsed in a reverse spotlight, of sorts.

We saw a headline in the news this morning, regarding a scientist who had, reportedly, created a small black hole in his laboratory.  That headline reminded us of this Linhof Technika IV that had been sitting on our shelves.  How are a Linhof and a black hole related, you ask?  We don't know much about black holes and much of what we do know came from the movie Interstellar.  What we do understand is that they exert a humongous gravitational pull.  Any bodies getting too close become trapped in their grasp.  They even pull in light.  Within their sphere of influence, time does funny things, what could be minutes to you becomes hours or days to others.  The reality of the universe is altered...

Now you tell us, are we describing a black hole or this Linhof Technika?

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When the weather gets tough, the tough get tough cameras.  Hard to get tougher than a Linhof Technika 4x5.

This camera could beat up any weather.

The Linhof Technika camera is such a well-built beast of a camera.  It makes is a real pleasure to take out into the field.   Sure, your back may not thank you for lugging it on the 1.6 mile muddy trek through a coastal forest, but its complaints will be forgotten once you find yourself atop a solitary peak, looking out over the vast expanse of water in front of you, tilting and shifting and focusing and exposing.  Being out there with a camera like this, and the pleasure that comes with using it, makes the toil all the more worth it.⠀ ⠀

We prefer the Technika IV to all other Technika large format models, by the way.  The Technika V is not really that much different, but we are not big fans of the lever action rise.  We much prefer the mechanically-simpler method of the Technika IV.

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