Linhof Color Kardan 45S
Perhaps no other camera with such simple controls strikes as much fear and trepidation in the heart of photographers as a 4"x5" rail camera. These cameras boil photography down to its most simple: a lens, a film plane, and a bunch of dark in the middle. At the same time, these cameras appear very daunting and require new pieces of equipment like lensboards, film holders, and possibly separate shutters and lenses. With all of that, it may seem odd to have one of these cameras described as "entry level," but that's how Linhof marketed the Linhof Color Kardan 45s.
Although by the 1960s Linhof was well established in the large format photography world, the popularity of 4"x5" rail cameras prompted the company to produce a lower cost rail camera for the professionals and advanced amateurs who enjoyed the flexibility and precision that rail camera photography allows. With controls for rise, fall, tilt, shift, and swing, photographers could control the film and focus planes with extreme precision.
So what, you might ask, makes this camera entry level? In reality, not much. As with other Lihof products, the machining on the Color Kardan 45s is impeccable and the weight of camera allowed photographers to take this camera out of the studio and into the field for architectural or landscape photography. Compared to its competitors, the Color Kardan 45s was certainly not entry level at all. It was only when compared to the Lihof Kardan B and its additional movements that the 45s appear to be anything but professional.
If you have never tried a 4"x5" rail camera, the Linhof Color Kardan 45s can easily be your first and last rail camera. Seek one out and discover the feeling of total control over focus and framing. Your images will look much better than "entry level".
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