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Large Format
At this site Ken Rockwell is musing on the 4X5''-format.
An article called "What Is It About Large Format Cameras".
You can download an essay (as a pdf-file) called "Big Cameras, Big Lenses, Big Film" from this site.
At this site you can read a good primer on lenses for large format photography.
And speaking of specs you can download detailed information about new LF lenses from here.
And here is detailed information about older LF lenses.
Kerry Thalman have a large format home page with some useful information (especially about lenses).
And he has good information about lightweight LF lenses.
Christopher Perez has tested (and compared) an impressive amount of LF-lenses.
Here is a page about shutters for LF lenses.
"Mamut Photo" is a site about ultra large format photo.
An article (a pdf-file) by Michael Mutmansky titled "ULF May Have New Life: Two New ULF Cameras!".
"F32 Large Format Photography" have a mailing list and a discussion forum.
Here is a list of contemporary manufacturers of large format cameras:
-The homepage of Argentum Camera Manufactura.
-The German camera manufacturer Gottschalt have their range here.
-Ballester show their cameras at this site.
-Information about the Chinese camera Gaoersi.
-Several models of monorail and field cameras (4x5'' and 8X10'') from Toyo.
-Wista field cameras reside here.
-Navigate the Sinar homepage to find their monorail cameras.
-Calumet have their monorails at this site.
-Traditional monorail cameras and special wide angle 4X5'' cameras from Cambo.
-A monorail and a field camera as well as panoramic cameras from Horseman.
-From 2X3'' to massive 20X24'' field cameras from Ebony.
-Lotus also make a 20X24'' and from there on down to 4X5''.
-And the same goes for the Wisner company who also make panoramic outfits.
-Richard T. Ritter makes a 7X17'' camera.
-Field cameras, a 4X5'' and a 5X7'', by ArtWorks.
-Assorted sizes of field cameras as well as a 4X5'' twin lens reflex by Rayment Kirby Cameras.
-And a twin lens reflex 4X5'' (among other LF cameras) is also available from Gowland Cameras.
-Panoramic cameras and LF cameras that can be handheld (up to the 8X10'' format!) from Fotoman.
-A 360 degrees panoramic camera from Hulcher Camera.
-And pretty much the same is offered from Focus-Dayi Camera Workshop.
-A 4X5'' coupled parallax rangefinder is made by Littman.
-Wehman make an 8X10'' field camera.
-Silvestri manufacture a 6X9 cm monorail and a 4X5'' wide angle camera (among others).
-The Paq Pro XL system from S.K. Grimes.
-From Layton Camera you can get a 4X5'' field camera.
-Dr. Gilde System Camera Technology make a multi format (from 6X6 cm to 6X17) panorama camera.
-Plaubel make a 6X9 cm monorail camera.
-Many sizes of field cameras are made by CameraChina (who carry the Seagull brand)
-Walker Cameras have a 4X5'' and a 5X7'' field camera.
-Assorted field camera sizes and a monorail can be had from ShenHao.
-Kozik Cameras sell an aluminium monorail building kit (4X5'' or 8X10'').
-And Bender Photographic make a wooden monorail building kit (also 4X5'' or 8X10'').
-From Camera Bellows you can buy (apart from bellows) a wooden field camera kit.
-Toho make monorails but their homepage seems to be in Japanese only(?).
-Another Japanese only site, this time from YS Create.
-The Fatif monorail can be found at this address (in Italian).
-The Star Camera Company build wet plate and daguerreian cameras.
-From Bigshotz (panorama photography) you can acquire the Cirkut camera.
The list below is of other large format cameras that are (supposedly) in production but have no homepage and for which information seems to be scarce.
-The Hobo large format camera can be bought from Bostic & Sullivan.
-Some information about the Anba Ikeda Wood View can be had from Kerry Thalmann's site.
-A review of the Philips 8X10 Explorer (manufactured by R.H. Phillips & Sons) can be read here.
-Shutterbug magazine have tried the Hoffman field camera.
-There is some information about the GranView 4X5 available from camera review.
-The only information I could find about the AltView came from photo.net.
-Here is the brochure for the Nagaoka View Camera Model II 4X5.
Yet others (again supposedly still in production) that I could find no information about were: Lupa (Italian?); Rajah (Indian?); Chamonix (Chinese); and Kwok (also Chinese?). Should you find some solid information (i.e. e.g. a homepage or a downloadable brochure) about these, please drop me a line.
The following sites offer thoughts/advice on building your own LF camera.
-Jon Grepstad about his book Building a Large Format Camera and a View Camera Construction FAQ.
-Some drawings for LF camera construction by Rudolf Mittelman.
-Building a Mikoneka wooden 4X5'' view camera.
-"Building a Mammoth Camera" by William Underwood.
-"Simple Large Format Camera Construction" by Edward A. Hoover.
-Drawings for a LF sliding box camera (a pdf-file).
-Thoughts on making a homemade low-cost 12-20'' camera.
-"Construction of a Square Camera Bellows" by Joe Smigiel.
-CLABO do "elaborations, assemblages and transformations of existing cameras".
Should you need to repair or restore an older/antique large format camera perhaps you can get some help from the people behind one of these links:
-For the Graflex cameras try this site.
-The Deardorffs have a historical web site at this address.
-Richard T. Ritter restores, repairs and makes modifications.
-S.K. Grimes specialise in large format repair.
-For custom made film holders see this site.
-This company take care of shutters.
-And if you need a new bellows go here.
-Bill Orford specialises in the repair and modification of LF equipment.
And here are links to the manufacturers of large format lenses:
-Cooke Optics Ltd reside here.
-Schneider Optics manufacture a complete range of large format lenses.
-And the same goes for Rodenstock.
-Yamasaki Optical Co. Ltd. manufacture the Congo line of lenses.
Viewing glass lenses can be had from one of these companies:
-Brightscreen have an extensive range viewing glasses available.
Should you need a film changing tent Camera Essentials make the Harrison Film Changing Tent.
You can also get a film changing tent from Calumet, as well as a dark Focusing Cloth.
Medium Format
Here are some introductory pages to the medium format:
-"Choosing a Medium Format Camera" by Philip Greenspun.
-"Introduction to Medium Format Photography" by Ken Rockwell.
-A 'Luminous Landscape' article called "Understanding Medium Format".
And it contains a useful "Current Medium Format Camera Listings" by Robert Monaghan.
Make a side by side comparison of different medium format cameras at Camera Review.
Plenty of medium format lenses are MTF-tested at photodo.
And Christopher M. Perez et al. have sure done their share of testing MF lenses.
The below standing links give you information/reviews about some of the MF-Cameras available from the different manufacturers:
-Philip Greenspun reviews the Rollei 6008 camera.
-The Kiev cameras are chronicled at Shutterbug.
-At this address you'll find a review of the Fuji GX 680III.
-The Pentax 6X7 system is reviewed by Hamish Reid.
-And the Pentax 645NII is put into perspective at The Luminous Landscape site.
-Nelson Tan takes a closer look at the Hasselblad 503CW here.
-Here is a review of the Mamiya RZ67 II.
-The Seagull 4A cameras are examined by Shutterbug.
-And the Rolleiflex 4,0FW is reviewed at this address
-Chris Lee takes a look at the Contax 645.
-The Bronica SQ-Ai is reviewed at this site.
-At Tom Westbrook's site you will find a good review of the Mamiya 7II.
And to go with that, here is a list of links that provide information about excellent but discontinued MF-cameras which you can find on the second hand market:
-Karen Nakamura shares her thoughts on the Mamiya RB67.
-Ken Rockwell examines the Mamiya 6 system at this site.
-And the Rolleiflex 2,8 GX is reviewed at this address
-Here is a pictorial history of the Hasselblad film cameras.
-Information about the Hasselblad 501CM.
-And the Hasselblad 203FE model.
-The slim Plaubel Makina is reviewed by Ken Rockwell.
-For good information about the Fuji medium format cameras go here.
Seeing that there is not much use in linking to the homepages of Hasselblad, Mamiya, etc. I instead provide a list below to some of the less known manufacturers of medium format cameras:
-Arax cameras are to be found at this address
-And you will find the Hartblei camera here.
-The handmade Camogli cameras reside at this address
-Here is the address to the homepage of the Rolleiflex cameras made by Franke & Heidecke: .
-As for twin lens reflex cameras, you will find the Seagull range here.
Small Format
And a quick look at the pros and cons of the SLR and RF cameras is done here.
Some thoughts on choosing a suitable camera format from Shutterbug.
In case you haven't noticed there is an ongoing rangefinder revival (or so they say, anyway).
Here is a list of links to reviews of some of the excellent but discontinued cameras that ought to be readily available on the second hand market:
SLR-Cameras
-Photography in Malaysia have an excellent page about the Pentax LX.
-And for information about the Pentax lenses you can go here.
-Or to this site which is dedicated to the Pentax K-Mount.
-If you are keen on the Olympus OM system you ought to visit this site.
-Or the unofficial Olympus OM site (the zuikoholic.com) located at this address
-Also, here is a page for the accompanying OM Zuiko lenses.
-Information about the Zuiko line is also galore at this address
-Turn to this page for a rundown of the Minolta Dynax (Maxxum in the US) range.
-Here is a review of the Minolta Dynax 7 (film camera).
-And at this site you can find data about the Minolta lenses.
-PopPhoto reviews the Nikon FM3A.
-And the Nikon F5 is examined closely at this site.
-Lots of facts and reviews about Nikon lenses are to be found here.
-And a page with "subjective lens evaluation" of the Nikkors is located at this address
-Here you will find facts about the Canon New F-1.
-To go with that, a resource page about the Canon FD lenses.
-The Canon EOS 1N is examined here.
-Furthermore, here is information about the Canon EF lenses.
-Erwin Putz reviews the Leica R8 here.
-And he also has test reports of some of the Leica R-range of lenses.
-Photography in Malaysia also kindly supply us with information about the Contax RTS cameras.
-There is a good review of the Contax Aria on this site.
-You can read the old brochure for the manual Contax S2 camera at this site.
-Tom Shea writes about the Contax lenses at this address
Rangefinder Cameras
-Furthermore, Tom Shea also got a review of the Contax G2 posted here.
-At this site you will find information about the Contax G lenses.
-Here is a look at the Konica Hexar camera.
-Dante Stella also examines the Hexar at this page.
-And Erwin Putz examines some of the Konica Hexanon lenses here.
-Photo.box has a review of the Rollei 35RF.
-And you can download a pdf-file review about the Rollei 35RF from this address
-Luminous Landscape got a good review of the Leica M6.
-Paul Butzi writes about the M6 and some of its lenses here.
Below is a list of links that provide information about small format film cameras that are in production.
-The Leica M7 is examined closely at Leica FAQ.
-And Erwin Putz has a made a thorough review of the M7 available from here.
-He has also tested some of the M mount lenses (mostly reports about new ones) as well.
-Here is a link to a users buyer's guide for the M mount lenses.
-The Leica R9 is reviewed at this site.
-Information about some of the Leica R lenses can be found here.
-And here is a "Leica R Lens Price Guide".
-In this Shutterbug article Hicks and Schultz pair up to review the Zeiss Ikon.
-Putz takes a close look at the Zeiss Ikon at this address
-Furthermore, Putz has a look at the accompanying Zeiss ZM lenses.
-More thoughts on the Zeiss ZM lenses from the The Luminous Landscape.
-PopPhoto also examines the Voigtländer R3A.
-And here are some test reports of the accompanying Voigtländer lenses.
-Oleg Novikov reviews the Nikon F6.
-And Tom Hogan shares his thoughts on the F6 at this location.
-Extensive reviews about lots of Nikon lenses can be found here.
Optics (Jump to top)
A "Photographic Lenses Tutorial" page.
Speaking of bokeh (or boke, if you prefer) information is galore, here is a good technical approach.
And here is an entire site devoted to the subject of bokeh.
Another excellent page about DoF with several pictures to illustrate the phenomenon.
Keen to sort out what a retrofocus lens might do for you? Check this site.
Wondering what good an aspherical element does in a lens?
Here is a nice basic page about lens coating.
This could be a good place to start reading if you are interested in lens resolution testing.
And, while you are there please don't forget to read about the downsides of MTF-testing.
Also, a good primer on the quality criteria of lenses is available (as a pdf-file) from here.
Should you want to start testing on your own, this page might point you in the right direction.
And you can download a printable pdf-version of the USAF 1951 Resolution Test Target from this site.
Or the EIA 1956 Resolution Chart from here (as a pdf-file).
Furthermore, I found quite a few sober (as well as sobering) words here.
Or, turn to this page where they discuss the use of sinusoidal test patterns for MTF evaluation.
Personally, I find it very hard to come up with a reason as to why a should not fit my lenses with filters. Yes, they do cost a bit but compared to replacing a broken front element they are dirt cheap, really. Also, when it comes to prices, you could perhaps find some comfort in knowing that the competition seems good as there are quite a few manufacturers of quality filters out there.
-Here you'll find the British company Formatt filters.
-Information about the Kodak-Wratten gelatin filters can be found here.
-The product range of Tiffen filters is to be at this location.
-And Lee filters (as well as their filter holders and hoods) are here.
-Another company that manufactures holders and hoods as well as filters is Cokin.
-German based Hama have their product range here.
-Another German company called Heliopan.
-The Japanese company Hansa have a homepage in Japanese only(?).
-Navigate their homepage to find the Promaster filter range.
-Singh-Ray filters are to be found at this address
-The Cosmos range of filters are at this site.
-Marumi filters have their homepage here.
-Rosco have their international portal here.
-Filters from Merkury Innovations.
-Finally, the excellent range of Schneider-Kreuznach filters are named B+W.
Good information about what filters to use for B&W-photography can be gathered from here.
Learn more about UV and warming filters here.
Download an informative pdf-file-paper about polarization and polarizers from here.
How to clean and care for your lenses.
And further advice about keeping your gems clean.
Here is a manufacturer of cleaning product for photography.
And this is the address to the homepage of the Lenspen.
Bags & Backpacks (Jump to top)
"Choosing a Camera Bag" from Kodak e-Magazine.
Some thoughts on the different kinds of camera bags.
"Top 5 Camera Bags for Pros & Hardcore Hobbyists" from About: Photography.
Consumer Guide have tested plenty of camera bags.
Seeing that there are plenty of manufacturers of camera bags out there, make sure you try before you buy.
-Kinesis have a complete system.
-Small and medium size bags from Mercury Innovations.
-Lightware have back packs as well as XL carrying cases.
-Classical camera bags from Billingham.
-KATA have a full range of products.
-Porter Case have both soft and hard cases.
-Several sizes of bags from Roadwired.
-Smaller camera cases from World Richman.
-A full range of types and sizes from Mountainsmith.
-Small to medium sized camera bags and backpacks from Sumdex.
-All sorts and sizes from Naneu Pro.
-Kiesel have small to medium sized bags and backpacks.
-Smaller bags from Snap Sights.
-Hakuba have several sorts of carrying gear.
-Hard cases from B&W Outdoor Cases.
-Medium to XL sized bags from Think Tank Photo.
-Large backpacks and small cases from Scosche.
-CCS have classical style shoulder bags and backpacks.
Tripods & Heads (Jump to top)
"Using a tripod" from Weather-Photography.
"How to Choose a Tripod" from Outdoor Eyes.
"Choosing a Tripod" from About: Photography.
And another essay called "Choosing a Tripod".
Here is some handy information: "Lighter-Weight Tripods for Travel: A Suitability Survey".
Manfrotto have a good page that will help you with what you should consider when buying a tripod.
If you got time to spare and some wood working skills you may want to try building your own tripod.
Consumer Guide have some tripod reviews.
There seems to be no shortage of tripod manufacturers out there, so do compare what they have on offer before you buy.
-Induro tripods, monopods, and heads.
-Camera brackets manufactured by Newton.
-Really Right Stuff make heads and clamps.
-Tripods, monopods, and heads from Velbon.
-Wimberley make heads and clamps.
-Camera support solutions from Sachtler.
-Tripods, monopods, and heads from Benro.
-And Slik have the same range of products.
-Cullman have a wide range of camera support products.
-Tripods and tripod accessories from Hakuba.
-Linhof make tripods and heads.
-And ditto from Mercury Innovations.
-Pods and heads from Falcon Eyes Limited.
-KB Systems manufacture wooden tripods.
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