Rollfilm / Discussions

On a whim I purchased a Linhof Technika IV with an integrated rangefinder and a Rollex (older) 6x9 back + ground glass, a complete set of accessories including a Linhof universal lens hood / filter holder and a complete set of lenses:

- a normal (45mm equiv. in 35mm) 105/3.5 Zeiss Opton Tessar (coupled/cammed)
- a Voigtländer 180/5.5 (75mm equiv.) (possibly coupled/cammed, the serial wasn't engraved on the focussing disk however)
- a 65/6.8 /28mm equiv.) Schneider Super-Angulon (also coupled / cammed).

The seller had left it at a local camera store to be sold there, the store would skim of a percent for itself and had first insisted on a selling price of 1000€, one of the salespersons had however negotiated it down to 800€. My offer of 600€ was accepted and I walked home with the beast in its original large leather case + original warranty papers etc.


Back home I discovered that various features didn't add up to what was described in operating manuals. It turned out this was not a IV but a Technika III Mk. 5 but without a tripod mount on the front lid. I returned it. Maybe I was a fool since Technika III bodies alone seems to go for about 500€ on evilbay and such... at any rate I had my dream camera for a while (camera movements would be nice sometimes and 6x9 is the largest size I'll ever go with, 5x4 is too large me.

Being a Linhof owner overnight was fun and I can recommend one if you feel say a TLR is restrictive, I however got a Gossen Digiflash meter instead so I can leave my digital camera at home whenever I take one of my meterless cameras for a walk.

Scoo