Ahhh how goes the saying? “Toys for Boys”? No way! “Toys for Gals”! Doesn’t rhyme but sure feels fine 😉
As you know I was saving up for a Chamonix Camera together with a wet plate back (they make great looking ones!) and a cover. I was saving up for this camera to use it out in the field for 4×5″ Collodion Clear Glass Ambrotypes which I can enlarge using my Omega D2 lith-style. The big advantage over such a camera compared to the one I use now is saving weight, +- 20 kilos to be more precise and that’s quite a bit. Lighter camera, lighter tripod, smaller silver bath etc.
Anyway, then this Linhof Master Technika Classic crossed my path. I already have a hard time controlling myself when things like this come up but I managed to restrain myself. But then a friend said: “I’d get it if I were you”, it was simply impossible for me to walk away. So…here it is! My all new portable camera to couple with my Berthiot Perigraphe 90mm lens! It is in immaculate condition, I bought it from the first owner who got this beauty in 2000. It’s about 1,5 kilos heavier than the Chamonix camera but I don’t have to deal with the import duties and 1,5 kilos..well…I’ll get over that part! Get ready for some awesomeness..
I have a collodion shoot planned the 5th of May where we intend to visit a practically deserted village in Belgium called Doel which will be his official inauguration. Looking forward working with this beauty! Will have to convert a film back to hold collodion plates first, hopefully later this week, and have to attach my lens to the Technika lens board, also this week.
-Happy Happy Joy Joy! ❤
Photography Contrastique - Alternative Photographic Processes 
What a beauty!!! Congrats
Thanks! I’m really very happy with it! Looking forward using it next weekend on location!
Congratulaion: a very usable beauty!
I also use a Technika for Tintypes and perhaps You don’t need a special back for wet plate. I just use a original Linhof 9×12 filmholder. These holders feature a pressure plate and can be used for glas-plates aswell as film.They provide very precise focus to the groundglas (and rangefinder) and can be obtained easily these days via ebay: very easy and convenient. Even more so when using black-coated aluminum, no cleaning – just pull off the protection-foil, coat and load 🙂
Hi Christoph,
Thanks! I love it: beautiful AND functional 😉
I don’t intend to get a dedicated wet plate back; I plan on modifying a Fidelity Elite film holder to hold clear glass plates. I never looked at the original wet plate holders. They seem to be made from metal? They are indeed not that expensive on Ebay, I might buy those to see how they fare. No modification necessary sounds good! I ran out of aluminium a while back. Only used those for testing, I prefer glass as they give deeper and richer blacks imo. With this camera I intend to shoot only clear glass to make negatives, suitable for enlarging.
Thanks for the heads-up on the original holders! 🙂
-Indra
By original wet plate holders I mean original Linhof holders 😉