Large format, Leica quality.

Mentionof my recently acquired Linhof Twin Shank Pro tripod prompts a further piece on the Linhof company.

The Linhof Company of Munich started business in 1887, which makes it the longest surviving camera producing business. They make medium and large format cameras to this day, and their web site is here. I’m not too sure who uses these large format film cameras any more as medium format digital easily manages to compete on output quality with far lower production costs and faster turnaround, at a comparable price. But they remain things of beauty.

The Master Technika Classic still made today.
$9,400, lens extra.

Back in the 1940-1970 time frame Leica made a bewildering range of accessories for their film cameras but they were mere pikers compared to the prodigious output of Linhof.

Click on this image to download their 1957 70th anniversary product catalog which is no less than 119 pages long:

The 1957 catalog. Click to download. 62mb so it may take a while.

In addition to a long section on the care and training of employees – right down to a picture of the resident nurse standing by to deal with machine shop injuries – there’s this wonderful image of a Leitz optical measuring machine:

The Leitz Contour Projector in the Linhof works.

Have fun perusing this wonderful journey into a past of exceptional mechanical engineering.

If 4×5 is something you want to experiment with be warned that used Linhof prices are high. A lower cost of entry – with similar functionality if lower engineering quality – can be found in the affordable Graflex range of US made cameras. I had a lot of fun with my Crown Graphic.