Field camera
Encyclopedia
View camera
The view camera is a type of camera first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a lens, and the other a viewfinder or a...
that can be folded in a compact size. Modern designs are little different from the first folding field cameras from the 19th century. In general they have more limited camera movements than the monorail cameras used in many professional studios worldwide.
Modern field cameras originate from the early interlocking box cameras of the 19th century. Rather than the wooden box used in 19th century cameras, modern models substitute bellows to reduce the bulk of the cameras and make them easier to use outside the studio.
Even if they feature less flexibility than monorail camera
Monorail camera
Monorail cameras are the studio workhorses that are still used today in the digital photography age to make many of the images for catalogs, magazines, and advertising around the world....
s, the modern field cameras tend to have most camera movements for the front standard: lens rise/fall/shift/tilt/swing but are usually more limited in back movements, sometimes having only tilt/swing.
They range in size from 6x9cm to 20x24 inches (e.g., the Polaroid 20x24 camera
Polaroid 20x24 camera
The Polaroid 20×24 camera is a very large instant camera made by Polaroid, with film plates that measure 20 inches by 24 inches. It is one of the largest format cameras currently in common usage, and can be hired from Polaroid agents in various countries...
), but the most popular "standard" sizes are 4x5 and 8x10 inches. They are usually used by large format photographers who either need the portability, or the larger negative sizes.
Modern Brands
- Argentum
- Canham
- Ebony
- Gandolfi
- Horseman
- Linhof
- Lotus View Cameras
- Shen-Hao
- Tachihara
- Toyo-View
- Walker
- Wisner
- Wista
External links
- Field cameras of the United States an in depth look at field cameras from the 19th and 20th century.