Linhof Master Technika Classic

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Could anyone tell me if a Linhof Master Technika Classic with anatomical grip, Schneider Symmar-S 135mm f/5.6 in Synchro-Compur + lensboard in Mint minus condition for 5000.00$ CAN is a good deal. What can you do with such a camera? ;) Please help me! edgar1976@hotmail.com

-- Edgar1976 (edgar1976@hotmail.com), September 29, 2000

Answers

Hi,

I'm not a specialist, but given that you didn't get any answer, here is what I can say about the Master Technika.

I've been looking for an LF camera for all the summer and almost bought a Classic MT with grip, optional viewfinder and SuperAngulon 75mm for 5300.- German marks.. It makes a difference wether the optical viewfinder is present or not.. and also wether the model is a completely black model, or wether it shows some chrome, like the classic models...

As for the camera itself, it is a sturdy and reliable German camera.. the model isn't new : it was developped for the first time in the thirties I believe... it has been slightly improved over the years and the MT classic is allowing a lot of movements, even on the back.. it has quite a long bellow and as such is a good allround camera, which can be folded very compactly and which can be set up very fast.. The advertisement says it can be handholded (hence the grip and the optional finder..) but I haven't heard of anybody using it that way, because it is quite heavy.. (and this is the reason why I didn't get it finally... I was afraid by its weight) ..

As for the new price, BHVideo offers one black model (cheaper than the classic), with anatomical grip, but without the optional viewfinder, along with a 150mm Rodenstock lense for 4.900.- US dollar.

I don't know how much a CAN $ is worth.. so I'll let you make your own opinion.. I hope this helped..

-- christiane Roh (rohcris@vtx.ch), October 01, 2000.


As to value, try looking at EBay. There've been some recent Master Technika's for sale. Check the completed auctions, and trace back a couple of weeks. You can see what they sold for.

-- neil poulsen (neil.fg@att.net), October 03, 2000.

"What can you do with such a camera?"

Edgar, the Master Technika a valued camera. Extremely well build and versatile. Many landscape photographers have one. It has enough movements for most landscape work, is very stable, takes lenses up to 360 mm, but would be somewhat limited for architecture and studio. It is still a good option even if some light and portable monorail cameras have come to the market in recent years. However, the price mentioned seems a bit high to me, unless it is recent and has not been used much. But the Symmar S in Synchro Compur makes me thing it is not so recent. Try discussing the price a bit. Bear in mind that for USD 4.400 you can get a brand new Master Technika 2000 from Badger Graphic or Robert White. The Master 2000 differs in that it has no telemetric device. But this is old age technology and you would certainly not use it anyway. Instead it has a special bed that allows the use of very wide angles. There are also some reviews at the entry page of this forum that are worth reading. If you can have a good price on it, GET IT! There are many happy Technika owners.

-- Paul Schilliger (pschilliger@smile.ch), October 03, 2000.


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