gear

THE DIGITAL SOAPBOX OF ANDY CLEAVENGER

TOYO VIEW 45CX

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Email:  graycard18@gmail.com

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This camera got me through college and is still in prime condition. It’s a tremendous value for a studio camera. About the only thing that it’s missing that I would want to have is the ability to attach another bellows and extend the rail for really long focal length lenses, or really close range photography. Other than that I don’t need all those geared movements and bells and whistles that the super expensive studio cameras have.

Sure, geared movements would be nice, but do I NEED them? Not really.

I’m actually in the middle of trying to sell this camera since I haven’t used it in about 8 years. I’m not optimistic that I’ll find a buyer. No one wants these things anymore except for photography students going into college. And there are very few colleges around here that have photo programs emphasizing a foundation in large format ability. So most likely I’ll end up keeping it until I either end up needing it for my own studio or I can’t stand it anymore and just give it away.

To quench my thirst for large format photography in a lighter package I’ve already purchased a Shen Hao field camera. Admittedly, the Toyo is the better made camera, but the Shen Hao, being the lighter and smaller of the two and nearly the Toyo’s equal in ability, is always the first one I reach for when I’m looking to shoot large format.