In article <32A8967D.458B@tiac.net>, raga@tiac.net says...

>< >and actually purchased a Tachihara. >>

>Does this mean Tachihara (I was also thinking of Nagaoka) didn't work
>out? Living in a high walkup, the idea of a small light affordable
>camera and manageable tripod seems tempting compared to heavy monorail
>and heavier tripod I have now, and don't use, which rpm alchemy could
>transform.
>I wonder what movements are possible with with a 90/8 SA-type lens on
>the light cameras. On the sinar...well, none with the compressed
>standard bellows.

I borrowed monorails for years (generous/kind friends!), and always
returned them with a hearty "THANK YOU, but I guess 4x5 is NOT for me...".
THEN a friend lent me a Nagaoka (Ikeda is the same, Tachihara similar) -
what a joy to use! Light, easy to operate, fine on a light tripod (Well,
in the East, why would anyone shoot with any wind, anyway...? ;-), takes
small lensboards (keeping lens weight/size down), pretty, cheap, very
compact when folded, and VERY light! I mounted my 90mm f8 Nikkor (LOTS
of coverage [almost 8x10]!) off-center on the board, and modified the
camera slightly to accept the board either right-side-up, or inverted,
to give me additional movement (about 1" total, as I recall). BTW, it
turned out that I preferred the movement types of the Nagaoka, though
in theory they may seem inferior to those on monorails - the base tilt
makes DOF work easier for me than center tilt, and the back bending of
the hinges to provide swings works without slop (you don't lose focus
when the swing lock is loosened). In buying a wooden field, be sure
that the back will move forward on the bed to avoid shooting the bed
with wide-angles dropped (the Nagaoka, Ikeda, Tachihara, and Calumet
have this feature, I think, but the Wista doesn't). BTW, I wound up with
a 5x7 Ikeda with a 4x5 back (longer bellows, but still able to handle
a 90mm on a flat board (with a slight modification), less bellows sag
importance, and only about a pound heavier - still very light and small.
As you may have gathered, I recommend the light wooden field view
cameras - they are pleasant to use, and sturdy enough for extended
(careful) use (you may want to gently tighten screws occasionally if
using thick backs, like the Graphmatics [120 Calumet backs generally
won't fit because of the way the GG shifts on the springs]). BTW
(again ;-), another useful modification is to add sticky-backed black
flocking paper to the back surfaces near to, and perpendicular to, the
film (to reduce reflection problems). It is also useful to remove the GG,
measure up all around the edge from the surface of the film in a holder
in place (with the slide drawn out) to see if the GG is properly located
(it may not be in a wooden field, requiring shimming/carving to get it
right). Also, you can get a decent (approx. 12" FL) Fresnel lens cheap
from Edmund Scientific, and cut it down to fit over the back of the GG
(which usually shows more coverage than the film area [unlike other
formats!], and which can be masked to show the right area [a Magic Marker,
used with a ruler guide, works]). And, while you have the back apart,
waxing the surfaces that the film holder slides on helps reduce potential problems with camera movement while inserting/removing film holders.
Hope This Helps