beautiful, easy to work controls, tripple extension (can focus a 450 to infinity), easily modified ( I put in brass screws to hold my BTZS focus tube/cloth, simple to repair, interchangeable bellows, flat boards for short lenses, can make own boards. I think it's more rigid than the Wisner Technical and for landscape work prefer base tilt on the back.It's an inch thinner than the Technical and the bellows compact better. (but you do lose a few inches at the long end)

Still not as rigid as most monorails and nothing's as rigid as a technika (even a Kardan S/C). There's nothing to stop the standards from shooting off the base (sure it's easy to disassemble but also very easy to smash it (into 8 pieces - fortunately easy to glue together!), with short lenses, when rotating the back from horizontal to vertical the bellows want to pop out (all that holds them in is the back), it's quite big for a 4X5, in focusing, I'm always running the front or the back of the end of the toothed rail and have to carefully line things up again as it's easy to angle the tracks slightly (one side forward of the other). I have since installed a brass clip to keep the front standard from falling off, taking the lens with it when focusing downwards for example. It easily lets me dissassemble the camera but prevents tragedy - I don't have the same for the back standard but as it's tighter, its never been the same problem.

Every view camera is a compromise. The Wisner has no photographic limitations, is fairly sturdy, looks drop dead gorgeous, and if it's a bit big and has a few flaws, well so do we all. I like using it.

Customer Service

So so, when Ron's away no one answers e-mail (this may be fixed by now), I ordered a bail for the back (invaluable if a bit heavy and rattles - I might do something about that) and it took over a month to come. When on my first outing away from home, I slung the camera/tripod over my shoulder, the standards shot off the base and smashed - Ron was less than sympathetic and offered no recourse - he says they discourage people carrying their cameras that way - but there was nothing in the literature and besides most people carry the camera that way at least for short distances.

Similar Products Used:

Wista, Technika, Toyo 45A, Linhof Super Kardan, Toyo C, Graphic

nice looking, well finished, reasonably light weight

can run front standard off the rail when focussing down at close range, focus lock knob tightens as you focus camera. Bought a Wisner bag bellows for the camera, and it did not fit, similarly new lensboards purchased for camera varied in tightness of fit. Some were so loose they leaked light. When I bought the camera the two screws that hold the ground glass in were already stripped out (ie. overtightened in the wood. Poorly designed very tiny screws and very thin wood where they screw in. Overall workmanship was very spotty on this camera and no where near the tolerances advertised in Wisner literature. I finally sold the camera and bought a classic 4x5-5x7 Deardorff Special.

Lack of real commitment to customer support, and inconsistent quality control make an otherwise well designed camera a risky venture.

Customer Service

Very difficult to get a response from Wisner Co.
When you do their first response is to deny there's a problem.Learn to fix the camera your self or find a reliable dealer like Jon at the F-stops here in Santa Barbara. Also I paid in advance for 4 issues of the Wisner Newsletter. Publication stopped after 2 issues with no explanation and no refund!

Similar Products Used:

4x5 Deardorff Special' 8x10 Deardorff fs
4x5 Canham
4x5 Linhof Technica V