Customer Reviews

The view camera: Operations and techniques

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I've been wanting to learn about View Cameras for some time now so I've looked over (and bought some of) Amazon's selection of books on the subject. Both "Using the View Camera" by Steve Simmons and "View Camera Basics" by Leslie Stroebel were interesting but they were written with the experienced photographer in mind- I just couldn't get into them.

Mr. Shaman's book isn't a do all book either but it is written in a much more approachable manner. It does mention the "Field" and "Technical" types of View Cameras but concentrates on the "Monorail" type, showing the reader all of the parts and what they're called, I don't have a camera but think probably most of the material will go for all view camera types.

There are lots of B/W photographs and diagrams illustrating each point discussed about camera operations and how to do things, even a little on the film (though nothing about development and printing). No brands are really discussed for anything except film (Kodak is used as an example) and I think the book should still be entirely valid for the person interested in the subject even if it is dated 1991.

If you're curious about View Cameras this is the book to buy, don't waste money on those other two I mentioned ( Simmon's book would make an interesting slightly more advanced book to go on with your education)- it's the one to start with. You'll still need to go elsewhere for lessons in most aspects of photography but this is the place to start, this is even the best book if you are a trained photographer.