Horseman 45FA Review - A Compact 4x5 Film Camera

Nice lighting to display a black camera. . I couldn’t see a thing..

It’s interesting, but right now I have a 210 and 240 so… I might want a 180 😹😸

Great video and very nice shots!

Never heard of this camera but i found it really interesting.
I used to develop my own film many years ago so who knows. I might get one.
Always wondered how these worked.
Thank you 👍

I have one and 3 lenses on the way, excited to get into LF. Thank you.

Hey Kyle, fine clear review, thanks !

Hi. thanks for the video. why didn't you choose the Horseman HD version?

Rookie question, but can the Horseman shoot in portrait mode?

Reminds me of a linhoff technika

Hi there, quick question. I was wanting to know if there’s something out there that could strengthen your film from getting scratched as easily. Say a chemical of some kind that I could mix my film in.

The Nikkor SW 75 mm f/4.5 is priced vaguely similarly to the Fujinon but that faster aperture makes a huge difference when composing and coarsely focusing wide open! I got the Fujinon 105 mm f/8, the larger version of your 105, for the extra coverage it offers, and it is such a pain to install with that gigantic rear lens group. I actually have to tilt my front standard back as far as it will go so I can mount/remove the lens without hitting the bellows. Weight is a very real concern and one reason I'm thinking about selling my Wista 45RF.

Back in the 90s i was working as a commercial photographer i was shooting with a Sinar P and a hasselblad…Not my équipement I was a employee…. after years of digital i went back to films for fun …i bought myself a horseman FA and i love it…it a,s is limitation... but it was not designed to compete with a studio 4x5.

Got 2 4x5 cameras , might grab a 6x17 though , for special wide shots or a 4x10 ... nice video.

Great that it has clicked zero positions and gear driven movements, something I wish my Chamonix had :)

An obvious flaw not even mentioned is you cannot use decent sized resin filters on these cameras because the bed gets in the way. Should of been mentioned

Where did you find the Komura? Hard to track down!!! Such a great lens.

A stunning camera and made so well. if I was into 4 x 5 I would 100% pick this setup too.

I have the Toyo 45 but my purchase choice was primarily due to the good deal I got with my camera. I have checked out the horseman and it's a really great camera as well. I think it's hard to go wrong with either if you're looking for a solid field 4x5 camera.

4x5 just terrifies me, lol.

high quality content 👍

Kyle, I have been a large format shooter for years and wanted a smaller camera to carry in the field as well. I had an old Burke and James 5x7 adapted to 4x5 for years but it is a huge field camera. When I saw you mention this camera some time ago, I decided to research it and found that it fit the bill as well so I've been a proud owner of the Horseman 45fa for about 3 months now. I wanted to also mention that I shoot a Nikkor 65mm W lens on it from time to time and it works well but there are some things you have to take in to account. Wide lenses other than the Topcor 75 (Horseman designed it to be a more shallow lens) will sit very close to the focal plane making adjusting anything a real bear but still tolerable for how I shoot. Another thing to take in to account is wide angle lenses in portrait orientation won't work on this camera without dropping the rail and using a lot of rise and tilt on both the front and the back. The results are okay but there is some amount of vignetting on this lens as its image circle is really only just 5x7 so a lot of rise gets you dangerously close to the edge of the image circle.Other than that, I can say I have had a wonderful time with this camera. I printed extended lens boards for all my longer lenses and that makes it infinitely easier to access the controls, even on the Copal 0 Shutter.which doesn't really need the longer lens board but works well with it. One other thought. With the advent of 3d printing, you can print a 5.5cm board and make the camera hit 300mm. I haven't tried it but all of my math indicates it should work. LOL Napkin figuring of course. Thanks for another great video and thanks for the indirect recommendation for this camera!

I have the toyo 45a and this seems fairly similar as far as build.

What are those 3d-printed lens boards that you are using?

Great video Kyle! LF is very tempting at times. Thanks for sharing and greetings from Greece!

Thanks! What would you say is the benefit of the Horseman vs. a Crown Graphic in good repair?

Cool gear. In which way do you prefer it above the Crown Graphic? Apart from the aesthetics, I don’t see really any game changer.

Having worked with large format technical cameras in the studio for many years, I only use my Wista field camera for the joy of using a large format camera outdoors, and the satisfaction that brings. I can only print to size 20x30 inches in my darkroom, and at that size there is no difference in image quality between the 4x5, and my Pentax 6x7 !

Oh man Ive been waiting for this video! Been wondering if this is a good starting 4×5 since I probably wouldnt really utilize the movements that much being so new

Hey Kyle, Stephan here (coolscan holder),
keep an eye on Sinar F2, it's a monorail type camera and as well very compact and light weight for travelling.
And much more versatile and precise in shift/tilt of front and back, tons of accessories available.

That komura is a sweet piece, can't wait to see the pictures

I have a Wista 45D, which I use with an old MPP universal finder. I use the finder to scope out potential scenes without getting my entire 4x5 gear out. It’s expensive for what it is but helps with my compositions.

I haven’t used one but the FA looks like a copy of the Master Technika (which I’ve had 3 of; beautiful, rock solid but a lump).

I’ve also had Gandolfi, Arca Swiss 6*9 and two Horseman LXC monorails, with electronic DOF calculator! Now that was a lump to carry up hills etc. but beautiful and better made/smoother than the extortionate Arca Swiss and flimsy Gandolfi wooden view camera. So much for Japanese knock-offs!

I'd love one but I can't afford another system. 35mm and 120 has to suffice, it's expensive enough as it is 😅

This camera is so beautiful ❤ was already waiting for the video on it! Hope to see many more appearances.

After we chatted briefly on IG about the H45, I went down the research rabbit hole. Ultimately, I don’t have a need for large format photography, but it’s something I’d simply like to try sometime. I decided against purchasing it and hope that someday I’ll befriend someone who has one and borrow it for a couple of weeks. 😊

Here are several things about these "clamshell-style" field cameras to think about for people who may be interested in buying one of them as a first foray into large format photography...
1. The bed that the front standard slides into can't be shortened very effectively (but on some/most of these cameras, you can tilt it down past the 90-degree point). This limits the wide angle lenses that you can efectively shoot with. If you LOVE really wide angle lenses on 35mm (like a 17mm, 20mm, and up to about 24mm) you are going to have a hard time shooting a comparable focal length on 4x5 with ths camera, because the front standard will get into the frame. On some, you can drop the bed and then apply rise to zero-out the camera to help, but that leads to #2-->
2. The bellows on these cameras aren't terribly good for super wide angle or telephoto shooting. At the short end, the bellows will be bunched up enough that you may have trouble getting any rise or tilt in the composition. On the long end, the bellows are going to be pulled tight enough that you may not have a lot of options as well (if the bed allows you to extend, which the linhof does, for example). Some of them have interchangable bellows, so you can put a good WA bellows on, but that is more to carry, etc.

Kyle is using a 105mm on the wide end, which is roughly equivalent to a 35mm lens in 35mm world, so not too wide. The Horseman 45FA will supposedly take down to about a 65mm lens, which is equivalent to about 22mm in 35mm cameras. Anything wider is functionall impossible. It won't accept a recessed lens board and even with the 65mm (and 75mm, but maybe not the 90mm) you will be getting the front bed in the frame and will have to drop the front bed and indirectly square up the lens and the film to make an unobstructed straight shot.

If you are thinking about using this with roll film, you have the same problem with the shorter lenses and the bellows getting bunched up, but you won't have an issue with the bed getting into the shot.

Overall, they are a GREAT field camera option as long as you understand the limitations of them and can work within those, but you just have to go through the process of figuring out what you will want to do just to be sure. If you are really a wide-angle shooter, I think I'd be looking at another camera, because these clamshell cameras get a bit jammed up into the housing when shooting wide angle LF lenses. Similarly, if you like shooting longer telephoto lenses (100mm or longer on 35mm) you are going to have issues with this camera (but you can get a telephoto LF lens like the Nikkor 270mm T or 360mm T or the Fujinon 300mm T and they should all work fine on the camera without a terribly long extention board. What you need to figure out is if the "flange focal length" of the telephoto lenses is compatible, not the actual focal length.

Horseman Cameras are amazing. Back in the film days, I had 3 VH 6x9 models. Then I bought a Toyo 45A and didn't like it at all.

Hey Kyle, I think I remember you mentioning a 6x12 back for 4x5. Will we be seeing a video about that in the future?

Damn, a really good alternative to the Toyo ... I'm actually in the market for one as well. Thank for the great content once again Kyle.

I'm not a large format photographer, but it's always intrigued me. I have a class coming up in the fall where we'll be working with 4x5 cameras, developing our own film, and then printing in the darkroom. Been loving this channel!

Lol, was watching your horseman reviews literally last night! Good timing 😀

Great video and awesome camera. It was actually my first choice for a field camera, party due to budget at the time. But once i got it, as much as i loved it i soon realised it was too limiting for me. I sent it back and decided to bite the bullet and got a Linhof Technika. Night and day difference of course but also i would presume heavier. But it has a lot more options for movement and lenses, which is what i really needed. 3 years down the road and i am personally glad i opted to go linhof route as a project i am currently working on requires me to have fast wide angle lenses with large image circles. Also i am clumsy as a goat so i can be safe in the knowledge that the linhof will take my abuse hahaha

I used one of those for a few years. I loved it. Good buy for sure.

Beautiful looking beast... daunting looking process, but very zen way to take photographs... one day maybe :)

Great, looks replica of Linhof

Nice, man cant believe you gave up on the GIBELLINI, those cameras are GORGEOUS. I just got into large format with a CHAMONIX 45 F2 and LOVE IT. Nice video here.

Nice video mate!