Field cameras are typically folding flat bed cameras with front movements, although some cameras generally accepted as field cameras have rear movements too. View cameras typically have full movements at both ends, don’t fold up into a box, and can be flat bed or monorail.
A field camera is a view camera that can be folded in a compact size. Modern designs are a little different from the first folding field cameras from the 19th century. In general they have more limited camera movements than monorail cameras, but, when folded, are relatively compact and portable.
Modern field cameras originate from the early interlocking box cameras of the 19th century. Rather than the wooden box used in 19th-century cameras, modern models substitute bellows to reduce the bulk of the cameras and make them easier to use outside the studio.
Field cameras have the front and rear standard mounted on sliding rails fixed to a hinged flat bed that can be attached to a camera support, such as a tripod. These cameras are usually made of wood or, sometimes, lightweight and strong composites such as carbon fiber. With the bellows fully retracted, the flat bed folds up, reducing the camera to a relatively small, light, and portable box. The trade off for this portability is that the standards are not as mobile or as adjustable as they are on a monorail design. The rear standard in particular may be fixed and offer no movement. These large format, but transportable, cameras are popular with landscape photographers. Tachihara and Wisner are examples of modern field cameras at opposite ends of the price scale.
The Monorail camera is the most common type of studio view camera, with front and rear standards mounted to a single rail that is fixed to a camera support. This design gives the greatest range of movement and flexibility, with both front and rear standards able to tilt, shift, rise, fall, and swing in similar proportion. These are generally made of metal with leather or synthetic bellows, and are difficult to pack for travel. Sinar and Toyo are popular manufacturers of monorail view camera systems. ARCA-Swiss produces monorail cameras for field use in addition to models for more conventional studio applications. Many manufacturers also offer monorail extensions that move the front or rear standards farther away from each other to facilitate focusing on close objects
New South Associates has a variety of modern cameras and equipment for large format photography, which our photographers are trained to use. We can pick out the best equipment to document your resource in the best way for years to come.