Stenopeika Air Force 4x5 long term review - is this a good first large format camera?

When the Stenopeika first arrived I liked it... but how about after 18 months?

Is it still the camera I loved in the beginning? Have I grown tired of it? Am I yearning for something else?

Firstly - get your t-shirts here: https://120ist.shop

Ok now let's get down to business. What's good about it, and what isn't.

Let's start with a good point - for a newly built large format camera, it's great value. Sure it's not as cheap as an Intrepid, but it's better than an Intrepid. It is better designed, looks better, has more movement options, it's lighter, smarter and more flexible (in what you can do with it, not in its structure). And for not a whole lot more money, that's a whole lot more you're getting for your money.

Ok let's go for a bad point next - I can't compare this to other brands, because I've never dropped another brand of camera... but when I dropped my Air Force 4x5, it kinda crumbled. I didn't drop it from high, but there was a LOT of damage. So hardcore it ain't. But would any other large format camera fair any better? I think I was pretty unlucky with how it landed, the corner took the main impact and it had a fairly heavy lens on at the time, so it's probably not surprising that I shredded it.

Ok, good point - it can take a 65mm lens! I LOVE my 65mm lens, although I admit it's not the greatest for portraits, as demonstrated. But there are other lenses for that. For super wide landscape shots, it's the best. And there aren't many LF cameras out there that can squeeze short enough to use a 65mm lens. So I love that.

I'm going to throw in a load of good points now - 1.5kg and folds up super small, as you see in the video. Top marks for portability.

Easy to use, easy to set up, it's has zeroing stops all over, so getting yourself to a good solid starting point is super easy. Again, as demonstrated in the video, where I set the whole thing up with one had holding the video camera.

Pretty easy modular system, most bits are secured with a row of magnets, so removing the back and the bellows is quick and easy, and everything locks back into place with a pleasing clunk.

It's pretty simple to repair as well. I can tell you that from experience!!

All in all, I'm a huge fan of this camera. I was a huge fan of the Air Force model when it first arrived, but now me and this camera have been through some stuff together. I genuinely feel a bond with it, just like I have with my S2A, and just unlike with my ETRS.... even though I've dropped that too. Damn, I drop a lot of cameras. I should work on that.

Aaaaaanyway, enough from me. What do you think? Stenopeika fan? Tell me about it in the comments!