This is my new camera: the Stenopeika Air Force 4x5. It is a hand-built Italian field camera, beautifully made, comprehensively featured, and reasonably priced for what it is. This is the article that starts my serious large format journey on the channel.
The Stenopeika Air Force has since become my main 4x5 camera. It has travelled to South Africa twice, photographed birds of prey at Wren, been smashed and rebuilt, and produced more keeper frames than I would have predicted. This article is about the first outing, when none of that had happened yet and I was just opening the box and seeing what Samuele had sent me.
A note on disclosure
Worth being upfront about this because it matters.
Samuele Bertinelli, the founder of Stenopeika, sent me this camera for free. Not for a review. Not in exchange for positive coverage. He sent it because he wants more large format content on the internet and he has decided to put cameras in the hands of people who will make that content.
I have agreed to make more large format videos and articles than I otherwise would have. That is the deal. I have not agreed to say anything specific about the camera, and I will tell you honestly what I think of it across this article and others.
For what it is worth: I genuinely like the camera, which is why my coverage of it is positive. If I did not like it, I would say so. But the disclosure is important and I want it on the record at the start of every Stenopeika piece.
If you are sceptical of free-product reviews, that is fair, and I would encourage you to weight my views accordingly. The proof is in the keeper rate, which has been good and growing.
What it is
The Stenopeika Air Force 4x5 is a hand-built 4x5 field camera made in Pistoia, near Florence, by Samuele Bertinelli. Stenopeika as a company is essentially Samuele working in his workshop, designing and building cameras at the pace he can make them. He produces several models including tailboard cameras up to 20x24 and fully articulated folders up to 16x20 (both around €7,000), but the Air Force 4x5 is the entry-level option at around €600.
In context:
- Intrepid Camera 4x5: cheapest option, around £200-300
- Stenopeika Air Force 4x5: mid-range, around £550-600
- Shen Hao: around £1,000-1,500
- Chamonix: around £1,500-2,000
So the Stenopeika sits comfortably above the budget Intrepid but well below the premium Chinese and other options. For the money, you get genuinely impressive build quality.
What is in the box
The camera itself folds down to a compact field-camera size that fits in any of my camera bags. 1.5kg (3 lbs 5 oz) with the tripod base plate fitted but without lens, lens board, or film holder. Very carryable.
The camera accepts standard Linhof lens boards, which means you can use the huge ecosystem of existing Linhof boards from other makers, or 3D print your own (which is what I have been doing in preparation for the camera arriving).
The detailing is where the camera stands out. A few features that genuinely delight on first handling.
The zeroing tabs
Both the front and rear standards have a clever mechanical zeroing system using small physical tabs that slide in and out.
For the front standard side-to-side movement: you loosen two knobs and slide the standard left or right. To re-centre, you push two outer tabs inward simultaneously, and when they meet they prevent any further movement, leaving the standard exactly centred.
For the front standard rise/fall: similar tabs that slide out when you raise the standard. When the lens board is centred, the tabs slot into corresponding arms, giving you a positive feel that you are at zero.
This is the kind of detail that you only appreciate when you have spent time with field cameras that do not have it. Re-zeroing a misaligned standard on most field cameras involves eyeball estimation and probably a small spirit level. On the Air Force, you push the tabs together and you are done. Simple, mechanical, foolproof.
It is also the kind of touch that tells you the camera designer is a photographer, not just a builder. Samuele has been here. He knows that re-zeroing in the field matters.
The movements
For a field camera, the Air Force 4x5 has a comprehensive set of movements:
- Front standard: swing, rise/fall, tilt
- Rear standard: swing, tilt (no rise/fall)
The only thing missing is rear standard rise/fall, which is fine for the vast majority of practical work. Pretty much every movement you would want is available. Architecture, landscape, product, perspective control, focus plane manipulation, all doable.
This is a serious technical camera, not a budget compromise that fakes the cheap end of features.
![PLACEHOLDER: the Stenopeika Air Force 4x5 unfolded with the Schneider Symmar 210mm mounted, showing the bellows extension and the front standard movements]
The 3D printed film holder
Samuele has also recently added a fully 3D printed film holder to his range, including the dark slides. He sent me one with the camera.
My first reaction was nervous. 3D printed film holders. Plastic dark slides. The standard Toyo film holders I have used for years are metal and feel well engineered. A 3D printed equivalent felt like a downgrade.
After the first outing my reaction is: it works. No light leaks, the dark slide slides cleanly, the film loads as expected. The build is admittedly lighter than the metal Toyo:
- Toyo 4x5 film holder: 194 grams
- Stenopeika 3D printed holder: 149 grams
That is a 50 gram saving per holder. For one holder, nothing. For ten film holders that you might carry on a serious shoot, that is 500 grams of weight saving. Half a kilo. Genuinely meaningful when you are already carrying a tripod and a camera bag for miles.
The 3D printed holder still feels slightly less robust than the metal Toyo (because it is), but for hiking and field work where weight matters, the saving is real and worthwhile.
I will use these alongside my Toyo holders. The Stenopeika ones for long walks; the Toyo for situations where weight does not matter and I want maximum reliability.
The first outing
I took the Air Force 4x5 out to the Cotswold escarpment for a walk through some woods. Nothing too ambitious for the first shoot. The plan was just to get used to the camera, learn its quirks, see how it handles in actual use.
A few notes from the morning.
The wrong lens board
I had been printing Linhof lens boards in preparation for the camera’s arrival. I had a Schneider Symmar 210mm f/5.6 mounted, plus a 135mm I had used previously, plus a 90mm I had been excited to try.
Problem: my 90mm was on the wrong type of lens board. Not a Linhof. I had assumed it was Linhof-compatible without checking, and it wasn’t. So the 90mm came along for nothing.
Lessons learned: check your lens boards before you leave the house. Specifically, check the precise board type, not just that it looks roughly right. Field cameras are particular about exactly what boards fit.
The 90mm has since been remounted on a proper Linhof board.
Working with the Schneider 210mm
This is my known-good large format lens. The Schneider Symmar 210mm f/5.6 is the lens that started everything for me on the large format side of the channel, originally rescued from an old ICA Ideal 225 whose body was beyond saving but whose lens and shutter were perfect. The whole ‘hacking my way into large format’ story is here if you want the origin.
On the Stenopeika, the 210mm works exactly as expected. Sharp, contrasty, well-corrected, easy to focus. A familiar lens on a new camera feels reassuring. You know what the lens does, so any quirks you notice are the camera’s, not the lens’s.
The Stenopeika’s bellows handle the 210mm easily. Plenty of extension for close work, plenty of room for movements. No struggles.
Working with the 135mm
Less successful. The 135mm from my older equipment is the lens that started the whole large format journey, but it has shown its age relative to the modern Schneider. On the Stenopeika it produces results but with noticeably softer detail than the 210mm in side-by-side compositions.
This is not the camera’s fault. The 135mm is a fine vintage lens that gives you vintage character. But for sharp landscape work, the 210mm is the keeper.
The wood scenes
I tried two compositions of trees on the Cotswold escarpment:
Scene 1: two trees in the foreground with an old gnarled beech behind. Portrait orientation. The 135mm did the work because the 90mm was off the table (wrong board).
Scene 2: another similar wood composition with the 210mm. Tighter, more compressed.
Scene 3: a wider Cotswold landscape from a ridge with the 210mm.
All technically fine. None spectacular.
![PLACEHOLDER: a frame from the first outing, showing the kind of result the Stenopeika produces on Delta with the Schneider Symmar 210mm]
The boring landscape photographs problem
I have to be honest about something the first outing exposed.
The landscape photographs I took were technically fine but emotionally boring. I knew this would happen. It is the same issue I have had with landscape photography for years and that I keep coming back to: I love being out there, I take photographs, the photographs are competent, the photographs do not excite me.
I have written about this more fully in the Snowdonia article that came later, where I started to work out what I think is the real problem (scene-setting without plot, lack of human narrative in the landscape). For this first Stenopeika outing, I just noticed the symptom without fully understanding the diagnosis.
What I think now, with the benefit of hindsight: I had a beautiful new camera and I took it somewhere predictable and shot predictable compositions. The novelty was in the camera, not in the photography. Better landscape photography would have started with the question “what am I trying to say?” rather than “what does this camera do?”
This is a project for 2023 (the year I made the video) and beyond. More on this in future articles. The Stenopeika is part of the answer because it forces you to slow down, but the camera alone is not the fix.
The 65mm temptation
Samuele’s literature mentions that the Air Force 4x5 can accept a 65mm super-wide lens with standard bellows. I do not have a 65mm.
The first thought that went through my head after reading this: I need a 65mm.
The second thought: maybe I should actually use the camera I have for a few more outings before deciding I need a new lens.
(Spoiler: I did not wait. Within about ten minutes of finishing the video I had ordered a Nikkor SW 65mm. It became one of my favourite lenses and got its first real outing at Wren Birds of Prey. Worth every penny.)
What I think of the camera
After one outing, with the caveats that I have had more outings since (and they confirm my first impressions), here is what I think.
Build quality: excellent. The detailing is meaningful, not cosmetic. The zeroing tabs, the lens board mounting, the magnetic back system, all show real thought.
Movements: comprehensive for a field camera. Nothing missing that matters.
Weight: very reasonable. 1.5kg without a lens or film holder is easily carryable.
Bellows range: handles 65mm through 210mm easily, with the 360mm Busch Aplanat (which I would later buy) also workable.
Lens board ecosystem: standard Linhof, which gives you huge flexibility.
3D printed film holders: a small extra that genuinely saves weight on serious shoots.
Price: at €600, this is the most camera I have seen for the money in 4x5. Above the Intrepid in build, well below the Chamonix in price.
The intangible: this is a camera made by a passionate photographer for other passionate photographers. You can feel that in the design choices. It is not just a product, it is someone’s craft.
Verdict
A genuinely good 4x5 field camera at a sensible price.
Buy it if:
- You want a hand-built field camera with real character
- You want comprehensive movements without paying premium prices
- You like supporting independent makers
- You appreciate clever engineering details
- You value direct contact with the camera maker (Samuele is responsive and helpful)
Skip it if:
- You are on the tightest budget (the Intrepid is half the price)
- You want a brand name with high resale value (Chamonix and Wisner hold value better)
- You need wide-format movements not available on a 4x5
The Stenopeika Air Force 4x5 is going to be my main 4x5 camera. More articles, more shoots, more journeys with this camera coming up. The first outing was just the start.
Big thanks to Samuele at Stenopeika for the camera and for the trust in sending it out without strings on what I might say. The deal was “make more LF content” not “say nice things about my camera.” I am keeping up my end of the deal because the camera is genuinely worth talking about.
If you have used a Stenopeika or are considering one, I would love to hear from you in the comments.