Thinking About Large Format? Check Out This Intrepid MK4 Review

The Intrepid camera is likely one of the most popular film cameras today. It became that way through offering a good product at a low price. 

In this video, Kyle McDougall reviews the Intrepid 4x5 MK4, a large format camera that can be bought brand new for 280 GBP (just over $350). For those that don’t know, Intrepid cameras are hand-made in the United Kingdom. They offer three formats, 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. In 4x5, they offer their standard wood frame model and the “Black Edition,” which is a tad lighter and made out of 3D-printed plastic. 

Sure, the Intrepid is not quite as nice as a Chamonix, Gibellini, or Ebony, but at the end of the day, it gets the job done. For large format especially, all it really needs to be is a light-tight box that can hold your film and lens. Even better, it has a decent range of movements. I have one of these cameras myself, and my experience has been pretty good, although I’ve had my complaints. That said, with a bit of super glue, I was able to get it up and running and in good shape. The only downside to shooting the Intrepid or large format in general is that you process so few frames at a time and each frame is particularly expensive. Though I’ve shot through a couple boxes of 4x5 sheets, I’ve yet to scan a single one!

James Madison's picture

Madison is a mathematician turned statistician based out of Columbus, OH. He fell back in love with film years ago while living in Charleston, SC and hasn't looked back since. In early 2019 he started a website about film photography.

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Why scan down? Have you printed one? Please print one. Even a contact print will do! Nike says, "Just do it."