C41
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
View profile →view-large-format
The Toyo 45C is a 4x5-inch sheet film camera produced by Toyo View (Toyo Optical Co., Ltd.) of Japan, introduced around 1990. It is a clamshell-style folding field camera distinguished from the earlier 45A and 45A II by its hinged front door construction, which folds closed over the lens and front standard rather than using a sliding baseboard rail. This clamshell design allows the camera to close to a more compact package than the flat-bed competitors, making it slightly easier to transport in a camera bag without removing the lens.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 4x5 format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
View profile →BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
Develop 4x5 film
Labs in our directory that process 4x5 film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
A compact clamshell-folding 4x5 metal field camera with Linhof Technika lensboard compatibility and simplified controls for location work.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 4x5 in (standard double dark slides, roll-film backs) |
| Mount | Linhof Technika (96x99mm) lensboard |
| Style | Clamshell folding field camera |
| Movements | Front: rise/fall, shift, tilt, swing; Rear: limited |
| Bellows | ~ (not verified) |
| Build | Aluminum alloy, die-cast zinc hardware, leatherette |
| Battery | None |
| Weight | ~ (not verified) |
| Tripod | Standard 3/8-inch |
Toyo View has produced large-format cameras in Japan since the early 1960s, initially as a manufacturer of precision studio monorails and expanding into the folding field camera market as demand for portable large-format systems grew through the 1970s and 1980s. The 45A series was the company's answer to the Linhof Technika and Wista 45 in the folding-metal field camera segment.
The 45C appears to represent a cost-rationalized variant or successor aimed at photographers who needed the basics of 4x5 field work - movements, ground-glass focusing, standard lensboard compatibility - without paying for the more refined engineering of the 45A II. The clamshell door is the most distinctive feature; it eliminates the sliding-base mechanism of the flat-bed design in favour of a simpler hinged enclosure.
The 45CX variant is related and may represent either a later revision or a parallel model with differences in construction or movements.
For photographers entering large-format on a budget in the early 1990s, the Toyo 45C offered a practical package: a sturdy Japanese metal body, Linhof Technika board compatibility, and a more compact folded form than the flat-bed designs. The clamshell door means that lenses can typically remain mounted during transport in a padded bag, reducing the setup time compared to cameras that require the lens to be removed or the front standard to be manually erected from a folded baseboard.
The camera is not a collector piece and does not command the premium of the Toyo 45A II, Wista 45, or Horseman VH. This makes it one of the more affordable ways to enter the Technika lensboard ecosystem with a metal Japanese field camera body.
The 45C accepts all Linhof Technika-format lensboards. Commonly used lenses:
BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Toyo 45C
Image coming soon