Electronic Chess Board Free here. I have a Linhof 4X5 Technika Master I am trying to get additional information on(year made, value, etc) and am wondering if there is a reference site or person to contact.

I have two questions. I own a very old 13 cm by 18 cm Technika with serial number 3241. When was the camera manufactured? The second question relates to my Technika III version V.

I can find no serial number. I think that I have looked everywhere, even under the accessory shoe. There were some partly legible numbers on the cam before I removed it (along with the rangefinder, etc. In order to lighten the camera for field work). There is no evidence of filing or grinding off a serial number. Were there cameras manufactured without serial numbers? And, if not, where should I look?

The number on the cam is most likely the serial number of the lens that the cam was matched with, not the camera serial number. I doubt that Linhof made Tech IIIs without serial numbers. This is after all a German company we're talking about here.

I'm surprised Bob didn't tell you where to look for it. On the later Technika models the number is under the accessory shoe but I very vaguely recall reading somewhere that it's in a different location on the IIIs. However, I could be completely wrong.

If I am, is it possible that the numbers have just worn off under the shoe? I have a very late Tech V, quite a bit newer than yours, and even with this considerably newer camera the numbers are worn quite a bit though they're still legible. Glenn - Since posting my message to you I've learned that it was partially wrong. I said that the number you saw on the cam was probably the serial number of the lens to which the cam was matched. That could be right but I've since read that there actually were two serial numbers on the cams for the III. The one on the top of the cam is as I said, the lens serial number.

However, on the cams for the III the serial number of the camera apparently was put on the underside of the cam. So you should see two serial numbers on the cam, one on top for the lens and one underneath for the camera.

I learned this from reading something, not from my own experience since I don't own a III, so if what I read is wrong then this message is wrong but it would be worth checking the underside of the cam. I'd be interested to know whether you see a number there. Brian and Bob, thank you very much for your replies. The number, which is only half legible and written in ink, is on the top of the cam. Nothing is on the bottom. So, perhaps this was not the original cam? I guess that I may never know the serial number of the camera.

Which does not bother me. My main concern was that, if there were an obvious place for the serial number on the camera body, and if it were removed, then I might own a camera that was stolen at some point in time (I bought it from a camera store and have a receipt, so legaly I was not worried, just ethically). Now, does anyone have a difinitive answer for my other question? (see my last previous message and the attached image). Bob, and others who are keeping in touch with this string, you may continue to receive odd questions like mine. My father-in-law passed away a couple of years ago and I've just received his Linhof Technika camera, lenses and various filters, etc., which I think is a late-model III (although parts look like a model IV). Some years ago, I took a course locally in large format cameras and have used one, on and off, when I'm not traveling with my old Hasselblad.