8x10 Field Camera: opinions?!

dphphoto · Feb 5, 2006

You can pick up a NFS 'dorff for not a lot of money. Good, sturdy examples usually go for around $700. or so. For landscape, you probably won't miss the front swings. If you want to shoot a lot of buildings, then it might want the front swings.
Or...you could always pick up a Calumet monorail cheap on eBay. Nice solid cameras, fairly lightweight, and you can remove the bellows and fold them flat into a briefcase style aluminum case so they're not so bulky to carry around. Dean

Peter De Smidt · Feb 5, 2006

Anyone here have a Wehman and live fairly close to Fond du Lac, WI?

Mark Fisher · Feb 5, 2006

Bruce Wehman is about 2 1/2 or 3 hours away from you in Rockford, IL. He is one very nice guy.
Side note: I met him when he was (maybe still is?) a corporate photographer at Sundstrand (big aerospace firm) in Rockford. He was photographing all my nice pump hardware (I'm an engineer) 20 years ago with a 4x5 in black and white. He'd come down the the lab, set up the camera, open the shutter, wave a light around and close the shutter. Perfect every time. I suspect they don't do it that way any more (!)

mejiro · Feb 6, 2006

Anyone have experience with any of the various Plaubel Pecos?

Jon

Frank Petronio · Feb 6, 2006

Any Plaubel will be very nice quality but really, really heavy compared to anything discussed here.

Charles Webb · Feb 7, 2006

Someone mentioned a "wobbly" B&J, that really surprises me, I have three of them, and not a "wobbly" in bunch. The major and only problem I have found with the B&J is the weight. I do not consider them to be "Field" cameras, but I have schlepped mine all over the Colorado hill's and yet to have a negative soft due to the "Wobblies". The wind blows here nearly all the time, and the B&J can serve as a near sail at times, but with my old tripod it stays put. I have a lot of faith in my old boxes, but I dislike the weight very much.
So I have adopted 5x7 because I can physically handle it!

Charlie..................

Whoops, I am talking about the 8x10 B&J long bellows flat bed. I just realized you were talking about a "Grover". No comparison between these two cameras! A Grover in Colorado wind resembles a weaping willow!

jp80874 · Feb 7, 2006

Frank Petronio said:
Skip the dorf and wait patiently for an older Arca to show up. They are light, expandable, have full movements, etc. and far less than $2000.

Use the savings to start saving up for a Phillips.

I also liked the Kodak MV I tired, great for the money.

You can find a used Phillips for under two grand if you watch carefully. Here is one that went for $1825 on eBay last December. "Very fine 8X10 PHILLIPS ADVANTAGE Camera Item number: 7570023255". A current model ($2800 new price last year) with minor bells and whistles went on eBay for $3938, just because it was available. "PHILLIPS 8X10 COMPACT II COMPLETE OUTFIT! MUST SEE! Item number: 7554554344"

I purchased an early 1990s Phillips Advantage serial #145 for about $2350 two years ago, but it had almost no use. Light, nice long bellows, lots of movement front and back. You can talk specs, quality, high tech details, but for me there are two indicators of how good and how desired the Phillips is.

Here is a camera you really have to search to learn anything about, the very opposite of mass marketing, yet look at eBay prices when they do show up. Look at the Phillips order book for a new short bellows 26" model, the Compact II. Last year Dick Phillips allowed orders January 1-10 and was sold out for the year. That is 40 cameras. This year he allowed orders January 1-3 and will take no further orders for 8x10s this year!

Think about that. This is a one man business, sold out for the year's production, in three days! By the way, don't call Dick today to try and talk him into a sale. He left last Friday for Antarctica to shoot penguins and things. This is a really nice guy who makes great cameras and I think has his priorities in order.

John Powers

mjs · Feb 7, 2006

So... does this mean that you'll be selling the B&J?

Personally, I'd go with a Wehman for all the reasons others have mentioned; including that Bruce is one heck of a nice guy. But it's out of my budget.

mjs

colrehogan · Feb 7, 2006

I use an old Ansco which I got from Midwest photo exchange. So it weighs 12 lbs and is not for backpacking, but it got me hooked on the format for not a lot of $$$. My only addition beyond the tripod for stability was to get a Manfrotto long lens support for the rear bed when I'm in the field.

JLMoore3 · Feb 7, 2006

Yes- both the B&J Grover and the Kodak 2D are for sale... I have the B&J listed on eBay and I am going to list the Kodak here as soon as I finish getting the pics together... I figured that most of the people I've talked to here are more interested in a field-style camera like the 2D, rather than the monorail B&J.

mjs said:
So... does this mean that you'll be selling the B&J?

Personally, I'd go with a Wehman for all the reasons others have mentioned; including that Bruce is one heck of a nice guy. But it's out of my budget.

mjs

df cardwell · Feb 7, 2006

Deardorff, no front swings. Unless you use that 20" lens a whole lot.

.

Sal Santamaura · Feb 7, 2006

jp80874 said:
...He left last Friday for Antarctica to shoot penguins and things...

Just so there's no misunderstanding, I'd suggest rewording as "...to photograph penguins and things..."

JohnArs · Feb 7, 2006

I'm now also a happy owner of a B&J 8x10 and I love it much it does all what I need as soon as I have the lensboard adapter for my Sinar boards.
Mine is almost unused and stable as it can be. And this lovely red bellows!

John Kasaian · Feb 7, 2006

Remember that the camera is only a part of the 8x10 package. You'll need a tripod that'll support it. Heavy ones for studio use are often cheap enough now(who needs a bridge piling to support an itty bitty digi?) but ones that'll "back pack" easily certainly aren't cheap. Film holders too. The prices for used ones has gone up and new ones are out of sight!. The four or five hundred bucks you'll save on a used 'dorff will help your budget a lot. Just a thought of course.

What you'll really want to look at is how sympatico you are with your new 8x10. The 'dorff works well for me (even better than the KMV that I had before, which was a truly great camera as well) but it may not for you (I get along nicely with Agfa Anscos too) but yo'll never know until you spend some time with it in the field---maybe a lot of time---so if you've got the opportunity try out as many different models as you can.

Good Luck!

jp80874 · Feb 7, 2006

Sal Santamaura said:
Just so there's no misunderstanding, I'd suggest rewording as "...to photograph penguins and things..."

Sal,

I can't speak to Dick Phillips feelings on the subject, but having read the following and being very fond of roast duck as well as a former shooting pro for Remington Arms, I would give it a try.

"Google search- Do Penguins taste nice?
It may sound like a strange question but people do actually eat penguins. In Antarctica there are research stations where scientists live for months or even years so for them having a penguin for dinner is much like us having a Sunday roast. From their experiences we have been told that they taste like duck and that they also have a high oil content, due to all the fish that they eat."

John Powers

celluloidpropaganda · Feb 7, 2006

Seems like Masterviews are getting rarer - I spent a couple of months looking on Ebay last year and only a few popped up (going for higher prices than I expected).

avandesande · Feb 7, 2006

Keep in mind that even well designed cameras will get floppy after a lot of use. I am sure this afflicts more than a handful of KVM and B&J cameras. You won't have this problem with a newer canham, phillips or wehmen.

JG Motamedi · Feb 7, 2006

To agree with celluloidpropaganda, I think that Masterviews are succumbing to hype; Their prices are running parallel to that of Deardorffs, and they are much less common. I spent some time looking around for an 8x10, and was really thinking about a Masterview, but I ended up with a Deardorff thanks to our Mr. Galli. So, for those recommending them, please be aware that they are not as cheap nor as plentiful as they once were.

Actually, if I had my way I have a Canham...

DeanC · Feb 7, 2006

JG Motamedi said:
Actually, if I had my way I have a Canham...

I've been wondering why more people haven't mentioned Canham. I've got one of his 8x10s and I've been really happy with it. Base and axis tilts, rise/fall and swing on the front. Base tilt, swing and shift on the rear. Lots of bellows. Reasonably light weight and plenty rigid. Plus you can get a 7x17 or 8x20 back when the ULF bug bite you.

Dean

Mark Sawyer · Feb 7, 2006

I use a Kodak 2D and Kodak Master, and really like them both. My 2D has no front swings or tilts, but they are more of a convenience than a necessity. With front rise/fall and rear swing/tilt, you can get the film and lens into the same configuration as with a camera with both front and rear swings and tilts. Also, there were a few factory 2D's with front swings and tilts, and it wouldn't be a difficult modification.

The Master can be modified to accept a standard 6" lensboard without a great deal of trouble. I modified mine in maybe three or four hours (including design), so I could switch lenses and boards back and forth between it and the 2D.

Michael Kadillak · Feb 7, 2006

Used a Kodak Master and like it a lot but was always and was fearful of the fact that it was out of production since the 60's. I came across a used tan Toyo 810M and found it to be one of the most well designed and rugged cameras I had ever used. Solid as a brick house, a bale back and actual customer support sent the Kodak down the road. Later on I came across a bearly used Canham wooden 8x10 and since it used the same Toyo lensboards and had the ability to convert in 10 seconds to ULF I added it to the arsenal.

My recomendation would be to get behind as many 8x10 cameras as you possibly can and go through the paces with them and one of them will resonate with you. Sometimes the cheaper option can work, but over time you will want to work with as dimensional camera as you can possibly afford.

Cheers!

GregY · Feb 7, 2006

I use a Deardorff for 5x7 and a Canham standard for 8x10. I backpack either of them. I think there are lots of good choices. If I had seen a good Deardorff when I got my 8x10 I would have bought it. For me it's the Chev Ford story. Some cameras are easily set-up and easy handling. I always marvel at how Deardorff got it right so long ago. I sold an Ebony and kept the Deardorff 5x7 w/ reducing back.
Greg

Kever · Feb 8, 2006

Here is another vote for the Wehman. It is light, rugged and meant to be used out in the real world.

Amund · Feb 8, 2006

Kever said:
Here is another vote for the Wehman. It is light, rugged and meant to be used out in the real world.

And one more from me, I am really pleased with my Wehman, and Bruce is a great guy.

BradS · Feb 8, 2006

JG Motamedi said:
Actually, if I had my way I'd have a Canham...

Agree. Now if I could just hold off buying glass long enough to save enough $$$ for the 8X10 Canham Wood Field....

8x10 Field Camera: opinions?!

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