Recently, I asked about getting into 8x10 and i got planty of advice.
As i mentioned, i am having difficulty finding arca swiss 8x10 second hand camera, but i saw some people convert their arca swiss 4x5 to 8x10..
Is it difficult or very expensive..? (arca swiss 4x5 looks easier to find..)
the trick you need to check--if you have an AS 4x5, is it 171mm lens boards, or 141mm? The 8x10 format frame doesn't change, but you need to make sure you buy the correct bellows because the front of the bellows need to match whatever front frame you have. I have a 6x9 F-classic, and a 4x5/141 M-Metric. Getting the 5x7 upgrade is high on my list.
the trick you need to check--if you have an AS 4x5, is it 171mm lens boards, or 141mm? The 8x10 format frame doesn't change, but you need to make sure you buy the correct bellows because the front of the bellows need to match whatever front frame you have. I have a 6x9 F-classic, and a 4x5/141 M-Metric. Getting the 5x7 upgrade is high on my list.
i dont have any arca at the moment, but seems like it is eaiser to find 4x5 than 8x10. so i was thinking to get 4x5 and conversion kit. (but conversion is also expensive. )
Second hand arca swiss is not very common in 4x5, and even rarer in 8x10 format. Maybe one at a time in a year...
(I was lucky to find a 8x10 on ebay)
Keep in mind your choice of front standard size. For the 8x10 conversion, you'll have to have a 171mm front (old bellow standard size) or 141mm front (new bellow standard size from 2004). Depends on what you find...
I got my 4x5 (a 141 F-Metric model with the funky big pleat bellows) from Igor at igorcamera.com. I thought the price was reasonable. (Under $2k). I just checked—he has an 8x10 for for $6500. In 4x5 he has a couple Discoverys for $1200. The Discovery is basically a F-Classic with a few small changes. The Discovery is a 171 model.