Reviving this threat 10 years later
Just got a B&J 8x20 couple of days ago. Came in an original case with extension rail, three holders and the cheapest lens they listed in their catalog from 1965 (or was it 63...) - the 14x17 Tessar by B&L. I have a Korona right now and will be selling it shortly. It is nothing like the B&J - the B&J has all the movements in the front while the Korona only has only rise/fall. Wondering if I should have someone re-finish the B&J by taking off the grey paint - I've seen people do it with 8x10 and others and the wood under there looks great!
The history behind my 8x20 is that it was used by Birch Oceanography Institute from 1965 to I don't know when and then they were gonna literally toss it, but the guy I bought it from took pity on it and in his garage it resided till last week. The camera was always mounted vertically on the second floor of some building and was shooting down through a hole in the floor onto a table with some marine specimens laid out. Then I guess they made contact prints because with the package came a custom 8x20 incredibly heavy, solid steel contact printing frame - it being steel it literally weighs almost as much as the camera itself. Also a nice touch was the fact that there was folder in the box with a repair manual (parts and diagrams) and three or four letters of communication between the institute and B&J of them discussing if it will work for their project and the deciding on a lens.
So yes, they exist and at least one of them is still in very very nice shape with only a bit of ocean-air rust on metal parts and three or four places in the front of the bellows that have a bit of tape on (the rest of the red bellows are like new).
