I had one that was in terrific condition and fairly tight for a Deardorff. It began life with no front swings (NSF), and at the time, spare Deardorff parts were being sold on EBay. So, I was able to upgrade to front swings. It was quite a beautiful camera.
Frankly, I do no care for the camera. They're heavy, and they're borderline flimsy. Try extending the camera for a 610mm lens, and you'll see what I mean. Nor can one tighten them down like one can with other better made cameras. They're also not suitable for super-wide lenses, like a 210mm SA or any lens with a smaller focal length, if you want movements. There's no such thing as a bag bellows for a Deardorff. Also know that Deardorffs have neither front nor rear shift. Shift must be effected by using front and rear swing.
One nice thing about a Deardorff is the vertically sliding front that holds the lens board. If indeed you're able to get front rise using the bellows on this or that lens, it's easy to fine tune rise/fall with the sliding front. The sliding front is limited to an inch up and to an inch down on an 8x10 Deardorff. Some photographers resort to an offset lens board for greater rise and fall with a Deardorff.
For versatility, I much prefer a rail camera like an older style Arca Swiss. While the parts are rare, one can even configure a Sinar 8x10 with bag and pleated bellows that weighs less than a Deardorff. I have an older, inexpensive Bender kit 8x10 rail camera that weighs about 9 lbs, which I've customized to my needs. I would choose this camera over a Deardorff any day of the week.
In summary, if you can live with a 250mm wide-field lens (e.g. a Fuji 250mm f6.7 lens?) as a wide angle (but no wider), and you don't wish to extend the bellows beyond about 480mm, a nice Deardorff 8x10 can be beautiful in appearance, and they'll work OK. But if you get too far outside those limits, you'll be disappointed. I sure know that I was.
