Deardorff..why so revered?

David A. Goldfarb · Apr 4, 2007

I haven't owned one myself, but I've handled a few Deardorffs, and my sense is that there is nothing special about a Deardorff in the way that there is nothing special about a Nikon F. It's not the fanciest, most advanced LF camera out there, and it's got some good features and some awkward features, but for most photographic situations where one would want to use a folding flatbed view camera, it has what one needs to get the job done.

Roger Hicks · Apr 4, 2007

Neil Miller said:
Roger - is this the right room for an argument?

Regards,
Neil

Dear Neil,

No.

Cheers,

R.

Neil Miller · Apr 4, 2007

Dear Roger,

Sorry - in that case I'll try room 12a, just along the corridor...

Regards,
Neil.

Roger Hicks · Apr 4, 2007

Neil Miller said:
Dear Roger,

Sorry - in that case I'll try room 12a, just along the corridor...

Regards,
Neil.

Dear Neil,

Do not trust the sign on the door.

Cheers,

R.

Rob Skeoch · Apr 4, 2007

I used a Dorf for a while... found it old, unstable with no real redeaming features but the price. It's not even in the same ball park as my new ebony.
-Rob

Emile de Leon · Apr 4, 2007

I've got a 8x10 Dorff from 1935 that has a new bellows and FS added. Camera works great. Can do (2) 4x10's or 5x8's on the same piece of film as well as 8x10 with the appropriate masking device that fits neatly behind the GG. 6" lensboard will take my huge f4 Dallmeyer 4B portrait lens. Photos are razor sharp. The only things that I don't like about this camera is the weight and the tiny front axis tilt knobs. Also...the vibe is great working with a camera of this age and demeanor. It was in a portrait studio for god knows how many years...this camera has a vibe like a 1950's Chevy...simple, straight ahead, gets the job done. For 500- I can't think of a better camera. Emile/www.deleon-ulf.com.

Campbell · Apr 6, 2007

I've owned 11 large format cameras, including two Linhof Technikas, a Linof Technikardan, two Ebonys, two Deardorffs, and various others. For precision, smooth movements, solid feel the Technikas were the best of the bunch. But for a combination of simple operation, everything falling naturally to the hand, more than adequate movements, beautiful wood and metal fittings, solid, smooth, no wobbles, the Dearforffs were the best wood camera I've ever owned, far better than the two Ebonys (SVTi and SVTe) that I owned IMO. Of course with a camera like Deardorff that hasn't been in production for quite a while it's hard to make generalizations (except for Roger Hicks that is). With no new cameras coming out of the factory there is no single "Deardorff" camera to talk about, we're all talking about used cameras in varying states of preservation. So one person who got a beater might think they're not very good cameras, someone who got one in mint condition would likely think they're great as I do.

Roger Hicks · Apr 6, 2007

Of course you can make generalizations. That's why (for example) Cadillac can charge more than Ford, or why Leicas are widely regarded as better cameras than Zorkiis. And why, condition for condition, I'd rather have any Gandolfi I've ever seen or handled than any roughly comparable Deardorff I've ever seen or handled -- though I have to admit I've seen and handled more Gandolfis.

Cheers,

R.

Terence · Apr 6, 2007

I believe Deardorffs are being made again, at least in small numbers, by Jack Deardorff. See Midwest Photo Exchange's website.

Bandicoot · Apr 6, 2007

Roger Hicks said:
Propaganda is about all it is. I'd back Sanderson in the 1920s as one of the most influential of all woodies, with Gandolfi (the original Precision which essentially succeeded the Universal tailboard, itself still available to special order) pretty high on the list too.

R.

Second that opinion on Sanderson.

When I was working in Iraq in the '80s we had a darkroom in our Baghdad house that contained a variety of equipment. I was using my own 35mm stuff and two Nikkormats that belonged to the expedition, but I remember that in that darkroom there was a lovely Gandolfi that I used to get out when no one was looking just to play with. (There was a Rolleiflex f2.8 Planar in there too.) It was a beautiful camera, but also very flexible, light, and precise, locking very solidly.

Sometimes I wonder what happened to that Gandolfi, and rather wish that I'd sneaked it home with me, since I imagine that it is now long gone.

Peter

herb · Apr 6, 2007

Deardorff so revered

I think it has to do with cachet. I had two dorffs, prefer either canham or ebony to them, but Arca is my favorite. If the GBP was up to $2 per, Gandolfi looks like a winner, and I have handled Lotus and was impressed.

Any of these are first tier cameras, and you have to use them to get a comfort level.

I had a beautiful 8x10, found it floppy compared to metal cameras.

It boils down to personal taste.

John Kasaian · Apr 6, 2007

Deardorffs are chick magnets. Gandolfi's aren't. Ebonys aren't.
Thats good enough for me!

Mark Sawyer · Apr 6, 2007

When I decided to buy a "new" 8x10 about four years ago, to replace my Kodak 2D, it came down to the Deardorff or the Kodak Master. I went with the magnesium construction of the Master, and still think it compares well with the new stuff out there today. Deardorff's are nice too, but wooden cameras are more delicate, and the Master doesn't mind wandering in the woods...

Oddly, for my work at home, I've returned to the 2D. After using it for thirty years, it just feels like my camera. And it does whatever I ask it to, and quite well.

View cameras aren't rocket science or engineering marvels. I think it just comes down to what you get used to...

Campbell · Apr 12, 2007

Rob Skeoch said:
I used a Dorf for a while... found it old, unstable with no real redeaming features but the price. It's not even in the same ball park as my new ebony.
-Rob

You found it old? How odd. And did that come as a surprise (considering the fact that Deardorff went out of business in the early 1980s or thereabouts?)

Terence · Apr 12, 2007

As I noted above, there ARE new Deardorffs being made. Seeing Midwest Photo Exchange's website.

Jim Noel · Apr 12, 2007

I have 5x7 and an 8x10. At one time I owned a Baby 4x5 and foolishly sold it.
I also own two other 8x10's and have had several other makes from time to time.

When it is time to photograph, the most common cameras for me to reach for are the Deardorffs. They are fast and easy for me to set up and use, all adjustments lock tightly, they have great bellows length, and there is no better arrangement for lens rise and fall in the industry. I may sell other cameras, but never again will I sell a Deardorff unless I happen to acquire a duplicate for that purpose.

Add to my list of cameras Sinar, Kodak Commercial, F&S Universal, Seneca Improved, to name a few.

Jeremy · Apr 12, 2007

*cough, cough* have 2 deardorff 4x5/5x7 cameras with front swings going up for sale soon if anyone is interested, just need to take pics of them. get in quick before they're gone *cough, cough*

David Preutz · Dec 23, 2021

PHOTOTONE said:
Why is the Deardorff wood field camera so revered over the years? Is it truly "better" than the other wood field camera options?
I waited 6 years to get a Gandolfi. The first 3 form the workshop were out of true & the 4th let me down big time on an overseas location job as the lightrap wasn't fully engaging & 50 sheets of 5x4 fogged.Fortunately I had my 10x8 Deardorff with a Graflock reduction back & we reshot the nest morning. Had it replaced & gave to a colleague when my 5x4 Special arrived from Chicago. Is it better? Without a doubt - triple extension - Gandolfi on a double, full swing on both standards - Gandolfi notches on the front only, and being a 5x7 with a reduction back, far less fiddly to operate. I tried an Ebony too, & sold that off. In terms of wooden field cameras, I don't think anything gets near a Deardorff and out of the metal ones, only a Linhof Technikarden, which I enjoyed using.

Arthurwg · Dec 23, 2021

BSAs, Vincents and Deardorffs? My only experience with BSAs was with my DBD34, which was a PITA to ride, mostly because of its giant GP carb that lacked an idle circuit. I know it was possible to drill the slide in a way that would allow it to idle, i or switch to a modern AMAL, but I sold it on..... As for the Vincent, that was lots of fun and actually akin to the Deardorff for its fabulous mechanical ingenuity, but you had to plan your stops a few blocks in advance because the brakes were so inadequate. Of my British bikes, my favorite was my Velocette Venom 500. Perfect

But back to the Deardorff, if they were good enough for Avedon and Kenro Izu they were good enough for me. But I was frustrated by the lack of "witness marks" that would have returned all movements to zero. The whole issue became moot when Type 55 film, Readyloads and Quickloads were no longer available. Now I shoot medium format.

abruzzi · Dec 23, 2021

Arthurwg said:
As for the Vincent, that was lots of fun and actually akin to the Deardorff for its fabulous mechanical ingenuity, but you had to plan your stops a few blocks in advance because the brakes were so inadequate.

As Hunter S. Thompson said...there are no lifetime members of the Vincent Black Shadow club.

GKC · Dec 23, 2021

The Zombie thread that won't die!
I found my 8x10 'dorff very intuitive to operate,
and that's good enough for me

Deardorff..why so revered?

David A. Goldfarb

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Deardorff..why so revered?

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