I need a different 8x10 camera.

dpurdy

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I have used this early version Zone VI 8x10 for about 40 years. I have shot thousands of negs with it. However I have always hated it. It is heavy and it fights me and I can't trust the control knobs to hold anything securely. When I go to cock my lens I am liable to change the tilt of the front. Changing from horizontal to vertical back is very persnickety and fiddly. The focus gets easily out of track. Basically nothing about this camera is a joy to use. It just sucks. I have stuck with it all these years because I never had a lot of money and always there are more necessary things demanding my money so I just put up with it. Now however I am getting pretty old and the struggle to use this camera is getting to be more than I can deal with. Not to mention the struggle I have with this old heavy Bogen tripod. Today going from a low horizontal looking down camera position to a 5 feet up vertical position looking over a table top took me more than 30 minutes and I needed to take a long break after during which I am writing this post.

I am wondering what is the best no frills sort of light weight 8x10 with secure dependable controls. My Z6 is a wooden flat bed.. I wonder if I should think about a rail.
I am not ready to stop making new work maybe a better easier camera would keep me working longer.
Any advice?
 

koraks

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dpurdy said:
no frills sort of light weight 8x10 with secure dependable controls
Click to expand...

Uhm, have you fixed this:
dpurdy said:
I never had a lot of money
Click to expand...

Because I suspect that in that equation, the solution will be on the $-axis.

Sorry for not being able to offer any specific help; I only have rickety cameras. Apart from the 8x10 Sinar Norma, perhaps, but that's the polar opposite of light weight...
 

BrianShaw

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Perhaps now is a good time to consider downsizing to 4x5…
 

OrientPoint

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Sounds like a version of the "Good, light, cheap - pick any two" conundrum.

An Intrepid 8x10 is light and cheap (as these things go). I would not call the controls "secure dependable", but I've found that they're good enough for most situations. Having a camera that is cheap enough that I don't have to worry about dinging it is a nice plus.
 

Donald Qualls

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I seriously doubt a monorail will be any lighter than that Zone VI.

What I've always hankered for (but never handled) is a Deardorff -- but I don't know enough about them to make a recommendation.

It sounds like what you really want is a new, cheap, carbon fiber tripod (even a cheap one will be lighter and easier to use than whatever you're using now -- I have one that was $250 on eBay and it weighs less than half what my old aluminum surveying tripod did, is more and more easily adjustable, and came with a quick-mount socket and plate, though I'm not sure if/when I'll ever be able to find more plates for it).

Then I have to think you'd be ahead shopping for pre-War wooden field cameras. You'll give up some (seldom used) movements for weight saving and compactness. You might look at the YouTube channel titled "Large Format Friday"-- Matt Marrash, the creator there, has an 8x10 that he backpacks into places with some serious hills. Admittedly, he's younger than either you or me, but he makes it look easy. I've forgotten what brand and model he has, but he mentions it now and then in his videos (look for ones two to four years old, there were a lot of 8x10 shooting trips in that period). You might be able to get enough for your Z6 and tripod to afford what he's using and a cheap eBay carbon tripod, and lighten everything up a lot.
 

Nicholas Lindan

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OrientPoint said:
Sounds like a version of the "Good, light, cheap - pick any two" conundrum.
Click to expand...

I think that needs to be turned on its head: Take your choice of bad, heavy or overpriced. Heck pick all three if you like.

I have a Shen Hao that I like. But the prices seem to have tripled.
 
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Kino

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dpurdy said:
I have used this early version Zone VI 8x10 for about 40 years. I have shot thousands of negs with it. However I have always hated it.
Click to expand...

That's discouraging to hear, as I have been looking at the Z6 8x10 field cameras as an alternative to my C2 Calumet (which I ordered in a fit of ignorance).

Is this the Wista-built variant or do you know?
 

OrientPoint

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Nicholas Lindan said:
I think that needs to be turned on its head: Tale your choice of bad, heavy or overpriced. Heck pick all three if you like.

I have a Shen Hao that I like. But the prices seem to have tripled.
Click to expand...

Yes you're absolutely right, but I was trying to be positive...

I do enjoy the Intrepid but it's not a precision instrument.
 

Rick A

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I shoot a Nagaoka 8x10, not too awfully heavy and not too awfully fiddly. I've been contemplating parting company with it for health reasons, but I'm not quite there yet.
 

blee1996

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If you don't use those big huge barrel lenses that really stresses the front standard, then the Chamonix 8x10 might be a good fit. I saw sometimes they sell for around $2000-2500 in LFF or here.
 

Alan9940

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This is certainly the old conundrum for we 8x10 fools! IMO, you're looking at three "weight classes": 1) 5 - 7 lbs, 2) 8 - 12 lbs, and 3) the rest (think monorails, the Calumet C2, etc.) Also, you'll have the price point to consider; the Intrepid is light and inexpensive, a Chamonix Alpinist X is mid-weight and expensive, a Canham Wood Field is mid-weight and expensive. Starting to see the pattern here?

For my own experience, I shot an 8x10 Deardorff for over 40 years and carried that camera outfit into some hard places to get to, but at 72 I just can't carry that outfit nearly as far as I used to be able to. I still use it, but the subject better be fairly close to the car! Several years ago, I moved to an Intrepid 8x10 and with lightweight Fuji C lenses and I can hike that outfit to anywhere I care to go. The Intrepid is a fiddly camera and is so far from precision as to be laughable, but it is absolutely supreme at one thing: enabling me to continue making images with my favorite format!
 
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dpurdy

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I am interested in Nagaoka because my 4x5 called a TOKO was made by the same guy and it is a great camera.
I would certainly be interested in looking at Chamonix which I think are Chinese? I have seen posts of people who like them.
I am also curios about a Combo rail camera there is a pretty nice looking one on eBay for about 1300. I don't know anything about them.
 

GregY

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I'd go with the Chamonix Alpinist. Sell the Z6....to offset the cost. Nothing is a cheap as it was 40yrs ago. I don't think going cheap with the Intrepid will work out for you, if you favour precision....
 

OrientPoint

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The Nagaoka is very light and compact (for an 8x10), pretty much the same size/weight as an Intrepid but nicer quality. Hard to find though.

Cambo monorails are very very heavy...
 
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dpurdy

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What is multi quote? Anyway, right out of photo school my first job was using an old green Calumet 8x10 shooting flat copies. What a tank but at 24 I didn't know any better. Then I got a job in a commercial studio and they had 3 of those old Calumets though they were black not green. A fellow employee bought a Toyo 8x10 and loaned to me on occasion but that is a very limited camera. Most of the table top work in the company was with 4x5 and my Tachihara didn't have enough bellows so I bought a Toko with 2 more inches and sliding and focusing back. Rambling here.
 

Paul Howell

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As I recall Zone VI made a couple of 8X10s, was one a light weight version of their standard model. I also recall that in the 70s the New York discount sellers sold a light weight camera from India in 8X10, but I think it got poor reviews.
 
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dpurdy

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Paul Howell said:
As I recall Zone VI made a couple of 8X10s, was one a light weight version of their standard model. I also recall that in the 70s the New York discount sellers sold a light weight camera from India in 8X10, but I think it got poor reviews.
Click to expand...
Yes Paul before I bought the Zone 6 I bought for dirt cheap a Raja made in India 8x10 that I used until I dropped in on a concrete floor. Then I bought the Zone 6 which I believe was a the first version. They later changed manufacturer and the camera got better. I don't know if the lighter version you mentioned is different or just first vs second version.
 

Richard Man

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The Steno<something> is supposedly lightweight and reasonably priced, around $2000+. The Tachihara also can be found for $2000+. The Intrepid is the lowest cost, and supposedly the latest gen is quite decent, at under $1000. They are all around 8-10 lbs, I think.

I used a Tachi for about 3 months and it's definitely good enough for most. It doesn't have shifts though - one reason I sold and upgraded.
 

lecarp

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You don't need a different 8x10, you need more 8x10's.
Lessons from a lifetime in large format!
 

BillBaileyImages

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Have you consulted Omer, the owner of CatLabs? He is a genius (really), sells only film gear, and is one of the best small-business owners I've had the privilege of knowing.
 

MTGseattle

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What about some rehab of the old Zone VI? Some strategic nylon washers to help the knobs bite down on the other metal parts more?

I'm pretty sure that only a Chamonix or an Intrepid will help you save any worthwhile weight.
 

BillBaileyImages

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Mr. Richard T. Ritter, the actual builder of many of the Zone VI cameras, is still active. He built a gorgeous Graflok back for my Zone VI 4x5, and he DOES make a relatively-light 8x10. He could likely refurbish your Zone VI 8x10 since he probably built it!
 
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