Seneca

[David Hall]

Saw a 5x7 Seneca for sale in a LA camera store today. Nice condition, beautiful wood. Doesn't look like it has many movements. 99 bucks if anyone is interested.

dgh

 

[Donald Miller]

David, Is it painted black like most Senecas that I have seen? Did you decide to pass on the 8X20?

 

[SteveGangi]

It probably has only front rise/fall, and rear tilt/swing. At that price though, if you needed a 5x7 it would be worth it for landscapes and such where a lot of moving around isn't needed.

 

[David Hall]

It is not painted black. It is a beautiful stained wood color. I don't know my woods, but it looks like it would be zone IV in darkness and deep brown. No red in the color.

Donald, I am still considering the 8x20. The seneca isn't for me...I just saw it today and thought someone here might be interested. The store i went into is off the beaten track. It's in the valley (LA area), not the big ones like samy's or calumet. I have been looknig for a green safelight for weeks and they had THREE. And all kinds of cool odds and ends that APUGGERS would appreciate.

dgh

 

[Donald Miller]

David, I forgot to ask, on the Seneca, are the bellows in decent shape?

 

[David Hall]

Donald,

Yes, the whole thing looked like it was in GREAT shape.

dgh

 

[Jim Chinn]

See if you can leave a deposit and try it out. Check the bellows for any pinholes and if it is still flexible and agile. If the bellows is in good to excellent shape it is worth the $99 just to get the bellows. Depending on the extension of the bellows you could easily get twice that much for it on Ebay.

Also check the back. Make sure there is no warpage of the ground glass frame and that the springs hold the back tight.

If bellows and back look good it is a bargain even with the limited movements. Holders are not that difficult to get used. They seem to come up on Ebay quite frequently and I think MPEX lists used ones often.

Finally, if you don't mind the wood not matching exactly, you could probably construct a new front standard that would incorporate swing and tilt. plenty of ideas on the DIY sites for LF.

 

[SteveGangi]

You can modify them to have front tilt and swing, but the picture I saw of one did not have enough detail for me to "reverse engineer" it.

 

[David Hall]

Good idea about putting the deposit on it and taking it for a spin. I will report back.

dgh

 

[Aggie]

..

 

[SteveGangi]

Ansel Adams did that with an 8x10. All it took (to oversimplify) was a light source and a way to keep stray light from leaking out. The setup is in his books. He set the camera/enlarger on a bench and used that. The catch is, do you have enough bellows. If you do, you're in business. If not, you have to use a shorter lens and hope it covers.

 

[Jim Chinn]

If you do buy it, another option is to take it to any local camera shows or swap meets. It is amazing the stuff you can buy or trade for.

 

[Jim Chinn]

Dave, if you Google Search "Seneca camera Co." there is a site that has pictures and histories of all the Seneca cameras. The site also has info and links on many other companies that manufactured early view cameras