Starter 8x10 camera + lens recommendations

Nicholas W · Jun 23, 2022

I was just gifted a large-ish supply of Polaroid 809, 64T, and 55 film, and a Polaroid 8x10 processor. I am excited as I never thought I’d get to use these. Does anyone have recommendations on what a good first camera and lens would be? I am thinking I should go 8x10 and then just work with a reducing back for the 4x5. I am a college student on a fairly slim budget so I’m hoping not to spend a boatload to be able to shoot this stuff. I’ve been looking at the Intrepid Mk. II but have also read these often come with light leaks and I cannot bear to waste any of this precious film like that!

I don’t know much about large format stuff so advice is appreciated!

juan · Jun 23, 2022

Go here https://www.largeformatphotography.info/ and read the articles.

Nicholas W · Jun 23, 2022

juan said:
Go here https://www.largeformatphotography.info/ and read the articles.

Thanks!

greg zinselmeier · Jun 23, 2022

It’s tough wanting to make images with silver, because it gets expensive fast. And as a college student money is hard to find. More over you have been gifted some pretty cool stuff. So my advice is buy 8x10 camera and go out and do the thing you gotta do to make this happen. Carpi diem or however you spell that phrase.

greg zinselmeier · Jun 23, 2022

On chicago Craig’s list there is a 8x10 for sale .

abruzzi · Jun 24, 2022

the price scales with the size, so there aren't many inexpensive 8x10 systems. An 8x10 Kodak 2D or its variants (Century and a few others) might be one of the cheaper. There is a 8x10 Sinar P on ebay for $750 but it looks like it could use some attention and will weigh a ton. The Calumet C1 is reletively inexpensive. But the Kodak variants start in the vicinity of $5-600, and everything else (except pinhole) goes up from there, so the intrepid may actually be one of your least expensive options (given that a $500 2D will likely require some additional spending to be made functional.)

If your not too picky and prefer a wide lens, you should be able to find a lens with a shutter for a couple hundred. Find a table of LF lenses that shows the image circle and remember that 8x10 needs about 325mm for full coverage. Some lenses with a little less may work, but you'll likely get vignetting if you focus exactly at infinity. Older Fuji lenses are some of the cheapest lenses to cover 8x10--the first gen 210 or 250 are good options. I look at this list sometimes, but there are lots out there:

https://www.graflex.org/lenses/lens-spec.html

Remember that a 300mm is a "normal", 240mm is a nice mild wide, 420mm is a mild long lens. 300mm and longer in a shutter can get very pricey very quick.

John Wiegerink · Jun 24, 2022

Don't overlook the Burke & James (Navy gray) 8x10. Probably the cheapest you'll find and a very capable camera. Not as pretty as most, but not ugly either.
You can use non-shutter lenses like the good old days, since you be using small f-stops and pretty long shutter speeds. It will get you started anyway.

Alan Gales · Jun 24, 2022

I've seen Burke and James cameras, like John mentioned above, stripped of their gray paint, stained and covered in polyurethane. They looked quite nice if you want to do the work.

I paid less than $300 for my Fuji 250mm f/6.7 lens in Copal shutter. I have seen them go for less than $200. Fantastic lens with plenty of coverage for 8x10. Just make sure you get the 6.7 version. The white lettering will be on the inside of the lens. Later versions with different maximum aperture and lettering on the outside of the lens had less coverage and are not good for 8x10. Pair the Fuji with the Burke and James and you will have a nice low cost outfit. Well, low cost for 8x10. Film and film holders are not cheap either so do your research to make sure you can afford it.

Don't forget a sturdy tripod!

abruzzi · Jun 24, 2022

Alan Gales said:
Don't forget a sturdy tripod!

and an assistant to carry everything.

the last CMW Fuji 250 will cover, but with very little room for movements, but its a very nice lens for 5x7 or 4x5. I prefer long to wide, and long gets very expensive. I pieced together a 355mm G-Claron for about $450 all told, but most 360s are much more than that in a shutter. (I tried the hat method and didn't have much success, so most of the lenses have shutters.) Barrel lenses aren't nearly as bad, but then you have to use a manual process or get a packard or sinar shutter.

Alan Gales · Jun 24, 2022

abruzzi said:
and an assistant to carry everything.

Here is Clyde Butcher and his lovely assistant (his wife) in the everglades.

Perhaps, the OP needs a wife?

GregY · Jun 24, 2022

abruzzi said:
and an assistant to carry everything.

the last CMW Fuji 250 will cover, but with very little room for movements, but its a very nice lens for 5x7 or 4x5. I prefer long to wide, and long gets very expensive. I pieced together a 355mm G-Claron for about $450 all told, but most 360s are much more than that in a shutter. (I tried the hat method and didn't have much success, so most of the lenses have shutters.) Barrel lenses aren't nearly as bad, but then you have to use a manual process or get a packard or sinar shutter.

These days a G Claron 355 in a Copal is $900+. I had a real soft spot for the Commerciall Ektar 14" character, they're generally less but then the shutters likely need servicing.

gone · Jun 24, 2022

Your most inexpensive choice, and I use that word cautiously knowing that there is no inexpensive 8x10 anything, would be a store bought or homemade pinhole camera. People make great images w/ those. That's what I would do, and just get a feel for it before you pay a LOT more for something w/ a bellows and a good lens.

LF is not for everyone. I love the look, but it isn't something I can throw over my shoulder on a strap and ride my bike with. Selling LF items can be harder to do vs the smaller formats too, it's a much smaller market. So if you buy an expensive setup and decide it's not for you, you may have to take a hefty hit when you sell it.

Don't forget the tripod if you go LF. And something to carry your film and film holders with. And a focusing cloth or hood. And a light meter. And.....money.

awty · Jun 24, 2022

Perhaps you could hire one or find someone with one and borrow, maybe you could do a collaboration.
Theres no real cheap way of doing 8x10 unless you have plenty of time to wait for a bargain.

awty · Jun 24, 2022

Alan Gales said:
I've seen Burke and James cameras, like John mentioned above, stripped of their gray paint, stained and covered in polyurethane. They looked quite nice if you want to do the work.

I paid less than $300 for my Fuji 250mm f/6.7 lens in Copal shutter. I have seen them go for less than $200. Fantastic lens with plenty of coverage for 8x10. Just make sure you get the 6.7 version. The white lettering will be on the inside of the lens. Later versions with different maximum aperture and lettering on the outside of the lens had less coverage and are not good for 8x10. Pair the Fuji with the Burke and James and you will have a nice low cost outfit. Well, low cost for 8x10. Film and film holders are not cheap either so do your research to make sure you can afford it.

Don't forget a sturdy tripod!

The Fuji f6.7 covers 24x 30 cm with a tiny bit of movement. More if you stop down. The Fuji 420mm is also a great lens, covers 14x17 stopped down. There the only two I have for anything bigger than 5x7, dont really have a great need for anything else.

abruzzi · Jun 25, 2022

momus said:
Your most inexpensive choice, and I use that word cautiously knowing that there is no inexpensive 8x10 anything, would be a store bought or homemade pinhole camera.

Those, or a little more can get you a 3D printed “travel camera”. It’s a newish LF variant that has a hard cone instead of a bellows with a specific lens in the front that may be fixed focus or may have a minimal helicoid. They’re way less flexible, but are cheap. I’d still get a intrepid before one.

3d printed - WillTravel 8x10 LENSCONE camera for your focal lengths | eBay

From 115mm all the way to 300mm(+). Included is your first lenscone. And similarly quickly mounted for for use once at location. This to tailor the height of the lenscone & frontcap to the lens Flange Focal Distance (FFD).

www.ebay.com

OrientPoint · Jun 25, 2022

I have an Intrepid 8x10 and I'd say it's a good value for the money. I'm very happy with it.
I got mine last year for 20% off with a coupon code (I don't know if that's still a thing) so it was an even better value, but even at list price I think it's worthwhile. No light leaks and generally it's pretty sturdy save for the brittle, thin (3d printed?) plastic hinges that lock the ground glass in place. One broke within a couple of weeks of my use of the camera, but the camera was still usable and they sent a bunch of replacements quickly. I haven't had one break since.

If you're starting out in 8x10 it might be a good idea to start with some cheap "disposable" film, namely x-ray film. You can find 100 sheet boxes of 8x10 Fuji HR-U online for $50 or less. They're a bit tricky to develop because they scratch _VERY_ easily, but at $.50/sheet you don't have to worry about making mistakes. I'd definitely hold off on the Polaroid until you have the basics down. It would be a shame to ruin a sheet - once it's gone you're never going to see it again.

GKC · Jun 26, 2022

What do you want to do and where will you go?
Those old Calumet Green Monsters historically don't cost much, but you'll likely be limited to working out of the trunk of your car.
An old wooden camera would be much easier to lug around---Ansel Adams and Edward Weston did. Maybe look for a Kodak 2D (or is it D2?)
For a lens, there is plenty of vintage glass out there at all sorts of price points. As a bottom feeder in the optical glass ocean, don't be surprised if a CLA is in the cards but sometimes you get lucky. If you can make do without a shutter, then the world is your oyster---you're only limited by the size of your camera's lens board, the weight it can handle, and bellows extension.
Shooting 8x10 is FUN even on a tight budget.
Enjoy.

MoTony · Oct 19, 2022

Just bought a Kodak 2D with the extension bed and an Ilex 12” f6.3. Came with an 8x10 and a 4x5 back made by B&J Grover. All in good usable condition. I paid £750 for the outfit. I’m in the U.K.

gone · Oct 19, 2022

Try 4x5 first. LF is very different, nothing like MF or LF. I found even 4x5 to be too slow, too big and too heavy for my purposes.

Never underestimate the image quality of a 6x6 folder or TLR on a tripod.

TheFlyingCamera · Oct 20, 2022

GregY said:
These days a G Claron 355 in a Copal is $900+. I had a real soft spot for the Commerciall Ektar 14" character, they're generally less but then the shutters likely need servicing.

14" Commercial Ektars are going for $1K+ now.

Best bet for an 8x10 camera would be, as previously mentioned, a Kodak 2D or similar (maybe a Korona or Folmer-Schwing) if you are willing to invest some elbow-grease in getting it working. A Calumet C1 "Green Monster"/"Black Beast" might also be viable, and they did have reducing backs for those, but you could be hunting for the accessories (especially lens boards) for a long time before putting your complete setup together.

Word to the wise- the Polaroid Type 55, while a terrific film, is probably going to have to be manually processed like regular sheet film - the chemical processing pods are most likely dried out.

I know this will not be an answer you'd like to hear, but from a pure dollars and cents perspective, you're probably best off selling the 809 and the processor (which you can get a hefty chunk of change for) and using that money toward a good 4x5 or 5x7 and lenses, etc etc.

OrientPoint · Oct 20, 2022

FWIW I've had a lot of luck with old Polaroid 55. I'm still shooting a large cache of sheets expired in 2003, obtained from a lab at the school for which I work. Some packs are dried out (in which case you can still develop them as regular film), but ~75% still work and yield satisfactory or better results.

Old 809 often works ok too, but with massive color shifts. I'll take the 809 if the OP is selling ;-)

GKC · Oct 20, 2022

A 240 G Claron covers 8x10, available with or without a shutter.
A very nice lens!
Look for a Prontor or Copal #1 and you should be able to mount it in the shutter yourself.

CatLABS · Oct 20, 2022

Options for every budget here:

8x10 Cameras

Browse all products in the 8x10 Cameras category from CatLABS.

www.catlabs.info

GKC · Nov 10, 2022

Since the OP is a college student, I'd suggest checking with the Art school/dept. to see if they have an 8x10 loaner first.
You never knw until you ask.

el_37 · Nov 30, 2022

Its almost 6 months later, but my advice is don't bother. You have a bunch of stuff that is not being made anymore that people pay crazy money for- you can easily get $400 a box for that 809.

8x10 is way to expensive to dabble in for someone on a budget, and you would be better off making other people happy selling them that rare stuff and pocketing the cash to be used towards your existing photo hobby.

Starter 8x10 camera + lens recommendations

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