nanasousadias Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I intend to buy a 8x10 wooden field camera, second hand, any sugestions, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_smith Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 To quote Tillman Crane: "One can never own too many Deardorffs". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_ellis3 Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Deardorff if you can afford around $1,500 or so for one in excellent condition. If that's more than your budget then there are several old brands that work fine and that I think can be bought for $500 or so, Burke and James, Kodak 2D, Korona, Century Universal perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug_dolde Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Would not an Ebony be the most superb choice? But expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Dan,<P>I guess that is why Canham Cameras is building cameras for Tillman Crane now.<P>Deardorffs are great: virtually every wooden camera now made (including Wisner) are basically knockoffs of the Deardorff. Nana, you need to think about what you want to use the camera for. Some "field" cameras are going to be great to work with in the studio for portraits but too heavy or clumsy to comfortably work with in the field. You should also try to find some cameras to handle and play with before you spend your money. Wisner, Ebony, and Canham wood frame cameras are all very fine machines. Unless you are just romanced by wood, if I were you, I'd look at all metal field cameras as well: older Sinar Norma or Arca- Swiss or the new Canham metal cameras are excellent choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_atherton2 Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Don't forget Gandolfi, both the Traditional and the lighter weight Variant. And of course, the Deardorff is basically a colonial rip-off of the Gandolfi (since 1885 and still going) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanasousadias Posted February 14, 2003 Author Share Posted February 14, 2003 Ellis: I intend to use the camera, mainly for landscape. I would like very much to see and try several cameras, but I live in Lisbon, Portugal, I've seen until today 3 8x10 cameras, in this country, a Cambo and a Horseman viewcameras and a Dierdorff, cherrywood, with wich I shot a single HP5+ sheet, and made a contact print. At first atempt I was looking at the print and I was thinking: Now, this is real photography, I have to buy one of these monsters!!! The big problem is that the 8x10 market is ridiculous small, I don't have a way of try diferent cameras, they simply doesn't exist, here! An even bigger problem is that I haven´t many money to spend on this! I've seen, on net the Keith Canham metal field camera you mentioned and I like it a lot, but it's too expensive to buy new! Do you think the Tachihara would do the job, or, after shooting with a Dierdorff, I will be really disapointed? I think I can guess your answer!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Deardorff cameras are generally fine. try eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince_pulvirenti Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 I use the Tachihara 8x10 with double extention, and am very pleased with it, It is very well made, sturdy and beautifully finished, I purchased it new at Mid west for $1299.00, I have used deardorfs and Wista 8x10's I wouldn't trade my Tachihara maybe except for the Canham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neal_shields Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 An above post mentions the Kodak D2 and the Deardorff. I have both and they are very different cameras. The D2 is simple and functional. The Deardorff is complex and elegant. The bed rails for the D2 are about 1� square and bolt to the camera with thumbscrews. The rails on the Deardorff are about 3/8� square and nest inside each other. They are extended and retracted individually on geared racks. The D2 is a workhorse and the Deardorff is a work of art. Everything else falls somewhere in between. There is just a lot more to go wrong with a used Deardorff than with a D2, and when it does go wrong, it is likely to be serious. I brought mine (Deardorff) on the auction site, and hind site being 20/20, I was very very lucky. I wouldn�t encourage anyone to buy a Deardorff except from one of the main advertisers in View Camera magazine. Lens and Repo seems to have quite a few right now. Beyond that, read Ken Hough�s web site top to bottom, and research him on this forum. (Pay special attention to the section on split bottoms.) You need to decide, if you want an antique camera that is no longer in production or a used camera from a company still in business (Wisner traditionals are said to be modern Deardorff V8s.). An antique camera, can be a challenge to have repaired if the company that made it is no longer in business, and there isn�t a ready supply of replacement parts. You also need to decide how important movements are to you. Deardorffs with front swing, bring about $500 more than those without. I love my Deardorff and no longer use my D2 but I doubt that I will ever take a picture with the Deardorff that will be better than if I had used the D2. The old timers had ways of working around movements that their cameras didn�t have to achieve the same effect. You might also want to look at used Gandolfi cameras. They were building cameras before Deardorff and are still in business but who wants to send a camera to England for repair. Neal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_schroeder Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 My first 8x10 was a 1910 vintage 2D with a Gundlach triple convertible lens and pneumatic shutter. The lens was ok, and the shutter, after cleaning had three speeds, about 1/30, about 1/2 and bulb. The several listed speeds were for decoration only. Maybe this is not bad for a 1910 shotter. I had some old holders, too. I thought I would gradually upgrade. I would recommend considering a good used Wisner Traditional. Wisner's quality is first rate. I own a 4x5 TF model. If the 8x10 is as solid and usable as the 4x5, it would be a joy to use. You wouldn't have to worry about replacing bellows and/or parts with a Wisner. I don't think you would go wrong with a Wisner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_king Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 In an earlier message Ellis Vener wrote: "I guess that is why Canham Cameras is building cameras for Tillman Crane now." Ellis, Ever seen a 5X12 Deardorff? Sandy King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas_f._jones Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 I have been very happy with my Tachihara 8x10 triple extension. My impression when comparing it with the double extension and Wisner traditional at Midwest is that it is definitely much sturdier, esp. the front standard. Its solid, basic, dependable; but to get additional features you may have to jump to a much higher price bracket. Canham's recent offering is supposed to occupy that gulf between the economy models like the Tachihara and the big name new cameras. Personally, I'm waiting with baited breath to hear from Jeff at Badger about the announced but not yet available Ebony RW8x10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_ellis3 Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Ellis - This is a discussion about 8x10 field cameras. Tillman Crane uses a Deardorff for 8x10, at least he did when I was photographing with him at his workshop in Peters Valley last summer. The camera (I think it's only one but I'm not certain) that Canham is building for him isn't an 8x10, it's an ultra large format camera in a size that, as Sandy King points out, wasn't made by Deardorff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_kasaian1 Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Nana, IMHO find yourself a Deardorff, preferably one with front swings. Great cameras! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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