c_p_goerz

Unless the cells have some thin spacing shims I seriously doubt there will be any trouble. If the rear and or front cell have a shim then be sure to move it to the 'new' shutter.

CP Goerz

dagor77 here AKA CP Goerz in these pages.I don't like to use the dagor77 name as I don't want to be seen as giving sales pitches everywhere when all I intend is to give a little of what some may consider useful advice or help.

The 210 will indeed do what I mentioned it will and I do pop the lenses on a camera before writing any descriptions. I have been surprised by too many junky looking lenses to pass anything by without inspection.The Schneider isn't the only 210 that won't do 8x10, my F5.6 Fujinon W didn't do it either, the 210 Pro Raptar blows both those babies out the water in the coverage department.

I generally under report the circle of a lens since too many 'lawyerly' types would be all over my @ss if I wrote what I saw on the GG.

Wollensak did make an enlarging Pro Raptar and I did indeed pick up a few of those in assorted focal lengths including some rare 'sample' and 'standard' lenses. The 210 and 160 I had on Eb@y were made as taking lenses and are certainly not enlarging lenses in shutters. The lenses actually came to me supplied in the original box on brand new and unused 4x4 Graphic boards as they were supplied to Graflex. I got to walk all the floors of the Wollensak factory and it was a blast, I'm awaiting a reply from the owner to ee if I can get permission to show some of the pics I took while I was up in the NY area.I think it would be of great interest to all lens lovers but I also appreciate the security issues involved too.

On the subject of returns I generally don't mind one little bit. The only time I take umbrage is when a buyer 'thinks' that EX- condition is an abbreviation for mint in the box with a hundred dollar bill wrapped around it for packing ;-). I am quite human and although not a prime specimen of the species I do make mistakes and don't expect a buyer to eat it because of my sloppiness.

Well I can't remember any other questions so I'll end this book here!

CP Goerz.

Possibly the optimum aperture setting but more likely an F stop setting for a Hyperfocal distance setting.

CP Goerz

Don't worry about film going away, there are always going to be guys shooting 8x10 as long as anyone knows the names Adams and Weston.

CP Goerz.

PS:I just ordered some film the other night that is a 'retro' superXX emulsion, I never got to use the stuff in its day so to me that shows that there has to be a demand if someone makes it.

Really bad news for all of us! Steve was such a great guy who did amazing things with those machines of his. Many many items in my camera bag and collection came through his workshop, I'm really going to miss him.

CP Goerz

The 420mm L Fuji misses the corners on 8x20 by an inch at

least, only really good for 8x10 maybe 11x14.

CP Goerz

Hey there John, I tried Ilfochrome in my 8x20 and did the filtration as previously mentioned and found it to be about ASA 20/25 pretty do-able!

The print was AMAZING!! The sharpest you had ever seen with incredible shadow detail that I never saw in my prints from chromes no matter how much I pulled the neg.

CP Goerz.

The Charis book 'Through Another Lens' is a book about Charis herself,its not really a book about EW. We as photographers all associate Charis with EW but its not fair to her, she did have her own life too.

I still remember to this day when I got the inside peek at the entire collection of EW prints at the Huntington Museum here in LA/Pasadena, after thirty prints I was so exhausted at looking at incredible photographic beauty I just wanted to sit down and sleep. I wonder why I could even think I was even .1% as talented as EW!!!, what an eye opener!! Its strange the feeling/effect you get looking at his prints, he takes you totally to another way of seeing things...and how he managed to get the ultimate exposure/development/print...uugh! He makes me sick with his perfection!!!!!

CP Goerz

Jeezu$ F!@#$%^& Ch!@#$%^&* Steve is ill?????!!!!!!! If you need some parts Steve I'm willing!!!!!

CP Goerz!!!!

I am in the middle of this very same job and agree with DM, the rear standard obviously needs to be made 8x20, the back itself has to be made as well as springs and hardware. The bellows and swing plate, base adaptor and rear gear frame. I am making or having some 8x10 rear gear frames machined from aluminum which will later be anodized. I am making some 8x20's and 7x17"s made and will sell a few extras on Ebay later this year.

I often wondered about the 8x20 Dorffs out there but they are in the hands of collectors who will never let them go, its not like there are too many to choose from anyway. I have used Koronas for years, in fact since I first started shooting 8x20. I have grown tired of the wiggles and loose movement in the standards as well as the lack of practical movements and 'too small for the purpose' hardware. Alan Brubaker will be done with them-and my wallet, this Summer.

CP Goerz

I think I am a great photographer, just undiscovered! ;-)

CP Goerz.

A Red dot is a symmetrical lens, the LD Artar is Asymmetrical. Rather than risk really messing the lens up just take some black paint and with the tip of your finger 'wipe' it into the scratch, this will prevent any distorted light bundles reaching the film. A scratch would have to be really bad to cause any noticeable difference in your film though.

Although a RD Artar is symmetrical it may not be as easy as you think to switch a cell over. The mounts the cells are seated in are all hand made to each element with unbelievably high tolerances. Slightly different focal lengths of the front and back combined to make the 24" lens and the cells themselves may be slightly different in size. Trust me! they may look like they fit but when you push that glass in and you hear a little tick sound that means you have just knocked a 1/4 chip off the side of the element, when viewed at a slight angle it will look like a gigantic air bubble/chip/crack which will freak you and any potential buyers out.

I have unfortunatly learned this the worst and most expensive possible way so learn from my vast amounts of stupidity before its too late ;-)

CP Goerz

Split PMK is THE developer for ultra pulled film, it has the advantage over Phenidone/metol developers in that infectious development isn't a problem.

I left a post about that somewhere else if you do a search on posts.

CP Goerz

Remember to dust the holder right before you pop it in the

camera back, never keep holders in a plastic bag as it attracts

dust like a moth to a flame. I use an old and well washed cloth

bag that seems to work pretty well.

CP Goerz

Dagors of the gold dot type usually sells for approx 400-500 in that focal length, condition is everything though as always.

The 8 1/4" dagor doesn't give much movement, I think its best as a 5x7 lens, a better alterntive for lots of movement is a 210 Schneider Angulon, its about $100 more but you get unlimited movement on 8x10.

CP Goerz

47 1/2" F16 Ross Xpress. If you get bellows sag with long lenses try propping a rock of small branch underneath the bellows for a bit of support.

CP Goerz

Fine steel wool and wax(Renaissance-if you can spare the $10 it'll cost but is the best).

CP Goerz

I was really surprised at just how much difference there is in macro V non macro lenses for close work. I had to shoot some jewelry and when shot with a standard 210mm it looked great, I shot the same thing with an APO Macro lens it simply blew the standard 210 out of the water.

If you plan on doing a lot of close up then buy one, if not then maybe just rent it for a while.

CP Goerz

Although its only one test you have found what bugged the $%^&

out of me for ages...PMK does not look that great on VC, plain

and simple!

The pudding was certainly in the proof!! Anyone who wants to try

the same test go ahead and be objective...then write back here

about how wrong you were to question the supremacy of a pyro

based developer, I won't gloat!! ;-) Its just not possible to tailor

each and every neg to exactly every paper curve unless you shoot

in a studio. There you have all the controls at hand in terms of

contrast ratios etc. Shooting landscapes is a lot more of a 'seat

of your pants-get the light while I can' type of situation where

unexpected contrast/light levels make for

inaccurate/unexpectedly high/low contrast exposures that won't

match any curves etc.

If you can make VC and PMK work great, I can't and tried for

years. If only I could get a refund on all my time and money

wasted!!

Sure you can also not use PMK, its a developer that demands

more care in use etc but I will NEVER go back to a

Metol/Phenidone developer ever again. I couldn't imagine

developing a negative in a 'second best' developer and getting to

sleep at night. The 'what ifs' would be too much to bear.

Phew! I feel better, thanks!!

CP Goerz

My bag for 8x20 has the following lenses..10 3/4" Series V

Protar(11x14), 14"WA APO Nikkor(rare but WELL worth it), 16 1/2"

Dagor, 19" Series IV Dagor, 19" LD Artar, 24" Red Dot, 24"

Dagor(Berlin), 612mm WF Busch(just got and haven't really

tested it too intensly) and a 760mm APO Nikkor that rarely gets

used.

The APO Gerogon is almost identical to the 14"Blue Dot Trigor,

performance is visually identical in every way, do not confuse it

with a standard Gerogon though.

12" Dagors on 8x20 I really don't recommend as the corners look

quite a bit softer than the center circle and its annoying to look at.

The shortest Dagor that still can pass muster on 8x20 is a 14" in

my humble opinion but even that has to be used at 64 for best

results on that size.

The 355 G Claron is an excellent lens and will get you better

corners on 8x20, that also goes for the 12" GC too. I do have

multiple lenses of the same focal length as you may have

noticed but I do shoot details of old gravestones and similar

objects and the Dagor doesn't do too well close up, thats not true

for the Process Dagor which the series IV is but the image isn't

as edgy and sometimes I like that in certain pics.

I used to use a 14" Dagor and have some nice negs but when I

got the first APO Nikkor neg out the fixer it blew my old

companion away, the edges are tack sharp and I love that! You

don't see them too often and if they were a bit more 'seen around

town' they would be on everyones ULF Classic lens list. I'm trying

to get as many as I can before that happens but I don't see them

often. It may be better to use a 14" GC instead and dump that

puppy when the chance for the nikkor comes up.

The WA end of 8x20 can be very exotic and expensive, do by all

means avoid the Rodenstock Pantogonal-the worst lens ever

made! The specs sound good but the image is truly awful.

If you want a really 'wide' looking lens on the contact print then

you have to induce a bit of vignette to accentuate the breadth. I

shot UWA lenses on the 8x20 and they never really 'looked' that

wide. When I used a 14 that vignetted a little it actually looked

wider than a 10 1/2" -14x17 Gundlach Ext WA anastigmat I had

been using(nice 'glow' and fantastic midtones but not the

sharpest lens-acceptable by all means but not truly sharp. I

forgave it that because it looked so 'brilliant' on the contact). A

couple of fun lenses to try and do some vignette with are the

series IV and V 8x10 Protars. The series IV has a slightly smaller

circle but more of it is acceptable than the series V. Switching the

front cell to the rear and the same for the back if you have a B+L

series IV brass version will give a bigger and better circle.

Well hopefully you'll get a few leads out of that bad grammer

ridden mess, good luck!

CP Goerz

If your lens is in a 'barrel' it may be an enlarger setting in which

case the stops of smallest size would be about 32. If your lens is

in a shutter and the blades make a small sized aperture at F32

then the scale and focal length of the lens do not match. Its not

the end of the world and a calculator and a bit of masking tape is

all you need to sort it out.

CP Goerz

PhotoWarehouse here in LA CA will custom cut some nice FP4

for you, they can be reached at 805-485-9654.

CP Goerz

I haven't tried the Freestyle film but I was told by a guy at

PhotoWarehouse that its the old emulsion FP4 that is still made

fresh.

I liked the rounded smoothness of the 'old' FP4, its not quite as

contrasty as the new stuff but thats just my pref.

CPG

Nick beat me with the answer, sorry!

CPG

It may be possible to set up a lens iris on the front of the board

and have the Packard behind it, that way one 'board' could be

used for all your lenses if they all thread at the end of the rear

barrel.

PS:If we marry can I use the camera?? ;-)

CP Goerz