New deardorfs?

[Erik Larsen]

http://www.deardorffcameras.com/

I found this interesting.
Regards
Erik

[tgtaylor]

Actually that's not a bad price considering how much the used 8x10's go for on ebay.

[Erik Larsen]

Actually that's not a bad price considering how much the used 8x10's go for on ebay.


It's nice to see new stuff being made for our luddite souls:)

[John Kasaian]

Jack Deardorff is gone, so this must be the japanese company that bought the name---or someone else bought or licensed the name from them.
They look like Deardorffs, anyway.
Pretty cool!:D

[Bill_1856]

I see that the maker is in Cleveland, Tennessee. That's about 30miles from Athens, TN, which is where the last batch of Deardorf stuff was made just a few years ago, so it's probably the same (Amercan) guy.

[Tracy Storer]

It's Barry Cochran, who worked for Deardorff in TN. aka Attrevida(sp) on ebay, super nice fellow to deal with.

[cdholden]

Ditto on what Tracy said.
I had the pleasure of snail mail correspondence with Barry a few months ago. I was surprised to see the Deardorff name and an image of a camera in the letterhead. Then again, maybe I'm just easily amused.
Chris

[Barry_C_Cochran]

Hello all, I haven't been that active on the LF Forum, so thought I should write to introduce myself and to answer some of the questions that have been raised.

My name is Barry C. Cochran and along with my wife Monica, we own the new company "LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc." Many of you may know us by our eBay username of "Attrevida." We've been active on eBay since 2000 under this username.

We do indeed own the company, and also the US Trademark for the name "LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc." Over two years ago, we purchased all of the remaining Deardorff inventory, tools, supplies, equipment, blueprints, original images, original documents...the whole works that belonged to John M. "Jack" Deardorff.

Our plans since that time have been to totally rebuild the company and make it a viable business once again. That has taken time, for there were some gaps in the inventory. For some items, we have sufficient original Chicago inventory that we may never have to purchase new ones again. But, in many cases, inventory had been exhausted and simply not replaced. We've been "filling the empty bins" and are now finally proud to announce that we're in full production once again.

To answer a few questions...
(1) Yes, I did manage the company during its short tenure in Athens, Tennessee under the ownership of Gin-Ichi Camera and Tosh Komamura of Horseman. I learned a great deal during those years, and established good relationships with many local vendors in that area. Tennessee production was very limited, and all cameras made during that span were manufactured from brand new parts, none of which came from the original Chicago inventory. Beyond my involvement with the company during this time, the only link between the old Tennessee company and this new one is..."me." That is, none of what we are doing now really has anything to do with the old Tennessee company. I just love the mountains of East Tennessee, and decided long ago to make the area my home. When the opportunity arose to purchase the company, it was an easy decision to locate it in Tennessee, my home.

FYI: Prior to my involvement with the first Tennessee operations, I had been restoring and rebuilding Deardorff cameras since 1976, the year that I purchased my own first Deardorff.

(2) The vast majority of our inventory, in short---almost everything we currently own---came from the old Chicago inventory. These are brand new parts that Jack Deardorff retained when the company was sold in 1989. There are a few exceptions: Jack had a limited number of parts manufactured brand new during the past 20 years, while he lived and worked out of Valparaiso, Indiana. But, his resources were rather limited, and not that many new parts were made during that time.

(3) We are committed to manufacturing Deardorff cameras in all formats from 4x5 through 12x20, using the same materials, tools, equipment, supplies, hardware, knowledge and craftsmanship as the Chicago operation. In every way, our cameras will and do meet or exceed the quality of the original cameras.

(4) We offer a full range of repair services, and because of the depth of our inventory, we have parts for not only current cameras, but also cameras that have been out of production for many years, such as the Commercial Studio Deardorff's, the Triamapro, and the "Baby" Deardorff.

(5) We have been almost totally reliant upon eBay for our sales during the past eleven years, where we have built a 100% positive feedback rating on almost 1950 feedback entries. Since 2009, we have sold to over 30 countries and 38 states, and to over 600 unique customers.

(6) We plan to retain our position on Ebay, but we are also committed to building a huge, in-depth web site where you will be able to purchase new cameras, parts and accessories. You'll also be able to download PDF versions of many original Deardorff images, documents, catalogs, and tutorials.

(7) Visit our new web site at www.deardorffcameras.com where we are currently accepting "pre-orders" for a "Limited Edition" production run of brand new 4x5 Special and 8x10 cameras. You may also want to revisit the site over the coming weeks and through the end of this year. Some updates and expansions to the web site will happen within the next couple of weeks. Within the next 10 days, look for a "gallery" page that will features photos of the work that we've done so far, along with images of our new facility.

To fully implement our new web site will take until the end of this year. We will also become more active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube shortly.


If you have more questions, feel free to contact us through our web site. We welcome your suggestions and comments, we are there to serve you.

Thanks,

Barry & Monica Cochran
LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc.
A registered US Trademark

[bvaughn4]

Welcome Barry & Monica

Thanks for the update and best wishes for good success in your endeavor.

[John Kasaian]

Now I know what to put down for replacement cost on my insurance policy.
I've always dreaded loosing my early 1950's V8 and having to find a replacement.

[Steven Tribe]

Good luck with the venture.
A thought occured to me about Mahogany (the real stuff - not the current range of hardwoods which go under this name). This has been a protected species for decades - and has nothing to do with the Cuba/US problem. How on earth did you get your hands on the stuff in the later years of the original enterprise? And how will you do it now?
Is it a question of recycling old bar inventory and such like?

[Ed Kelsey]

The web site doesn't give any real details about either camera. I guess one is supposed to know about them but I don't.

[Mark Sampson]

Ed, look up 'thedeardorffguy' here; IIRC his site has the history.
Suffice it to say that the Deardorff is/was the industry-standard wooden 8x10 camera from the 1930s-80s, and are still very popular due to their usability and build quality.

[Ed Kelsey]

I understand that but you would think there would be a lot of photos and specifications. Otherwise they are asking for 1/2 down on more or less faith.

[MPrice]

Just a quick plug for Barry - I bought my old 8x10 as well as numerous accessories and parts for both the 8x10 and 5x7 from him over the past few years, he's been truly great to work with in every instance, patient, polite with great packing, quick shipping and everything always better than described. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him, I know he's been working on getting this up and running for years and am excited that he's finally be able to make it happen...

[E. von Hoegh]

I understand that but you would think there would be a lot of photos and specifications. Otherwise they are asking for 1/2 down on more or less faith.

I think anyone forking out thousands for a 'dorff will know what they are getting into. They're sort of a cult item, plus specs are available at many sites - Cameraeccentric. com being one.

[Jim Cole]

Great news Barry. I have bought a few parts from you over the last couple of years since acquiring my 1950 V8. Best of luck with the continuing venture.

It's great to see the Deardorff name back!

[Barry_C_Cochran]

The web site doesn't give any real details about either camera. I guess one is supposed to know about them but I don't.

Sorry that we don't have more details up on our new web site yet. The specs are the exact same as the old Chicago cameras. Send us an email and we'll drop you a PDF file with all the specifications. Look for updates to the web site soon.

Barry C.
LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc.

[Barry_C_Cochran]

Hello again,

Just in case anyone has any other questions, don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We'll answer promptly. And, do watch for updates to the web site, it's only been up for a month and is far from complete.

Here are some things that will be added to our web site as soon as we can:

PDF downloads for original company literature. Why read someone else's plagiarism or misinformation when you can read the original source docs?

PDF downloads of instructions on how to perform simple repairs / maintenance.
(*Video tutorials will also be posted on You Tube)

PDF downloads of complete camera specs.

An enhanced checkout process with a secure web site (*HTTPS).

A full e-commerce store where you'll be able to purchase parts, accessories and whole cameras online without going through eBay.

Two Requests:
1. Realize that it is going to take quite some time to get this full web site up and running. Remember that we are sorting through the remnants of a company that began over 80 years ago... In the meantime, call or email if you have any questions. We can send PDF's directly to you via email until they're posted on the web.

2. If there are other things that you'd like to see on our web site, or improvements that you'd like to make, please let us know.

Thanks,

Barry & Monica
LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc.
423-478-6493 main#
info@deardorffcameras.com
www.deardorffcameras.com

[John NYC]

Are these for sale yet? Anyone buy one and use it? How is it?

[VictorC]

I did put a 50% down for a 810, can't wait to see the real thing

[atlcruiser]

I am down for a 45 as well :)

[stradibarrius]

It is great to see an AMERICAN company rise from the ashes!!! Good luck!

[Aldo]

umhh my dream is an 8x10 ... Why not this camera if are like the original v8? :) ....

good luck ..... in UE it's difficult buy or found a used one ....

[Ken Osborne]

I will try and make this as short as I can but it is going to be difficult. I have been a large format shooter for around 25 years. I own a Gallery/Photography studio just outside Houston. As the digital age came in I worried that our wonderful large format medium would disappear. I decided to try and start a small large format camera co. When I heard that Deardorff was starting back up I was delirious. I contacted them and spoke to Barry Cochran about the idea of building a private label camera for me. He was very excited about the idea and was more than willing to build something unique with both of our names on it. I was to buy a prototype and work with it and come up with a redesign that I felt would make the perfect camera. After shooting large format for so long I felt I could make some minor changes and make a camera that I would be proud to sell and advertise as the perfect large format camera. One of my issues was wide-angle lenses. I wanted to be able to use a 65mm with as much ease as possible. Barry explained to me that everything I wanted was easy for him to do and there would be no problem to do it. We would have a camera like no other in the world when we were done. I cannot tell you how excited I was about this and having the Deardorff name on it made everything so much better. It just seemed everything was coming together with perfect timing. After many e-mails and telephone conversations I ordered a prototype. Barry charged my credit card for the camera in full and at full price. He told me I would have the camera, 2 lens boards and a Linhof adapter in 30 days. That was the last time I ever heard from him for 6 months. After the order was made I started my advertising. I have a gallery that I do wine/art shows in to bring in people. A lot of the guests are Photographers. I also had other reputable companies involved. Ries and F:64 to name a few. BTW: I am very happy with these two companies. (Every time I do one of these shows it costs me around $2,000 to put on) 30 days went by…then 2 months…then 3 months. I started to get nervous for I was getting the word out about this prototype and I could not get any phone calls returned or e-mails. Then one day 6 months after a package arrived on my back deck. This was after numerous un-returned phone calls and e-mails. I opened up the box and was surprised that it was my camera. There was no Linhof adapter that I needed. I wanted to play with Linhof recessed lensboards with it and wide-angle lenses. I took the camera and messed with it and came up with the changes that I wanted to make. Most of them were very simple. I e-mailed this to Barry and his response was …We are not in any position to make changes. Now the camera says on it…PROTOTYPE. This usually means a product I development. In the beginning he told me he could make any changes and the ones I was pointing out were those changes. I did not change anything that we did not talk about before I ordered his camera. I have all the e-mails that spelled out all changes and costs. What the hell was going on here? All of a sudden I was dealing with the Twilight Zone and Rod Serling had turned into Barry Cochran.

I had already planned art shows to highlight this camera so I went ahead with them. I was very nervous doing it for I knew I could not take any orders or answer any questions correctly until I heard back from Mr. Cochran. I basically told people the camera was a prototype (which says on the camera…PROTOTYPE). At this point I was into my 3rd art show and people were starting to get interested but leery. I called and called Barry with no success. I must have called and e-mailed him 4 dozen times with no answer. I finally had my wife use her cell phone from work and call Deardorffs office. She called me and told me Barry answered the phone on her first call and to call him immediately while he was still there answering the phone. I immediately called did and went immediately to voicemail. I tried again and voicemail again So Barry knew my phone number and was avoiding me. What a crappy way to treat someone who is trying to do business with you. I was getting furious about all this for I have never dealt with a company like this. I sent him a strong e-mail, which I got an immediate reply. “All correspondence will be conducted through my attorney. WOW”…what a way to treat people. He is so chicken shit that he cannot even talk to us? I mean I am in kind of a bind here. I have spent all this money, got other companies involved, advertised to future customers about this camera and you cannot just talk to me. To this day I have not heard from his attorney nor had any e-mails or phone calls returned. BUT: I did notice his e-bay store is up and running and he is still taking orders for cameras in the UK. What a piece of SHIT! To make matters worse I finally took the camera out for a spin last week. I felt so mad about this but thought…well at least I got a camera out of it. I spent 2 days using it to photograph down in Galveston, which is a 2 hr. drive. When I got back and processed the film…ALL WERE FOGGED. I could not believe it. I had to find out what was the problem here. I never though of doing a bellows light test on a new camera like I do on a used one but guess what? I found 8 light leaks in the bellows. 3 were severe where the bellows is joined to the front standard. I am talking 1/8-1/4 inch gaps. Now taking closer examination you can see where this camera was rushed and just slapped together. I started noticing imperfections all over the thing. The focusing is absolutely horrible and so stiff that the focusing knobs almost slip out of the rail. This is not caused by humidity or anything…this is caused by bad workmanship. I own a lot of wood 4x5’s and have no problem with any. So far I have not heard a word from this spineless bastard. After all this I found this and other forums and it seems there are people all over the world looking for this willow of the wisp. I wish I would have looked into forums before all this but I thought I was dealing with a reputable co. AND BTW: Deardorff has a full page back cover ad on large format magazine and a great write up on them also in it. What a crock of SHIT!