Take the Cambo. You won't be sorry.
Take the Cambo. You won't be sorry.
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
One more vote for adding Wehman to your list under consideration. Reasonable price, reasonable weight, and bomb-proofness are its strengths. Frequent users of rear swing may appreciate its unique approach to that movement. Its limitations are only moderate movements and bellows extension, which have never affected me in the field.
On a personal note, I could have spent a lot more on an 8x10, but have never regretted choosing a Wehman, nor ever considered upgrading/replacing it.
A search of this forum for a particular brand name (and "8x10") will provide you with lots of personal opinions and exerience. Most opinions tend to be cheerleading to reinforce the writer's choice, unfortunately, so take them (including mine) with a grain of salt.
All great choices. But you can't go wrong with a Shen-Hao. Sure it's not an Ebony, but neither is a Wisner, Canham, Wehman or Tachihara. Only an Ebony is an Ebony. Besides a view camera is only a holder for a lens and a bellows. They all do the same things, with varying degree of dificulty.
Go for the Shen-Hao.
http://www.phpbbforfree.com/forums/?mforum=shug
Hi Jason
After studying and reading many really good things from users the Wehman would be my choice this days. If I would shop for a 8x10 field.
I'm in no way connected to mister Wehman or his company, but I heard only good things about him.
If I remember correctly you have a 30 days sending back chance if you are not ahppy with the camera.
And do not any business with Wisner otherwise you get your camera in 3-4 years!
After you paid already.
Dean
I know you are the moderator of the Shen User's group forum - perhaps before recommending that anyone buy the 8X10, you should read exactly what's posted in your forum for the 8X10 - the only actual owner of an 8X10 appears to be Ken Lee and his problems relating to the camera are documented on your forum. Seems like a very strange recommendation to make based on the user's feedback, don't you think?
The Kodak Mater (or Masterview) 8x10 is an outstanding camera. It is solid, has tons of movements, reasonably light and packs up compactly. Good used ones seem to go for 1200 to 1500 on eBay. Even if you had to replace the bellows you'd still be within your budget. They are metal and should last indefinitely.
Hi Jason,
Congratulations! I recommend the Deardorff. I got one on *bay for around $1400, and love it. There are usually several for auction, or you could talk to the good folks at MPEX or other reputable dealers.
Best of luck at RIT.
Dave
Don -
I made the recommendation on the fact the Shen-Hao builds good cameras and they have excellent customer service, and on the fact that I use one. While it's true that Ken has had problems with his, I hardly think one person's bad experience is a reason to write off an entire camera model. It is possible that Shen-Hao is lousy at building 8x10 cameras and that Ken's experience is not an isolated incident. Ken is free to chime in here and trash his Shen-Hao 8x10 and the company if he wishes. If I had his experience with my camera I'd do just that. I bet you can find people that have bad experiences with other cameras as well, even Ebony!
That's not to say that Wisner, Canham, Tachihara etc. are lousy cameras. They certainly are not. But I have more experience with Shen-Hao than the others so I feel more confident in recommending them based on what I have seen and experienced.
But based on Shen-Hao's reputation, the quality of their other cameras, and my experience with the 4x5 model, I feel confident in recommending them. I have no connection to the company. The Shen-Hao Users Group is not affiliated with the company in any way. We're just satisfied users of their cameras.
Ultimately Jason will have to make his own decision about which camera to buy. I'm just trying to give him some feedback based on actual use and experience. He's free to consider it or ignore it if he chooses.
Just so you don't think I'm a shill for Shen-Hao, I have a Cambo SC monorail that is an awsome camera. But Jason asked about field cameras, not monorails. If he did, I would recommend the Cambo without hesitation.
"Ken is free to chime in here and trash his Shen-Hao 8x10 and the company if he wishes. If I had his experience with my camera I'd do just that."
My 8x10 has finally gotten back to Shen-Hao, after waiting for weeks in customs. (I made the mistake of stating the full replacement value on the Fed Ex paperwork, and Chinese customs wanted 20% import duty. I failed to mention that the camera was being returned for repair.)
Mr. Zhang Fuming of Shen-Hao managed to circumvent this obstacle, and has been very keen to repair the camera. While using the camera, I was pleased with its operation. I am confident that once it comes back from repairs, I will have nothing but positive things to say.
As Dean has pointed out, mistakes do happen.
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