Recently, I acquired an 8x10 Kodak Master Camera, or as everyone seems to call it, a Kodak Master View (“Kodak Master Camera” is on the camera’s nameplate). It belong to a camera collector on the Olympic Peninsula who died recently. His son, who is a friend of a friend, passed it along to me for a very good price in exchange for my help this winter sorting through his father’s collection. It came with a 12 inch Commercial Ektar, the 8x10 back, the 5x7 reducing back, and the original case. The original bellows were riddled with pinholes, so I’ve removed them and ordered new bellows, and the 8x10 ground glass was not original, so I ordered a better ground glass to replace it. Otherwise, the camera is in fantastic condition.
I would like to hear from anyone on the forum who has any information to offer on the history of these cameras. I assume that plenty of them were produced, but they don’t appear to be all that common. At the moment, there’s just one up for auction and none for sale on this site as far as I can see. The production dates seem to be a mystery. I have variously found threads claiming that they were produced for 10 years between 1946 and 1956, or that they were produced for seven years between 1954 in 1961, or that they were produced from 1950 until the late 1960s. No one seems to know how many were made each year. I’m also curious about the metal that they used to make the clamshell. I’ve seen it stated with absolute certainty that it’s made of aluminum, and I’ve seen it stated with equal certainty that it’s made of magnesium.
Obviously, I haven’t use the camera yet, but I’ve been putting it through its paces in dumb show and I think I like the design. I’m taking a trip to France and Ireland next summer for five or six weeks. I was planning to bring my 5x7 Pony Premo, but the sturdy, compact design of this thing has got me thinking about bringing it along instead. With the studio camera as my primary 8x10 up to now, I’ve been limited to shooting 8x10 only in places where I can go in my car.
I’m interested to hear opinions on the camera’s drawbacks from those of you who have used it. Any reason it wouldn’t be a good traveling 8x10?
And as Randy suggested that I ask, who has one?
Thanks.
Cameron Cornell
Washington State
www.analogpprtraiture.com
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