US Manufactering of a Precision View Camera

[tim atherton]

plus - the europeans a generally far better at designing this stuff so it looks and handles nicely - vs functional but clunky... ;-)

[Bruce Watson]

"Chinese will have lower cost and perhaps lower quality."

this might be changing ... if it hasn't changed already. many of their industrial complexes now have an unmatched combination of state-of-the-art european and japanese technology, and borderline third-world wages. leaving aside the ethical questions of supporting such an economy, it might be the place to go for price/performance.

Paulr, this is true. The problem is, you have to find the "good" companies. Not as easy as it sounds.

And since you bring it up, there is the small matter of the Chinese lack of anything like OSHA to protect the workers, and the lack of anything like the EPA to protect the populace. Among other problems. You do have to figure out how to live with yourself in the end.

[evan clarke]

Martin Vogt, whose family make Arca Swiss cameras told me that they do not sell or offer a camera or part without first having a patent on it and they have many patents. I would think the same thig is true at Sinar..Evan Clarke

[Frank Petronio]

I am not considering it, only as an interesting question. What I am really wondering is how a guy like Canham does it, considering his dovetails and parts are as complex as anything else out there. A Toho or Gowland looks almost easy...

And I read about all this one-off custom manufacturing, and am wondering outloud if you could design anything you want and just have the machine grind it out -- plop!

I agree, when you can get a used Sinar P or Arca F for under $1000 it is impractical to do a new design that is significantly worthwhile. Except Toho did...

[Rob_6274]

I agree with Steve. EBAY is killing or killed new camera mfgs/sellers. It's not just LF, but also mamiya, nikon etc. That's why mfgs prefer to sell digital because of the built-in obsolescence. One example, I recently won a nice Horseman LX-C 8x10 for $715. You can't manufacture this for less than $1000.

[darter]

Jim Layton is building his alloy view camera out of New Hampshire. I only saw a prototype, but it seemed to be a precision built camera, and an elegant design to boot. His site says there has been a delay getting the camera to market, but my guess is he eventually will. The guy certainly has put a lot of thoughtful design into the thing, he's no diletante. It has a high price point, but I think his intended competition is Linhof, so it is on par with that. Despite the relative cheapness of used 4x5's it seems to me there is a real, if more limited, market for expensive high end cameras like the Ebony, Linhof and Gandolfi. I just saw a new Bentley roadster in traffic yesterday. It measured up very well against the other cars, and the driver seemed pleased as a dog in a meat truck.

[Scott Rosenberg]

this whole thread really begs the question why? design and material selection is always going to be a balancing act between weight/price and performance. you're going to have to make compromises... aren't there enough options out there to cover everyone's desires already? if you want something small and bombproof, there's the Wista SP or Technika. if you want something lighter but are willing to sacrifice some rigidity, there's the DLC. if you are willing to sacrifice a little setup time, weight, and bulk, there's the TK45S or the Arca F-Lines. if you want to save a bit on weight, at the expense of rigidity, there's ebony wooden cameras. it would seem to me that within the limits of their respective designs, we have all the excellent cameras on the market presently that we need. it's on the photographer to decide what's important to them and find the camera that best meets their needs. frank, are you just curious about how american craftsman compare to those in other parts of the world, or is there something you find lacking in the current crop of cameras?

[David A. Goldfarb]

I agree that the biggest obstacle would be the $1000 Sinar P (my 8x10" P was actually $850). Any features that could be added to such a camera (like maybe Linhof-style variable asymmetric tilts and swings) would be tradeoffs with the easy availability of parts and accessories for the Sinar system.

[Paul Metcalf]

So how's Jack Deardorff going to make new Deardorff's to compete with the fully functional used $1000-$1500 Deardorffs all over ebay?

[Ralph Barker]

Jack's will say "New" instead of "Near Mint - only needs new bellows and some re-gluing". ;-)