Help finding the right 8x10 camera/lens for a silly project...

[Two23]

Thanks! I've found a Schneider 240mm Apo-Symmar f/5.6 with a Compur 3 shutter that maxes out at 1/250, which isn't too bad. I also saw the 300mm 5.6 version in the same shutter online, which gives me hope! Is there any reason to stay clear of this type of shutter?

Be advised that most of these shutters are no where near the rated top speed in actuality.


Kent in SD

[Peter De Smidt]

How about the Walker ABS camera someone has for sale here right now? That would be about as rugged as on 8x10 could get.....The bellows and lens would be the week links. I doubt those copal 3s get very close to their max speeds.....

[Two23]

Hi all,

In October 2023, I'll be heading off to photograph an extreme action sports competition that takes place in a mountainous region of a windy desert. .......
I'm completely new to the world of 8x10, so any help is much appreciated!

I missed that part. I live in South Dakota, have been shooting 4x5 for over 25 years and 8x10 for several years now. South Dakota is a windy place. Trust me when I say that 8x10 and "windy" do not add up to success unless you can set the camera up behind a large wind break. The surface area of an 8x10 makes it a very large sail that shimmies in the wind.


Kent in SD

[linhofbiker]

Be advised that most of these shutters are no where near the rated top speed in actuality.


Kent in SD

Compur Electronic shutters from the 1960's had a single mechanical speed, its highest speed: 1/200 for a #3 and 1/500 for a #1. All other speeds are controlled by 1960's electronics in the form of resisters and capacitors - not a single integrated circuit is present! What could possible go wrong?

[Tin Can]

Don Quixote

[jnantz]

get a big solid cooler to store your stuff.

[Rod Klukas]

Hi all,

In October 2023, I'll be heading off to photograph an extreme action sports competition that takes place in a mountainous region of a windy desert. I am looking to capture this event on an 8x10 camera... because I like pain and heartbreak, I suppose!

In all seriousness, I want to use the larger format and the extensive lens movements to help convey just how wild the terrain is that these athletes are riding on. There will be a mix of portraits and action shots.

I would love to shoot with an 8x10 body and lens combo that will:
1) survive out in the desert for over a week of windy, sandy and exposed shooting conditions
2) has the fastest shutter speeds possible
3) has "interesting" bokeh (not looking for a clinical look and will almost always be shooting wide open)
4) 5.6 or 4.5 max aperture would be ideal, for thin DOF

I fully realize that the obvious answer to the criteria above is the Aero/Speed combo, which I used to shoot with, but I would very much like to shoot this project on 8x10.

I'm completely new to the world of 8x10, so any help is much appreciated!

Hi
So Edward Weston made many of his famous portraits, and other images, using a smaller format camera, when 8x10 was not feasible. He then duped the negative to 8x10 to make contact prints.

That is how he could use cameras with faster shutters and on occasion, hand-held. Remember , enlarging, or projection printing does not get really going until the late 1930s. And that was because platinum, the previlant fine art medium for prints from 1870s, became hard to get in

the late 1920s in the US, and non-existant after about 1936. And B&W Silver paper being so much faster, along with the availability of the Leica, and later the Contax platforms, which required enlarging, also were things that pushed enlarging to the fore.

Just some thoughts.

Rod

[nolindan]

Aerial camera. Usually 9x9 inch, though.

[nolindan]

Aerial camera. Usually 9x9 inch, though.

[Willie]

One big problem will be wind. 8x10 bellows are like a sail.
Get a section of round pipe - lightweight and fit it to the camera to cover the bellows so they are protected from direct hits in the wind.
It does work even while it looks crazy.