Most Rigid 8x10 Field Camera

[bulrich]

I've been doing some 8x10 work with a Ebony RW810. Some exposures are up to a 1/2 hour, and in some cases I'm getting camera shake. The Tripod is very rigid but I notice the rear standard of the Ebony shakes pretty easily.
Can other 810 users tell me their experience with more rigid field cameras?

[Walter Calahan]

Get a Bogen magic arm with a clamp. Attach the arm to the tripod, and then clamp the other end to the rear of the camera.

I use two when shooting with a Nikkor 1200 mm. One for the front and one for the rear.

The other trick is to attach a second tripod to the camera to steady it.

Can't speak for an Ebony. I understand they are extremely well made. My rig is a Canham wooden 8x10. Probably about the same rigidness as the Ebony, but that's only speculation.

http://www.bogenimaging.us/Jahia/sit...agic%20Arm

[John Kasaian]

I've been doing nocturnal stuff with a Gowland Aerial for the past year. If you get the version with helical focusing you won't be stuck at infinity (like me)

[Jim Galli]

I know of no 8X10 camera more rigid than an Ebony.

[JPlomley]

Hmmm. Perhaps an Arca Swiss. Ditched the Ebony SV 45TE for an Arca Swiss, partially because of the rigidity factor. The difference was siginificant.

[Michael Jones]

I know of no 8X10 camera more rigid than an Ebony.

While I can't speak to an Ebony, I never found a camera more rigid than a Phillips 8x10.

mike

[bulrich]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'd love to get my hand on a Philips but Dick no longer makes them at all.
Jim, nice work on your site. I'm using the RW810 and oddly it doesn't seem very rigid. Though the 4x5 I use is a Technika so perhaps I'm a bit spoiled.
Can't find any info on the Hobo. The Gowland looks interesting but I need some more movements than that.
Walter how does the Bogen clamp work?

[Frank Petronio]

What you need are a #5 Gitzo, sandbags, and a wind block. That's what car photographers did out the desert for long dusk shots. The camera itself is almost secondary, but you already know that a Sinar Norma, Arca Monolith, or a Linhof Karden are going to be the most stable of all. I can't imagine an Ebony being that much more or less stable than any of the other high quality field brands.

[Robert Fisher]

I have owned both Arca and Ebony 810's (SW810, non folder, and FMetric). The Ebony was SUBSTANTIALLY more stable. Both models on a heavy Gitzo, B2 and a 25 pound weight suspended from hook at bottom of tripod base.

In fact, I would never buy another 810 Arca for this exact reason.

[Ole Tjugen]

I have only fondled an Ebony, but I still believe the Gandolfi Traditional is more stable.