8x10 GG protector?

[Rico Obusan]

I no longer have an 8x10, but when I had one I used to protect the groundglass with a home-made slip-on cover made of 4mm thick foamcor which you can buy from an art supply store for about $4 per sheet (poster size). I cut two panels that fit the front and the back of the groundglass, then hot-glued a strip of cloth to serve as the hinge. Foamcor is stiff enough to insert in and out of the groundglass, and the paper surface prevents scuffing of the camera. The expanded polystyrene sandwich also absorbs shock better than a solid surface. Worked real well for me. Easy to make and inexpensive too. I spray painted the outside surface of one panels flat black, and ocassionally used the panel as a flag to prevent lens flare.

[Jan erala]

The new Phillips cameras comes with a clear plexiglass protector. There's no need to take it away at all, and it is very practical in cold weather because it condensates less than the ordinary ground glass. Dick Phillips call it Lexan and for an 8x10 it costs 31$.

[Bill Glickman]

Sean, I bought that gg protector from the dude on ebay, it works great on my Toyo 810Mii.... tell him the camera and he will tell ya if it fits...for $20 its not worth tinkering with,..

[Brian Ellis]

I use the Canham 8x10 plastic ground glass protector. It's nice and thick, looks like it's a piece of quality equipment, and it slides on and off very easily without scratching the back. I believe I paid about $30 for it from The F Stops Here. I used the Calumet protector on my 4x5 for a while but I didn't like it - it was very thin (i.e. didn't seem to provide a lot of protection) and looked like the cheap piece of black plastic that it was. I wouldn't order one for 8x10 even if they sold one.

[John Hicks]

How does the Canham 8x10 protector attach? My new/old Wista doesn't have any way to attach a cover (or viewing aids etc) to the wood groundglass frame.

Or iow, it doesn't have the sort of attachment points used to hold the protect or on the Canham DLC 45.

[Kevin Crisp]

My groundglass is unbreakable. Go to a plastics store, have them cut you a sheet of clear Lexan same size and thickness and your ground glass. Scuff up the lens side with #600 wet-or-dry sandpaper, cut grid lines if desired with a Stanley untility knife, install it in the camera back. Problem solved. You can shoot it with a bb gun and it won't break. Cost $5.

[John Hicks]

Well gents, solved my problem. $3.18 at Pearl Arts & Crafts bought a 9"x11.5" pi ece of thick plex and enough velcro to stick it on.

Thanks for your input.

[Keith Pitman]

I've made two of these from maghogony or cherry, depending on the camera, that fit in the area over the ground glass, and are held in with velvet strips along the edges. Much more eye-pleasing than foam core, etc.!

Also, suggest getting an extra ground glass and carrying it, at least on long trips. Much better than a ruined trip.

[David R Munson]

I made up a gg protector out of two pieces of masonite and a 1/2" strip of wood. The two pieces of masonite were about the same dimensions as a film holder, and were joined together at one end with a strip of wood about a half inch square. Slides in with one piece of masonite on either side of the gg. Took about ten minutes to make, cost was free (already had the materials), and it does the job quite nicely.