8x10 for portraiture work and easy Lens Board Adaption

[Luke79]

Greetings to all,

I would like to get a 8x10 Camera for my portraiture work
I Love the shallow depth of Field and 3D feel to the Images
Mainly doing Black and white indoor and Outdoor Portrait work with my 4x5 speed currently
Apart from that i would like to get a camera where i could easily Build and adapt my own Lens boards (an Adaption friendly 8x10)
In Order to use Old lenses and their characteristics

Is there a random shutter system that can be
used with many Old lenses and
Is Easy for Adaption ?

Best regards

Luke

[vinny]

Packard.

[Jay DeFehr]

Luke,

I think something like a Kodak 2D might work for you, or maybe even a studio camera, if you don't plan to venture too far afield. And a Packard shutter is the typical arrangement for barrel lenses.

It's funny you should be pursuing shallow dof. Traditionally, the problem for portrait photographers has been getting enough light for reasonable exposure times at the expense of dof. It's funny how one generation's technical compromise becomes another generation's aesthetic.

Good luck!

[Luke79]

thank you very much,

i will take a look at the kodak 2D , is there a common lens board size for 8x10 or are there different sizes for different cameras?

i have looked over at packard shutters and how they work, do i need different packard shutters in order to use them with different size lenses or do i buy one packard shutter camera specific to use it with one lens board, and i saw its fully manual and can only bes used to 1/25 of a second as far as i read?

[E. von Hoegh]

thank you very much,

i will take a look at the kodak 2D , is there a common lens board size for 8x10 or are there different sizes for different cameras?

i have looked over at packard shutters and how they work, do i need different packard shutters in order to use them with different size lenses or do i buy one packard shutter camera specific to use it with one lens board, and i saw its fully manual and can only bes used to 1/25 of a second as far as i read?

The size Packard you can use will be limited by the size of the lensboard on the camera you choose. You can build the Packard into a board, the mount the lenses in smaller boards that will mount to the main board. You don't need more than a table saw and hole saws to make the boards

[jp]

thank you very much,

i will take a look at the kodak 2D , is there a common lens board size for 8x10 or are there different sizes for different cameras?

i have looked over at packard shutters and how they work, do i need different packard shutters in order to use them with different size lenses or do i buy one packard shutter camera specific to use it with one lens board, and i saw its fully manual and can only bes used to 1/25 of a second as far as i read?

ND filters can provide some shutter speed flexibility if 1/25 isn't ideal, as can more or less lighting intensity. Long exposures are easy; open it as if you were to compose. I've built a speed graphic onto a 9" lensboard so I can have 1/30-1/1000 sec. Not that important indoors, but I built it to use outdoors with big lenses wide open.

[jp]

If it's for indoor use only, I'd suggest keeping an eye out for an old century studio camera with stand. They mostly use a 9" lensboard, which you can build more of with a table saw if you are a little bit handy. It will also allow big packard shutters, big lenses. B&J makes a 8x10 rembrandt with the same size lens board as well.

A step down in lensboard size is the kodak 2d or a calumet green monster 8x10. a 2d won't take as heavy a lens as the other options, but is more portable for outdoor use.

[aluncrockford]

I have no idea of your budget , but if you are intending to stay in the studio a Sinar P and a sinar shutter would meet your needs, a P2 is not outrageously expensive and it is not too tricky to get hold of a sinar shutter on line

[goamules]

I like the Kodak 2d with it's 6" lensboard. Some of the older cameras had smaller lensboards that won't hold a very fast lens. If you use slow film, 125 ISO or so, and shoot during the golden hour when the sun is setting, or in shade, you can get by with using a darkslide or piece of cardboard for a shutter.

[Luke79]

great help so far, thx to you guys,

i have to say im really the one with two left hands when it comes to building stuff but perhaps i will have more practice now.
sadly over here in germany we do not have someone like s.k. grimes to mount all the stuff

the packard shutters looks interesting the problem i see is using them outside as someone mentioned, when i use my efke25 with red/orange 1,5 stop filters i still get arround 1/60 1/100 1/125 times outside , moreover i used the T setting on my speed often and was able to get times arround 0,5 sec and slower spot on, but i dont think i could manage that with faster times,

i have looked at the sinar p2 great camera and easy to get here in germany, but it looks kind of clumsy and big and i would really like to shoot outside with the 8x10 ,
a somehow transportation friendly camera would be nice.

the kodak 2d size looks ok and i have a solid and sturdy tripod with an old 1920-30 large format head, built like a german tank looool

i currently use my beloved efke 25 for my outside work with my speed graphic and would like to continue using it with 8x10 , even great for starters like myself in the cost department and pricewise

i would like to try different fast old lenses in order to find 2-3 favorite lenses with special character and like jay said im pursuing the shallow depth of field :-)

i need to do more research on the shutters....