Isn't there wood in the wings of a Super Cub? At any rate, the fabric will burn. I'd save the camera for a last and desparate resort.Originally Posted by John Kasaian
If your Super Cub augers into Mindenhall Glacier and youre freezing your tail off, you can always build a warming fire with a 'dorff. Try doing that with a Sinar!LOL!
One man's Mede is another man's Persian.
Excellent advice! And remember that you can boil and eat leather bellows, but not vinyl
ones.
Only the wing tips and floor boards. Of course it would be a last, desparate resort but it could be done! Not many cameras will sacrifice themselves for the survival of thier owners---'dorffs are kind of like the "St. Bernard" of LF cameras, woof!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
My 12x20 Lotus is a real pleasure to work with in spite of it's "bulk" but I solved most issues with an old Samsonite suitcase, an axle, and some wheels from Northern Tool. It sets up quickly, all controls have become second nature, and the delrin issues mentioned earlier have not been a problem. Using the locks is similar to using a clutch with a manual gearbox. A good friend owns a machine shop and after taking him my Manfrotto geared head, he machined a beautiful piece of 3/8" aluminum that attaches permanently to the Lotus and has a circle machined on the bottom that simply "drops" into the top of the head and locks on. With a camera of such size, I had found that the biggest issue was the initial attachment to the tripod due to the weight. Once done, photographing became a breeze. The Samsonite carries 4 holders in the top zippered flap and the tripod bungees down on the pull-out handle. Tires are inflatable and handle just about any terrain. Lenses are carried in an OLD white Zone VI shoulder case with light meters, filters, etc. My next jump will be to convert one of my film holders for collodion work. If that works out, I'll be scratching my head as to which make to buy in 14x17. Ritter, Chamonix, Lotus?....not sure. With regards to the OP's question, if a 14x17 Lotus popped up for sale tomorrow, I'd be in line (if there was one) to purchase. I understand the comment earlier that it's just a box, BUT I appreciate the craftsmanship and effort that went into the making of my "box", and I would buy another.
tw
Impressive gear, Tav! And packed neatly! Do you a web site up with your 12*20 work? I would be very interested in it.
Best,
Cor
Tav,
I'm glad to see you're treating it so well! I like your rolling suitcase with off-road wheels. I've used many view cameras in my time. Of all of them, the Lotus 12x20 was the nicest made and was a pleasure to use. I bought it used for a pretty good price at the time. I only sold it because I never really took to the 12x20 format.
Kerik.....
I'm taking good care of it (as best I can). If only I could stretch the 12" up to 16", all would be good!
tw
I had the opportunity to use one of these for a few months - it is very well made, with an excellent level of fit and finish. Controls are easy to use and it locked up as rigid as any field camera I have had the chance to use. The one I used had brass gearing instead of plastic - it had very smooth movements. If expense is not a factor, it would certainly be on my short list of best field cameras currently in production. But, unfortunately for most of us - expense is a factor.
Still don't get it. Who could have afforded Lotus for student use? These were never cheap or readily available cameras in this country. And delrin doesn't easily wear. It's used for all
kinds of industrial gear lines. It can be deliberately cut (and is intended to be machined,
obviously). Sand might get imbedded between gear with serious abuse - but that would
damage brass just as easily. In fact, a lot of brass on budget import view cameras has been cast, and not machined forged alloy. Lotus did introduce brass gearing for the US
market, but that's more local predudice than anything else. But I guess there are some
students out there who could either dent a titanium ball or eat one.
I've been using a Lotus 8x10 for several years now. It's a very well crafted piece of equipment and every time I pull it out I experience the joy of using such a well constructed camera. My lenses are Nikkor SW 150 8.0, Rodenstock Sironar-N 300 mm f5.6 and Fujinon 600mm f11.0. I exchanged the Satin Snow screen with the much brighter Dutch "Boss Screen" (no longer in production). The bag bellows are nice with the 150mm. I ended up with this camera after using various 4x5 and 5x7 cameras in the past. I should have bought the Lotus 8x10 in the first place, it's the best view camera I have ever owned. It never get's in the way of what's most important: making pictures, it does what it supposed to do with no effort.
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