Hi Everyone,

I would like to thank everyone on the site for their help. In particular I would like to thank both Dave and Paul for their help and insights. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I am not going to lie, it took me a little bit to process everyones opinion. I really had to mull everything over.

One thing that stood out for me was whatPaul said concerning a camera being a "tool" that exists ultimately to enable you to make something and how it needs to be the right tool for the job I think is really important. Over the years I have mostly gotten by with banged up equipment because I have never been the type of person who saw his equipment as a fashion statement. Ideally I would love to buy a $4,000 Chamonix camera but that is a hard investment to make for a piece of equipment I have only read about and never actually seen let alone used. Also, I can easily see myself getting robbed and being out a few months worth of wages in a moment.

Additionally, the resale value of the intrepid should not be a huge concern. Daves points are correct but if I have to sell it for $400 or $350 then it means I have to eat some of the cost but that is not too bad if I get a good year of shooting with it.

Still, Dave does make one great point that is hard to get around. If the equipment is subpar then you risk putting yourself into a position where you are tossing good money after bad or worse your experience with photography sours because your images fail to come out.

So I guess the real issue for me is will the camera work and will I enjoy using it. That is why I was thinking about getting a Kodak Master View . I intend to travel with this camera and carry it with me throughout Ecuador's countryside. I figured it checked most of the boxes. It looked like it hit a nice compromise of being both light enough, sturdy and not too expensive. I don’t know why this decision is so hard to make.

One direction I should investigate would be looking at the Stenocpia. I have read a little bit about it and it looks like an interesting camera and does not weigh too much. Also it costs about the same price as the KMV. The question is how sturdy it is. I probably should research that next. I could not find any reviews on the 8x10 on youtube. Does anyone have any insight on it?

Also, if I do decide to get the Kodak Master View, how do people protect the screen? Additionally the suggestion of the 12 inch Ektar is helpful but how does someone know if they are buying a lens that functions correctly? I mean it is a really old shutter. How does someone know it will keep working after you buy it?

Sorry for all the questions and once again I would like to thank everyone for the help.

-Andrew