Hi there !
I've been shooting 4x5 and 13x18cm for a while now and had no plan at all to go bigger. But you know how it is...
First i stumble upon someone selling a brand-new roll of AGFA Aviphot (perempted in 2015, wich can be considered "new") 24cm X 156 meters for 40€. I bought it, tested it, turned great...
Then I tought "156 meters divided by 18cm makes me more than 850 sheets of european standard 18x24cm". So I considered trying this format, not wanting to think about 24x"Something"cm.
Found a 18x24cm Fidelity Elite film holder (the one with external dimension identical with the 8x10 holders). I bought it.
Then I tought "Maybe I could buy an old 18x24cm plate camera for cheap and build it a springback 8x10 back to go with the holder I have". This is nothing but woodworking, wich is not a problem for me.
Looked for a camera on internet, with square back wich can be turned 1/4 turn for landscape (not so common in that old format). Found one, the seller say it's a 18x24cm but doesn't really know what he is selling. The camera look OK despite poor bellow and no groundglass, bought it for 200€ with unknown lens.
The camera was delivered yesterday and... It is not a 18x24cm at all ! It is a 24x30cm... In other words a (almost) 10x12 field camera.
Here is the thing :
It is nicely made of Mahogany (I guess) and brass. It operate smoothly, is kindda light (4,5kg) and surprisingly rigid. It unfortunately lack a knob, wich can be re-made, need a new bellow and new leather handle. In other words it's a trap !
But the kind of trap you like to jump into and my plan on the long run is to restore it and build it a 8x10 reducing back. On the very long run I would love to build it a proper 10x12 back but it will involve building a sheet film holder too because I can't afford a 500+€ holder from Chamonix.
The good thing is all of it can be done without modifying the camera itself, it's all about back swap !
The camera has no marking at all except "BROOKER" written with a pencil under front standard and serial number 7396 under rear standard. I have no clue what brand it is nor in what year it was built. It look a lot like a Vageeswari (example here : https://www.wetplatedreams.com/well-...ld-camera-8x10 ) even if the front standard attachement is not the same. Maybe an earlier version ?
If you have any info about it I would love to hear it !
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