cambo SCX 8x10

[jedrzej66]

Hi,
I need help in making a decision on the purchase.
I have a possibility of the purchase cambo SCX 8x10 without the lens board (body only) on the rail base of 75 cm in the veeeeery good technical condition for about 620 dollars. Whether is it a good price for these camera?
I know that it is a Beast but I don't know whether it is a chance whether not.....

[lenser]

I don't have the 8x10, but a close friend did and I've shot it along my own 4x5 SCX which I've owned for many years. My take, they are fantastic both as monorail studio cameras and as an interchangeable system camera with lots of accessories. Check the price against finished sales at ebay and KEH if they offer any right now. That may tell you whether this price is a good one. Also, confirm that it is the original ground glass as that would add to the value. Lens boards are easily found and if they are the same as the 4x5 boards (I believe they are), are the same as the Calumet boards of the same size. I believe that all of the boards for the Cambo cameras are the same, so you don't need a specific SCX board. Also confirm that all of the knobs are intact.

[Brian C. Miller]

BUY IT! BUY IT!! BUY IT!!!

I have one. These cameras are good! I bought mine, including a reducing back and a couple of accessories, for $1000, a number of years ago. I have seen them for $300 at one time, but the current market is what it is. These are really good cameras.

[jedrzej66]

Thanks for answers.
Really I would prefer field wooden camera, but their prices are fatal. Cambo isn't too comfortable for using at photographing landscapes - up to it I want to buy 8x10. I am a big boy but I don't know whether I will manage to carry this monster in the field...

[Brian C. Miller]

I know that I've seen some European manufacturers of wood field cameras, and I know that they were discussed on the forum. I use my 8x10 for "trunk" photography -- see something, open the trunk, pull camera out, photograph it, put the camera back in the trunk. If something interesting requires a walk, I use a smaller camera.

The Cambo weighs about 18 pounds (8kg), and my old Bogen tripod weighs more than that. If the weight is too much, then wait for an older wooden field camera.

[jedrzej66]

Yes I know that it is not a camera for walking with her on the shoulder:)
Now I am more and more close to the purchase. There is in the set also a reduction to 4x5. In case of the crisis...;)
Another question: Holders from fidelity, lisco will fit to cambo?

[Brian C. Miller]

Yes, Fidelity and Lisco will fit just fine. That is what I have, along with one Toyo. The 4x5 adapter is just great, it's a really good little design.

[jedrzej66]

Thank You Brian! I think that tomorrow I will buy this cambo.:)
All the best!!!

[jedrzej66]

And I received a photo from cambo seller. He is attaching it in the set. I don't know what it is used for...
111919

.....
I already know - it is a lens hood :)
But is it complete? Whether still are needed any parts to install it?

[koh303]

It is a compendium lens shade - the most useful piece of equipment you will ever have, especially if shooting outside...
It looks complete, and you do not need anything to install, it goes right on the front standard of any Cambo SC camera ever made.

[pasiasty]

Thanks for answers.
Really I would prefer field wooden camera, but their prices are fatal. Cambo isn't too comfortable for using at photographing landscapes - up to it I want to buy 8x10. I am a big boy but I don't know whether I will manage to carry this monster in the field...
I've been using Cambo SC 2/3 (4x5 and 5x7) for a couple of years - quite a good camera, but definitely not for outdoor shooting. It's a great tool to be put on a studio stand (like Cambo UST) and used confined in a space without stairs and thresholds. I've ended up with another camera (a 4x5 Chamonix) for outdoor shooting.

You'd have to carry a suitable tripod along with your camera: either a modern one, which would cost way more than your camera, or an old-fashioned steel or wooden 10+ kg piece (which would not necessarily be cheap though).

Accessories for Cambo are quite available, so if you decide on this camera, you should be able to get lens-boards easily.

[jedrzej66]

I bought it !!!
What a monster! I like it. I like such large reliable cameras very much.
I already know everything about it apart from one knob. For what is the knob situated in the middle of back standard? The bottom knob allows to lift the standard up, the upper knob allows to lean the back but the middle one...?
I have opened box with kodak XX pan film too. It is about 35 years old :) What speed this film has nominally and now after 35 years?
I will test it but I don't know this type of film generally.

Cezary - I have a old tripod for geodesist - only have to renovate it and to install some head.

[Brian C. Miller]

The middle one is for back swing. You should be able to find a 300mm or 360mm lens for not too much money, they are the most common lenses for 8x10.

If the mounting plate of the Cambo can screw onto the tripod directly, you probably really don't need a head, or it can wait.

Test the film. It may be fogged, it may not. I had some Tri-X that expired in 1987, and it was OK, but it had been frozen for years, like a mammoth in a glacier.

[jedrzej66]

But I think that by these knobs should probably be some wire but I don't have it. Therefore I could not work out what it is about. Is it much-needed in practice?
Now I have Fujinon W 210mm (newest type) and I am not sure if it cover all 8x10 ? I am thinking about the purchase 300 or 360 zeiss tessar but without shutter. I have a cowboy hat and I could use it as a shutter :)))

[jon.oman]

But I think that by these knobs should probably be some wire but I don't have it. Therefore I could not work out what it is about. Is it much-needed in practice?


The middle knob is to hold a stiff wire brace that helps to hold up the bellows. It prevents bellows sag. If the wire is missing, you may be able to make one....

The wire does have a metal plate attached as well:

http://www.gophotog.org/allphotos/grabbag/photos/D20_8638.jpg

Here is an image of the wire brace attached to the knob:

http://www.gophotog.org/allphotos/grabbag/photos/D20_8629.jpg

[jedrzej66]

Thank you Jon. Could you measure this wire (the thickness, the width and the length of shoulders on both sides). I will do it for myself in the workshop...

[jon.oman]

Thank you Jon. Could you measure this wire (the thickness, the width and the length of shoulders on both sides). I will do it for myself in the workshop...

Wire thickness: 5/32 inch / 4.04 mm
Short side: 5 inches / 127 mm (measured to outside of turn)
Long side: 16 inches / 406.4 mm (measured to outside of turn)

Plate width: 3/4 inch / 19.05 mm
Plate length: 6 inches / 152.4 mm
Plate thickness: 1/8 inch / 3.175 mm

[jedrzej66]

Jon, thank you very much! Now I can supplement missing parts :)

[mike rosenlof]

That Fujinon lens will probably cover 8x10 at medium close focus distances but not infinity. A 300 360mm g-claron, gerogon, repromaster type process lens (the more wide field type) can usually be found without shutter pretty cheaply and will work well.

have fun!

[gubaguba]

I used Cambo SCX 8x10 for years as a studio camera. They are real workhorses of the industry. They were not overly complicated so any problems were easily handled and repaired. The lock and gearing mechanisms all worked well and stood up over repeated use. Just check the bellow well as like any bellows they can get leaks. Cambo cameras were pretty popular and never very expensive so parts and accessories can be found on ebay fairly inexpensively.