Mike in NY
1-Mar-2019, 14:48
The title of this post gives away the story’s ending, but if you read it all, you’ll spot the progression of tell-tale signs that a larger camera than I expected loomed in my future.
Not too long ago I resolved to get a wood flatbed 4x5 to supplement my other LF cameras. I decided that a second-hand model would be fine, and I wasn’t going to be too picky about the make, so long as it was priced accordingly. I checked Craigslist and found a post for a barely used “Zone VI Classic 4x5 Camera” offered for a little less than they were selling for on eBay. That sparked my interest.
The listing included three close-up photos of the camera on a workbench, and the name plate showed that it was made by Zone VI (it wasn’t made for Zone VI by Wisner, nor was it assembled by Calumet after they acquired Zone VI). Two other close-ups taken from diagonal angles showed the camera with the bellows extended a little bit, but not much. I noticed a support loop on top of the bellows, which I thought was odd for a 4x5. But then I thought maybe Zone VI used them due to the bellow’s longer draw of 18 inches, and gave it no more thought. And in retrospect there weren’t any other reference objects in the photos to give some indication of the camera’s size. What the photos did show was a camera that didn’t have a mark on it, with nice wood grain and immaculate hardware.
The only problem is that the camera was located in another state. So I sent an email asking if the seller would be willing to sell it to me through eBay (for my protection) and ship it to me if I paid an additional amount to cover the auction fees and shipping costs. It turns out the seller had a 100% satisfaction rating on eBay but wasn’t accustomed to shipping large items (hence the reason for putting it on Craigslist), so we agreed to the deal and made the transaction.
The next day I received a note from the seller letting me know it had shipped, but that the shipping was quite a bit more than I expected for a 4x5 camera. With tongue in check, I thought to myself, “Maybe that gold plating on some Zone VI cameras weighs more than I realized.” As the next couple of days passed before receiving the camera, I began to wonder if the camera I bought was the 4x5 model with gold plated hardware, or was a regular brass model. I hoped mine was just brass, and wondered if I could figure it out by comparing the Craigslist pictures with photos of other Zone VI cameras on the web, to see if there were any difference other than the sheen of the hardware's finish.
So I did a web search, and noticed that none of the photos of any other Zone VI 4x5’s looked quite like the pictures of the one I just bought. For example, mine had two closure clasps on either side of the top of the rear standard, rather than a single clasp in the middle. One of the spirit levels was positioned on the lower half instead of the upper half of the side of the rear standard. The front standard’s lock-down knobs for adjusting the swing were bigger. None of the others had a bellows support loop like mine. And the front and rear focusing knobs were farther apart on mine, as if they were on a longer bed… Hey – wait a minute!
And that’s when it hit me…
Well pierce my ears and call me drafty, but the photos of the camera I bought were of an 8x10, not a 4x5 as described in the listing!
To confirm, I quickly looked up photos of Zone VI 8x10 models on the web, and sure enough, they were all identical to mine!
I’m glad I figured this out before the camera arrived; otherwise I would have been gobsmacked when I opened the box. Instead, I knew exactly what to expect when UPS delivered a rather large box a few days later, with a beauty of a barely used 8x10 inside of it.
So, what to do? I thought it was only fair to let the seller know what had occurred, but I ended up keeping the camera and volunteering to pay something extra. It’s not the camera I originally wanted, but of course it wasn’t a bad deal for what I got, either. If I decide to resell it, I’m sure I’ll be compensated for my expense, time and effort, with enough left over to get a better 4x5. Or maybe I’ll keep the camera and look for a Beseler 8x10 enlarger conversion kit.
Hhmm, I wonder if I can find one on Craigslist...
Not too long ago I resolved to get a wood flatbed 4x5 to supplement my other LF cameras. I decided that a second-hand model would be fine, and I wasn’t going to be too picky about the make, so long as it was priced accordingly. I checked Craigslist and found a post for a barely used “Zone VI Classic 4x5 Camera” offered for a little less than they were selling for on eBay. That sparked my interest.
The listing included three close-up photos of the camera on a workbench, and the name plate showed that it was made by Zone VI (it wasn’t made for Zone VI by Wisner, nor was it assembled by Calumet after they acquired Zone VI). Two other close-ups taken from diagonal angles showed the camera with the bellows extended a little bit, but not much. I noticed a support loop on top of the bellows, which I thought was odd for a 4x5. But then I thought maybe Zone VI used them due to the bellow’s longer draw of 18 inches, and gave it no more thought. And in retrospect there weren’t any other reference objects in the photos to give some indication of the camera’s size. What the photos did show was a camera that didn’t have a mark on it, with nice wood grain and immaculate hardware.
The only problem is that the camera was located in another state. So I sent an email asking if the seller would be willing to sell it to me through eBay (for my protection) and ship it to me if I paid an additional amount to cover the auction fees and shipping costs. It turns out the seller had a 100% satisfaction rating on eBay but wasn’t accustomed to shipping large items (hence the reason for putting it on Craigslist), so we agreed to the deal and made the transaction.
The next day I received a note from the seller letting me know it had shipped, but that the shipping was quite a bit more than I expected for a 4x5 camera. With tongue in check, I thought to myself, “Maybe that gold plating on some Zone VI cameras weighs more than I realized.” As the next couple of days passed before receiving the camera, I began to wonder if the camera I bought was the 4x5 model with gold plated hardware, or was a regular brass model. I hoped mine was just brass, and wondered if I could figure it out by comparing the Craigslist pictures with photos of other Zone VI cameras on the web, to see if there were any difference other than the sheen of the hardware's finish.
So I did a web search, and noticed that none of the photos of any other Zone VI 4x5’s looked quite like the pictures of the one I just bought. For example, mine had two closure clasps on either side of the top of the rear standard, rather than a single clasp in the middle. One of the spirit levels was positioned on the lower half instead of the upper half of the side of the rear standard. The front standard’s lock-down knobs for adjusting the swing were bigger. None of the others had a bellows support loop like mine. And the front and rear focusing knobs were farther apart on mine, as if they were on a longer bed… Hey – wait a minute!
And that’s when it hit me…
Well pierce my ears and call me drafty, but the photos of the camera I bought were of an 8x10, not a 4x5 as described in the listing!
To confirm, I quickly looked up photos of Zone VI 8x10 models on the web, and sure enough, they were all identical to mine!
I’m glad I figured this out before the camera arrived; otherwise I would have been gobsmacked when I opened the box. Instead, I knew exactly what to expect when UPS delivered a rather large box a few days later, with a beauty of a barely used 8x10 inside of it.
So, what to do? I thought it was only fair to let the seller know what had occurred, but I ended up keeping the camera and volunteering to pay something extra. It’s not the camera I originally wanted, but of course it wasn’t a bad deal for what I got, either. If I decide to resell it, I’m sure I’ll be compensated for my expense, time and effort, with enough left over to get a better 4x5. Or maybe I’ll keep the camera and look for a Beseler 8x10 enlarger conversion kit.
Hhmm, I wonder if I can find one on Craigslist...