Wehman 8x10 Front Rise

[Ari]

Considering getting this camera and need a quick spec check.
I can't find this information online, and the Wehman site has been down for some time.

I have three questions for any current or past owners:

1. How much front rise does the Wehman provide?
2. If more rise is needed, can this be done by a hobbyist/shop rat like me?
3. What lens board is used? I read variously that it's Sinar-, Toyo- (158mm) or Canham-friendly.

If photos of the front rise assembly can be taken, I'd greatly appreciate seeing a few.

Thanks in advance.

[Oslolens]

Front rise is 4.0 inches or 100 mm.

Front fall is 3.0 inches or 75mm, any more rise or fall can be achieved by combining front and back tilt.

The front tilt is not centred, but traditional field camera style, hinged at the bed.

The front tilt backwards and forward is limited by bellows.

The Wehman lens board according to skgrimes.com 5 1/4 ” square aircraft plywood with a 4.71 ” square plateau. Lips thickness is .105. Overall thickness .245. Rear circular 3.42″ recessed section.

Due to a little short rise combined with non-changeable bellows, I had my off-centre lens board shift as much as 21mm, or 0,825 inch. The wide angle lens can still be centred, AND, as the lens board can be turned 90,180 or 270 degrees, I have 21mm shift in either direction before I start to move the front.

From my notes for youtube-video.






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[Ari]

Tusen takk! That's great information, very helpful.
Do you have link to your you tube video? I did not find any Wehman videos at all.

Another question: are there several versions of this camera? I've read about the early front standard using one knob for all controls, and a later version that had somewhat modified the front controls.
How do you tell the later models apart?
Thanks

[Oslolens]

Did not video the film. Don't know about versions, except light weight with lot of big holes in the clam shell.

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[Ari]

Thanks again

[Peter De Smidt]

Ari, Bryan has one. He might be able to help.

[Ari]

Hopefully he'll see this thread, but I'll send him a PM.
Thanks, Peter.

[BLATT LAB]

I would love to own one of these! But really hard to find here in Europe even when buying International.

[Corran]

I responded to Ari's message but I'd like to add to the convo here.

I see this Wehman on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/193942732065

My camera, and a friend of mine's who also posts here occasionally who happened to show me his camera recently, both have different front standard materials. Instead of the angled silvery material like here, ours have a black material with a ~45 degree angle at the top. My guess is this is an older camera. I think the newer one looks a bit more refined. I also notice the weird little U-shaped riser on the camera bed, probably for the knob on the rear standard. Mine has that integrated into the bed. I would be worried it could get broken off like it is on that camera.

Peter, how does yours look comparatively?

Also, I remember reading that some older cameras had stiffer bellows material. My camera has pretty stiff bellows. What about other users? The stiffness hasn't bothered me - it's not too stiff to use, even with a good amount of front rise with a 150mm lens. Mostly, I've wondered if a thinner, more flexible bellows might shave another couple of ounces off the weight, since I have the "ultralight" a.k.a. "Swiss-cheese" model :).

[Ari]

Thanks, Bryan. I sent you an email as your PM box is full.

[Jim Noel]

The camera on ebay is the same model as mine. I believe it is the 2nd model. I use lenses from 150mm to 19" with no problems. It takes a few uses to get used to to the asymmetrical movements, but they present no problem. I have owned 7 different 8x10 cameras over the years even the heavyweight Calumet. I bought this from a friend when I was 85 in order to save weight. Some day I will convert it to a lighter weight version by drilling out some of the aluminum. I have an adapter board which allows me to use Technika boards which i use on5xy, and 4x5.
When set up properly this is a very sturdy camera and i have no problem with vibration even when the bellows is extended to its maximum for extreme closeups.
Having been used to the 36" bellows on the Kodak Universal, the best and lightest weight 8x10 i have owned and should never have sold, the bellows on the Wehman is a little short but one had to give up something on every camera.
I like this camera very much and rarely leave home without it.

[Ari]

Thanks, Jim. My longest lens is only 14", but it's a Petzval type, clocking in at 3 1/2 pounds. Others have told me the Wehman should be able to support this.
Bellows extension, even for tight close-ups, shouldn't be any kind of problem.
Rather, the size of the lens boards may be too small for the diameter of the Petzval!

[Carl J]

Hi Ari,

Mine has those very stiff bellows as well and I wish it was more flexible material. Mostly effects 210mm lens so I have to be sure to remember to double-check for vignetting and secure bellows out of the way if I can; doesn't seem to effect shorter and longer focal lengths. I have the swiss cheese model as well. It's light weight and very rugged with basic controls. IOW, it's not a 'precise' camera, movement wise, which you learn to work with or around (and I guess not all that untypical for a field camera).

Spare parts. I got a few extra knobs from Bruce (while he was still with us) after I lost one in the field. I've been careful ever since about that.

I've thought of having Richard Ritter replace the bellows with better, more flexible, material, and make a 5x7 back -- if I'd only get around to it.

Great bail mechanism. Base tilt. Moving the front standard (the way it slides along the rails) can be a little fiddly, imo, but you quickly get used to it. I haven't had any particular problems with heavier lenses, but I'm generally not angling the camera downwards with a heavy lens up front (keep the base tilt knobs securely tightened). YMMV. I mostly avoid using front swing, I think the idea is to use the assymetrical rear swing which I'm still not sure if I use correctly. ;)

FWIW, I mostly use 250mm Fujinon and 6 1/2" Dagor lenses but it supports the weight of something like the 360mm f6.3 Fujinon generally without problems. I also mostly use Technika lens boards with an adaptor for interchangeability.

Not my only 8x10 so I have other options but it's probably one of the most frequently used. I appreciate the weight (lack thereof), compact form factor, no nonsense qualities, and I'm not getting any younger. ;)

Best of luck! :)

Carl

[Ari]

Thanks, Carl! So far I count three iterations of the camera, the last being the Swiss cheese model, and the second using a thicker metal for the shell instead of a composite material used on the 1st-gen cameras.
I guess I should have bought one when I had the chance, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for a 2nd-gen with lighter bellows. My 150mm lens needs rise quite often.

[Oslolens]

Rather, the size of the lens boards may be too small for the diameter of the Petzval!

Is it the flange or the lens size that worry you? The front standard opening can be increased and a flange can either be cut or copied and cut to size

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[Corran]

Interesting the multiple versions, I was totally unaware until Ari brought this up. Too bad Bruce left us so early and the website never had much info on versions from what I remember.

I'd love to see what the options are for new bellows that aren't stiff, but preferably still strong - my last 8x10, a Wista, had paper bellows that I was very scared of piercing with a tree branch while hiking!

[Ari]

Is it the flange or the lens size that worry you? The front standard opening can be increased and a flange can either be cut or copied and cut to size

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No, not worried, I can adapt almost anything to my needs. But if the lens diameter is larger than the front standard, I'm not sure what I'd be able to do.
I think it'll be fine, actually.


Interesting the multiple versions, I was totally unaware until Ari brought this up. Too bad Bruce left us so early and the website never had much info on versions from what I remember.

I'd love to see what the options are for new bellows that aren't stiff, but preferably still strong - my last 8x10, a Wista, had paper bellows that I was very scared of piercing with a tree branch while hiking!

Another member here contacted me privately, he's a long-time Wehman owner and knows about the various models.
That's his "history" of the Wehman, and looking at the few photos on the web, it seems to line up with what's shown online.
I know almost nothing about these cameras.

[Corran]

A nice write-up with this info would be super nice, if they don't mind. Maybe in a new thread. I wouldn't mind having that kind of info on-hand, instead of hunting around for it.

As an aside, here is what remains of his website, from the Internet Archive:

https://web.archive.org/web/20161101231701/http://wehmancamera.com/camera.html

[j.e.simmons]

I bought mine directly from Bruce in 2010. At that time, he offered both the regular model and the lightweight model with the holes. As I understand it, he got feedback from users throughout the time he made the cameras and made slight modifications all along. I got two lensboards with the camera. It appears to be a phenolic front with a wood backing. I had him make a third lensboard for a barrel lens, and that board appears to be all wood and painted black. The lensboards are the same size as B&J boards, except the lip on the B&J boards is too thick. I can’t find real aircraft plywood here anymore - the stuff sold at Hobby Lobby is more like balsa wood. I think I’ll order phenolic and use the weak plywood for the backing.

One advantage of this camera is that it can be used with a much lighter tripod - at least lighter than the one I used with my C1.

I had hoped someone would buy the business from Bruce’s estate to continue this great camera.

[Peter De Smidt]

I regret not buying one directly from Bruce.

[Ari]

A nice write-up with this info would be super nice, if they don't mind. Maybe in a new thread. I wouldn't mind having that kind of info on-hand, instead of hunting around for it.

As an aside, here is what remains of his website, from the Internet Archive:

https://web.archive.org/web/20161101231701/http://wehmancamera.com/camera.html

That's what I was looking for, thanks Bryan.

Feeling the love for this camera, so I posted a WTB ad.
Gotta admire a product, and the guy behind it, that inspires such quiet, fierce loyalty.

[dodphotography]

I used it in France for a project... it’s an interesting camera. Like Carl, if I had kept it... it would have gone straight to Ritter for new bellows. For long exposures I made over there I had to make duplicates because I could actually see the front standard creeping backwards from the pressure they were under. I guess if you’re using a 240mm or 150 and never racking the bellows it ain’t a problem.


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[Ari]

For long exposures I made over there I had to make duplicates because I could actually see the front standard creeping backwards from the pressure they were under. I guess if you’re using a 240mm or 150 and never racking the bellows it ain’t a problem.


Which lenses were you using?

[dodphotography]

Which lenses were you using?

It was a 210 but racked close... basically, if the camera sat on its first rail, it was fine. The minute the front standard went onto the second track, eshhhh... felt like a real handmade garage camera.


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[Ari]

Thanks

[Corran]

Just as a counterpoint - I had no problem with a longish exposure and my Wehman setup like this. Yes the *bellows when extending clearly exerts pressure backwards, pulling the front standard, but I've never seen mine flex after things were locked down.

213879

[dodphotography]

Just as a counterpoint - I had no problem with a longish exposure and my Wehman setup like this. Yes the front standard when extending clearly exerts pressure backwards, pulling the front standard, but I've never seen mine flex after things were locked down.

213879

If anything speaks to the crapshoot of variability between models and when they were made etc


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[Ari]

Back with another question:
On this page: https://web.archive.org/web/20161101231701/http://wehmancamera.com/camera.html it says that a Sinar adapter can be used, which would be larger than the 5 1/4" Wehman board.

So is it possible to change the receiver board that's built into the Wehman?
I'd be happy if a Wehman could accept 141 Arca boards as standard, not with a board adapter, if that makes sense.