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View Full Version : 8x10? no, I mustn't



Rider
2-May-2007, 13:45
The recent thread about Fujinon 360 A spurred me to look into various lens possibilities for 8x10. Boy, am I lucky not to shoot 8x10, yet. But it's inevitable, one day it will happen. For new 8x10, how do you people feel about the Wista 8x10?

David Karp
2-May-2007, 13:51
My good friend had one and really liked it a lot.

Beware of what your future may hold. He sold his Wista to help finance an 11x14 Canham! :eek:

Dave_B
2-May-2007, 14:02
The recent thread about Fujinon 360 A spurred me to look into various lens possibilities for 8x10. Boy, am I lucky not to shoot 8x10, yet. But it's inevitable, one day it will happen. For new 8x10, how do you people feel about the Wista 8x10?

You're toast. You'll be getting an 8x10 very soon. There is no hope for you. You are the only one who still thinks this might not happen. The rest of us recognize the symptoms of an illness for which there is no cure. Enjoy your new camera.
Cheers,
Dave B.

Robert Hughes
2-May-2007, 14:08
"I'm Bob, and I'm an LF-aholic."

"Hi, Bob"

Brian Ellis
2-May-2007, 20:33
I haven't owned one but I spent a lot of time playing around with one at a camera show a few years ago. I thought it was a very nice camera. I ultimately decided not to buy it because the bellows was a little too short for my usage (IIRC it was 24" or maybe a little less).

Hugo Zhang
2-May-2007, 20:49
Wista 8x10 is my first 8x10. But the bellow is too short and I settled down with a Deardorff. But if you only shoot landscapes, it should be fine.

Jim Galli
2-May-2007, 21:07
Did he say 8X10 singular?? :D:D:D:D

Brian C. Miller
2-May-2007, 21:59
8x10 is the best replacement for Kodak Techpan 4x5.

Oren Grad
2-May-2007, 22:06
If you like the Wista 8x10, buy the Tachihara 8x10 instead and use the money saved to buy the lens you need. They're the same camera. (8x10 only; the 4x5s are entirely different.)

Ken Lee
3-May-2007, 05:08
If you want to make a nice 16x20 print, you can scan an 8x10 at a rather modest resolution, and still end up with a remarkable image. As Jim Galli has pointed out, even the most humble lens on 8x10 will generally match or even out-perform the finest lenses on 4x5, due to simple arithmetic. My printer only takes 13x19, but 12x15 prints from my 8x10 negatives are... smooth beyond smooth.

Mike Davis
3-May-2007, 06:23
My printer only takes 13x19, but 12x15 prints from my 8x10 negatives are... smooth beyond smooth.


Where do you find that size? Does the person who does your printing use graded or variable contrast paper?


:D

Ken Lee
3-May-2007, 06:31
Sorry, I was vague.

By my printer, I meant my Epson inkjet printer.

It takes paper up to 13x19 inches. So my max print size for 4x5/8x10 (un-cropped), is 12x15 inches. I would probably never print bigger than that anyhow.

Mike Davis
3-May-2007, 06:36
Sorry, I was vague.

By my printer, I meant my Epson inkjet printer.

It takes paper up to 13x19 inches. So my max print size for 4x5/8x10 (un-cropped), is 12x15 inches. I would probably never print bigger than that anyhow.

Actually, I should apologize. You weren't vague, I was just making a joke.

Bill_1856
3-May-2007, 06:48
I nominate this for the best thread of the year. It shows the excitement, the hope, the commitment, and the humor of LF folks at our most pathetic.

Rider
3-May-2007, 08:04
Buy? Who said anything about buying? I'm thinking it should be a gift, from, my lovely wife. Honey, are you reading this thread?

If the bellows extension on the Wista and the Tachihara are kind of short, how about a used Zone VI--are those any good?

Jack Flesher
3-May-2007, 08:30
Don't do it! Once you head down the path of 8x10 you are ruined. I remember when I thought 6x7 medium format film was the end-all path to image quality... A few years later I "tried" 4x5. Whoa! 10 years later I finally broke down and gave 8x10 a serious look. 4x5 now looks awfully small on the light box...

However if you must, I will state that the camera you choose to get first is of no matter, for you will surely own a few more before you settle on a favorite :D

Cheers and luck in your decision,

scott_6029
3-May-2007, 14:15
Don't do it if you don't want your 4 x 5 to collect dust....well, color is another matter....ok, if you must shoot color, keep both...

Robert Skeoch
3-May-2007, 19:15
It's a slippery slope you're on.
It only ends when either your wife says it's over... or you're hauling a new Ebony 20x24 around that's the size of a Volkswagen. Well not a Volkswagen, maybe more of a smart car.

We've all walked down that road and found our own place to leap off.

Back to the cameras now.... myself I like the Zone VI 8x10 and would get one with the gold plated fittings.... they were the later design. The Wista's aren't too common in 8x10 if you're looking for used. Of course you can get them new.

The Canham's are great and people love them but hard to find used. Easy to get new. So are the Ebony's.

Maybe see if you can borrow/try something first to see if you really need to own one.

-Rob
www.bigcameraworkshops.com