Zone VI camera questions

[Joseph O'Neil]

I picked up a Zone Vi in great shape tonight at a local auction. Plan on keeping and using it with my Tachihara. Looks liek this camera has been in storage for almost ten years - it came with an unopened box of Polariod 55 b&w film that has an expiry date of Aug 2000. I wonder if it's still good. :)

Anyhow, couple of questions. First, it's a bit sticky on the rails. Would a little bit of wax rubbed on the rails be okay? I've always done that for sticky dresser drawers.

Second, any way to date this camera for fun? The serial number is 14223 and the front plate has "Made by Zone VI Studios, Newfane, Vermont, USA". This model is NOT the lightweight version. I've included a photo below of the camera below that I grabbed of the auction website, but it's bang on.

thanks much
joe

[Donald Miller]

You can probably get the manufacture date by contacting Richard Ritter (worked for Zone VI and is presently builiding cameras himself). I bought my camera from them in 1988 and the serial number was somewhat lower than yours as I recall. Your thoughts on coating the rails is probably not going to cause any immediate problems...however I would not recommend furniture type polishes since they have a reputation for degrading the wood componants over time (where screws enter the wood itself).

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Joe,

Send the camera into Richard Ritter for a CLA. I did that with my Zone VI when I got it off auction and the the small amount of money he can clean and adjust it.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Also, Richard can tell you the history of the camera.

[Fred L]

Damn Joe that's a clean looking camera. I'm thinking of getting one up as well. Wanna be cruel and pm me roughly what you got it for ?

Next time you hear of an auction with cameras down the 401, give me a holler, been a while since I've been there (used to live on John St near the Ceeps).

Fred

[Kirk Gittings]

A good grade of wax based bicycle lube like Pedro's Ice Wax is the best lube. A small bottle will last a lifetime.

[Joseph O'Neil]

Damn Joe that's a clean looking camera. I'm thinking of getting one up as well. Wanna be cruel and pm me roughly what you got it for ?
Fred

-snip-

Well ..... since i bought it in a room in front of maybe 75 people , and since the auctioners often on the catalog sales release prices realized, I guess it's public knowledge. :) Total damage was $530, and right now the CDN and US dollars are bascially at par.

It went lower than I expected (there was at least one phone bidder), and I was prepared to go higher. I think the price went low because there's not a lot of LF shooters in my hometown, and also the auction itself was mostly geared towards antiques, art, jewellery, etc. That was the only camera of any kind of over 1,200 lots, but hey, if you wanted a set of silverware, that was the place to be. :)

But be kind and look at my artars for sale - gotta pay the piper. Got a PM on the 24, but gotta move some stuff. I mean, $530 is a really good deal until you get home and have to explain to your wife why you need another 4x5 when you already have three of them. :(

[Fred L]

I shouldn't have asked :(

so you have more cameras than scopes then ? I tend to apply the "hide in plain sight" theory of camera acquisition ;)

[Keith Pitman]

-snip-

. . . when you already have three of them. :(

You ONLY have three?


Very nice camera, and a great buy, by the way.

[Joseph O'Neil]

so you have more cameras than scopes then ?

Not quite, four 4x5 cameras now, 4 telescopes, 3 microscopes, 3 enlargers, but not sure if my old 4x5 astrograph (whch I don't use anymore) qualifies as camera or telescope, so that could push totals either way. :)
joe

[Mark Sampson]

Some years after I bought my Z-VI, I asked them what polish to use- they recommended Renaissance Wax. 15 years of hard use later, the wood still looks good. Camera still does the job, too.

[RichardRitter]

Camera was made right around the take over of Zone VI. It's one of the better ones.

Richard T Ritter
www.lg4mat.net
www.finefocusworkshops.com

[Joseph O'Neil]

Many thanks Richard and everyone else. Camera IMO is a real keeper.

I have a seperate bag for it now. I briefly considered replacing it with my Tachihara in my backpack, but man, that extra weight is noticeable. But the extra stability and range of movements is very nice too, so the Zone VI is taking place of my monorail for the times i need those movements.

So I have two setups now - the Tachihara and my F8 and F9 lenses with a Berleback tripod for backpacking, and the Zone VI with all my F5.6 and F6.3 lenses and my Gitzo #3 tripod for "not too far from the car" use. :)