osaka 8x10

[monarodriguez]

hi,

i'm purchasing my first 8x10 and have recently come across an Osaka that is a budget LF camera with limited movements. i liked the feel of it and think it might be fine for what i need right now, but i want to make sure i can shoot what i want to shoot: environmental portraiture/landscapes and also portraits. it seems like i will need a 180mm for macro people portraits and i want to make sure the bellows will work okay with that.

i want to see if a) someone has personal experience with this camera and can recommend it knowing what i'd like to shoot and b) someone might dissuade me to get it for something comparable instead. (i was also looking at a used Deardorff, but i felt that it was too cumbersome to use and i might get intimidated by it).

for reference, i'm coming off a Sinar 4x5.

thanks so much for your help,
mona

[BarryS]

I've read that the Osaka is a rebranded Tachihara view camera. They're very popular and have an excellent reputation. I can't think of any 8x10 camera that wouldn't work with a 180mm lens, so the Osaka would be fine. 180mm is a moderate wide angle on 8x10--do you have a specific lens in mind? The Osaka is relatively light weight and well-built and I'd think it would be excellent for portraits and landscape work. Maybe not the best camera for use with very long lenses, but otherwise a good choice. If you've tried it and like the feel of it, it sounds like the right camera for you.

[Mark Sampson]

A 180mm would certainly let you do 'macro' portraits. Think of a 28mm lens on 35mm. But there are few, if any, modern 180mm lenses that cover 8x10 at infinity. The usual 'normal' lenses for 8x10 are 300mm-360mm. One of those would be much more versatile and still let you focus in close for macro-type work.
Oh, and welcome to the forum1

[John O'Connell]

If you want to use a 180 as a close-up portrait lens, go ahead. Rumor has it that early Fujinon 180/5.6 lenses cover at infinity on 8x10.

You make want to consider a 210 Sironar-N, however, as it's not very demanding on the bellows and just covers the format at infinity.

[Brian Ellis]

In 4x5 an Osaka is a Tachihara with a different name. I assume the same is true for 8x10. Deardorffs are great cameras, very easy to use. I've owned two 4x5 Tachiharas and two 8x10 Deardorffs, I thought the Deardorffs were at least as easy and instinctive to use as the Tachiharas. But if you've tried the Osaka and like it that's the way to go.

I don't know about lenses, I don't do portraits, but FWIW I would have thought 180 mm on an 8x10 camera would be too wide for portraits. If by macro you mean a 1:1 reproduction ratio, a 180 lens would require a bellows of 360mm minimum and virtually all 8x10 cameras will have a bellows longer than that.

[tim o'brien]

Deardorff...

Yep, it's a bit heavier than the Asian cameras you are looking at. But cumbersome?

I spent my first hour and a half under the dark cloth the other day with my new (to me) V-8. I am amazed at how intuitive everything is. No fiddling for this knob or that, it's all where it's suppose to be. Well perhaps the shift on the front board will take a bit of getting use to, but other than than that, I pulled off what looked like a decent imitation of a Scheimpflug effect without having to pull my head out from under the cloth.

Sometimes you just know when a camera is right and my first 8x10 is probably my last.

tim in san jose