Best 8x10 GG protector?

[Frank Petronio]

For a Norma ;-)

I see Canham has one -- is that pretty universal?

[Gary Beasley]

The one I used on the field camera is universal. Kind of a clip that slides one leg into the filmholder slot and the other leg covering the GG. Covered from both sides, thats pretty good. Is that what you were thinking of?

[Keith Fleming]

I have a clear plastic Canham protector I've used on both an 8X10 Wista Field and an 8X10 Deardorff. It worked fine on both cameras. However, for use on the Wista, I did have to cut a tiny notch in the middle of one edge of the GG protector. The protector was ever so slightly wider than the space between the upper and lower screws for the hinges on the back. The notch fit over the head of the lower screw on the camera back and let the protector fit flush with the back and ground glass. No big deal--took about two minutes to do. My real point is that I've been happy with my Canham protector.

Keith

[erie patsellis]

for the Sinars, I cut a piece of 1/8" acrylic, the exact size of a lensboard, in the case of the 4x5, IIRC. May not look factory perfect, but for only a few $$$ it does the job well Prior to that I used a spare unbored lensboard.

[Jay Wolfe]

Why would he cut something the size of a lensboard to protect the ground glass?



for the Sinars, I cut a piece of 1/8" acrylic, the exact size of a lensboard, in the case of the 4x5, IIRC. May not look factory perfect, but for only a few $$$ it does the job well Prior to that I used a spare unbored lensboard.

[John Powers]

RH Phillips 1993 8x10 Advantage and 2004 7x17 were provided with 1/8" acrylic held on with velcro dots. The only complaint is that some times I forget to take it off and have a senior moment where I wonder why I can't get the image to focus any better than what I see through the acrylic.

John

[Oren Grad]

My favorite GG protectors have been the ones that came with my Phillips cameras - as John describes, they're just simple slabs of 1/8" acrylic, with rounded corders, held on with Velcro dots. I just had a local glass shop cut me another piece just like those for an 11x14 camera - including a few cents extra for the Velcro dots, it'll end up costing me all of $12 or so.

The only questions would be whether the Norma back has good places to put the mating Velcro dots, and whether you want to sully it that way.

[Walter Calahan]

I got one from Badger Graphics that works great.

http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1086

[Michael Kadillak]

For my Toyo 810M I had Alistair Inglis cut me a piece of high quality acrylic with rounded corners that was a fraction of the cost of the opaque one that Toyo sold. It is held in place with metal tabs and I never take it off as it is just as easy to focus through it. Much higher optical quality than what I could get at my hardware store.

Whatever works baby....

[Ralph Barker]

I made my own out of Masonite with nylon web belting for hinges, attached with pop rivets.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Foamcor. Cut to fit glass & secure with a couple of rubber bands.

[Sal Santamaura]

The Phillips protectors are made from Lexan, a polycarbonate, not acrylic.

[Oren Grad]

Sal's right - apologies for getting it wrong in my earlier post. The plastic I just had cut for my 11x14 is Makrolon, which Bayer's counterpart to GE's Lexan - both polycarbonate.

Camera trivia buffs will recall that the Minox 35 cameras were famous for being made of glass-fiber-reinforced Makrolon.

Anyway, what Michael said - whatever works. Cheap and cheerful is just as good as fancy-shmancy.

[erie patsellis]

Why would he cut something the size of a lensboard to protect the ground glass?

Because, with the great foresight that Carl Koch and Co. had, the 4x5 backs, reflex viewers, bellows, and lensboards all share the exact same dimensions. Want to shade the 4x5 back/ground glass? You can use any standard 4x5 bellows to shade, it. Need more bellows? Use a standard halfway, attach a bellows front and back, voila!, instant 2x longer bellows. Need longer, no problem, stack rails and bellows as needed, until you run out of parts (or money). There is an attachment point (retainer and slider) for a standard lensboard/bellows/reflex viewer on the back.

There really is a method and a sane one at that, to the modularity that Sinar (and their proponents) tout. Unfortunately, there's 2 different size rear 8x10 standards, depending on a metering back or non metering back. The same attachment points are there, you just need to measure the size (of acrylic/lexan/ABS/masonite/aluminum) needed.

erie

[Keith Pitman]

For my 4x10, I bought an 8x10 plastic GG protector on Ebay, cut it in two piece on the bandsaw, and now have an extra . . . actually one will go with my Canham 4x10 (see For Sale listings), and one will go with my new 4x10.

I also have Canham GG protectors on the 5x7 and 4x5 backs I have in the Canham listing. I think they are probably the best, and they are not very expensive.

[Rodney Polden]

For my Century Universal, I bought one of the ABS ground-glass protectors that are offered pretty commonly on fleabay. It works great - very light and tough, and it protects both surfaces of the glass too.

[Brian Ellis]

I used a Canham GG protector on my Deardorff. I kept the camera in the backpack with the ground glass and protector facing up when the pack was placed flat in the trunk of my car. I kept a lens in a separate pocket above the protector. I drove a little faster than normal over a speed bump so that the rear of the car went up and then down with a little more than the usual force. When I later got the camera out of the pack both the protector and the ground glass were broken, presumably when the lens went up and down against the protector along with the rest of the rear of the car. If I were buying a GG protector today I'd try to find something that provided more protection than the Canham.

[Michael Kadillak]

I used a Canham GG protector on my Deardorff. I kept the camera in the backpack with the ground glass and protector facing up when the pack was placed flat in the trunk of my car. I kept a lens in a separate pocket above the protector. I drove a little faster than normal over a speed bump so that the rear of the car went up and then down with a little more than the usual force. When I later got the camera out of the pack both the protector and the ground glass were broken, presumably when the lens went up and down against the protector along with the rest of the rear of the car. If I were buying a GG protector today I'd try to find something that provided more protection than the Canham.

Bet you will never do that again......

[Frank Petronio]

Now that I've looked over the Sinar, it should be easy to fabricate a panel that will be quite effective. But there is always that next camera to plan for.... ;-)

[Joel Brown]

Frank, here is the place I purchased mine for my Deardorff. Ebay item 170259868209
Joel

[Capocheny]

Frank, here is the place I purchased mine for my Deardorff. Ebay item 170259868209
Joel

Hi Frank,

Like Joel, I also bought a gg protector from Dagor77... it's inexpensive, works well, and looks great on the Dorff 8x10 and 5x7 (reducing back.)

Cheers