Gowland Lite 8x10 tribute thread

[Ben Syverson]

Just wanted to post a love note to the Gowland Lite 8x10... I've been working with it a lot more over the past few weeks, and now that I know its quirks, it's a blast to use.

I just discovered that it can fold down completely with a Fuji 300 A attached, and the rear element has plenty of clearance from the ground glass.

[Vaughn]

I just have its little brother, the 4x5 Pocket View, but I have always enjoyed using it, also. At the same time, I loaned to a friend and it drove him nuts (the lack of indents, etc.).

Glad you found a tool that fits your hand well!

Vaughn

[Ben Syverson]

Yeah, the lack of detents is a little annoying, but I'm not sure I'd trust them completely anyway -- a good two-way level is a must! :)

[David A. Goldfarb]

My first view camera was an older 8x10" Gowland PocketView--a little heavier than the Lite version, and it has rear swings and tilts as well as front rise, swing, and tilt--and I've been very happy with it. I also had a 4x5" Front Moves PocketView for a few years.

[John O'Connell]

I like my Gowland. Mine is the long-bellows Pocket View, of which Pete said he made a grand total of 2. The design is quirky but user-serviceable, and I've toted it for miles where I might not have toted a Deardorff.

I've used it with lenses that are way too big for it, set it up in hazardous places, and made some damn fine portraits with it. On the other hand, I've also dropped essential bits of it into a boulder scree changing from vertical to horizontal, and been forced to pack up and find a Lowe's for more parts---if only Pete had made a V/H model with a 32" bellows . . .

[ic-racer]

The Gowland 8x10 has been on my short list of cool cameras to get but I have always wondered about the time needed to take down and set it up. Do you guys leave it set up and carry it around in a bag or what? Just wondering about how easy or hard it is to 'unfold.'

[David A. Goldfarb]

Setup time is longer than a folding flatbed, particularly if you need to change between horizontal and vertical and don't have one with a reversible back (as I don't), but you get the hang of it, and it goes faster eventually. I usually leave the rail on the tripod, and just slide the camera onto the rail when I'm ready to make a photograph, and that saves some setup time. I've also marked some of the zero positions on the camera with a scribing tool.

I use a Suunto Tandem clinometer-compass to level and square up the camera, and this improves things immensely.

[Ben Syverson]

Setup time is pretty quick with mine... Maybe 1 minute to get it out of the bag and onto the tripod and 1 or 2 minutes to level?

The rail is in two sections that fasten into a tripod mount -- I leave the mount on the camera, and tote the rails along with the camera in my bag. Setting it up is just a matter of pushing the front standard onto the front rail and the rear standard onto the rear rail, and then popping the rails into mount and tightening slightly. A level is placed on top of the rear standard, after which you can level the whole camera (at least on mine -- it has no rear movements) and then lock it all down with an allen wrench. Then you move on to level the front standard.

It sounds more complicated than it is... like I said, definitely under 5 minutes from bag to focusing...

I must say, I am jealous of David's rear tilt. :)