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View Full Version : Two 8 x 10 Camera's which one would you keep



johnschlicher
5-Mar-2009, 05:34
I have two 8 x 10 camera's I just traded for a Ansco, 8 x 10, but I found a beautiful 8 x 10 Gunlach Korona view on craigh's list, I didn't steal it--but I got the lens, tri-pod (old crown # 4 which I will never use, but it looks neat ) and 3 filmhoders, for under 400.00

The Korona take's 6 x 6 lens board's which I have, time's to many,

is very light, take's an extension rail, (don't like that part )


The Ansco is a war horse, I was shooting in wind gust of 25 miles an hour yesterday, steady as a rock--( I think I need to get some weights for my dark cloth !!! )

Take's 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 lensboards, only have the 3 that came with the camera, has an internal extension, Making him quite heavy, was made for an internal packard shutter

Overall apearance on the Ansco, is about a 6. and the Gunlach, 10 ++

I would like to keep both, but would like to more equipment, with the sale of one these camera's, or maybe sell both and get a more modern 8 x 10??

Any thought's

Thanks John

eddie
5-Mar-2009, 05:39
hard to say. do you have the extension rail for the gundlach? how wobbly is the gundlach? many times they do not lock down supper tight...the standards rock about.

i think the ansco has more movements right? the bigger lens board is a must if you like to shoot those big ole petzval lenses. that could be a selling point of that camera for sure.

if you wanted a modern cam,era get a chamonix 8x10. i love mine! best camera ever.

or, keep them both....:)

G Benaim
5-Mar-2009, 05:43
I'd actually sell'em both and get a KMV instead, at the prices KMVs have been going for lately (around $700!), it's a crime not to get one.

johnschlicher
5-Mar-2009, 05:44
When I rack out the bellow's all the way on the Korona, it look's like a banana, I think it need's something to hold the rail's straight

johnschlicher
5-Mar-2009, 05:46
I don't know what a KMV is---Kodak Master view?

G Benaim
5-Mar-2009, 06:01
I don't know what a KMV is---Kodak Master view?

Yes!

Frank Petronio
5-Mar-2009, 07:21
$700 for a KMV is quite a bargain if you can find one, and it is one of, if not the best, folding metal 8x10 field cameras even by modern terms. Prices are flukey but if you're patient and have the cash you can pounce (says the guy who bought the 4x5 Sinar P outfit for $350 and the 8x10 Norma for $580).

Robert Fisher
5-Mar-2009, 07:28
Frank, quit making me feel bad. I never dreamed that I needed to put a reserve on that 810 Norma. One week before a total beater sold for $1,100.

Anyway I hope you made some $$ when you unloaded it.

Walter Calahan
5-Mar-2009, 08:25
Keep them both and get a KMV. HA! One can't have enough stuff.

I say this just to have fun.

Good luck with whatever camera you settle on.

Darren Kruger
5-Mar-2009, 11:08
When I rack out the bellow's all the way on the Korona, it look's like a banana, I think it need's something to hold the rail's straight

Stabilizer bars. They slide on the bottom of the base where those metal backets are. This drawing (http://www.fiberq.com/cam/images/korviewcat.jpg) on http://www.fiberq.com shows the bars installed.

See ebay item #7614206799. You should be able to make then a lot cheaper though than what they are selling them for.

-Darren

Frank Petronio
5-Mar-2009, 11:16
Robert was very honorable in following through with his Norma deal. I know I got a good deal when I feeling like tipping the seller!

I just bought a Sinar Pan-Tilt with a heavy duty Bilora tripod for $89 yesterday, lol. I will flip that fo sure!

Yeah unfortunately I needed the cash but I did put it to good use for a couple of months first. It certainly convinced me to buy another one sometime in the future when (if?) I can afford to shoot 8x10 the way I really want to (like 30-50 sheets a session when I am shooting people.) It wasn't the camera that was expensive, it was the film and my bad habit of over shooting (and under scanning, I have a couple years worth to scan still.)

Anyway, to the original poster, the resale on the two old wooden 8x10s would probably buy you a nicer, more usable camera for shooting. But I understand the charm of the older gear as well, and of course you can shoot effectively with them, they just require a little more careful TLC to use. People like Jim Galli seem to manage quite effectively, and that Edward Weston fella's camera wasn't exactly the most stable thing around either....