Richard Ritter Kudos

[Michael Kadillak]

I just got back my Deardorff V11 from Richard Ritter as he fabricated a sheet film holder back and performed some other modifications. He did fabulous work and I wanted to give him a good old fashioned plug for a job well done.

I am elated at the prospects of using a bail back on this camera. Richard listened to everything I asked him to do and found a way to exceed all of my expectations.

If you are in need of some modifications, repair work or improvements to your equipment you need to look no further than Richard. You will not be disappointed.

It is wonderful that we have such real craftsmen among us.

Cheers!

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Michael, job very well done. As a camera builder I can appreciate the quality of Richards work. A bail back on an 11x14 would be great to have. I wish I would have thought of putting one on mine. The 11x14 is beautiful.

Jim

[Brian Ellis]

From all I've read, and from my one experience, Richard is top notch. He added front tilt to a Kodak 2D I used to own and did a great job. He'd definitely be the person I'd go to for any kind of LF camera repair or parts fabrication.

[John Bowen]

Not only is Richard a top notch camera repair guy, but he manufacturer's what are arguably the best LF and ULF cameras on the planet. Richard has the unique advantage of having worked on many, many camera designs over the years from his repair work and has picked from the best designs when designing his cameras. He also takes the time to custom build a camera to a cusomer's unique requirements. When he built my 8x10 I had him make the back so it would accept my existing 5x7 and 4x5 reducing backs, I had him make the front standard so it would accept my existing lens boards and he offered to build me a "left handed" camera, but since all of my other cameras were "right handed" I had him not make that modification.

When discussing my 7x17 camera, Richard picked up on a comment I made that I may someday want to shoot 8x20. He immediately suggested I have the 7x17 camera designed as an 8x20 with a 7x17 reducing back. This way, if I ever decided to go to 8x20, I wouldn't have to incur the cost of an additional bellows, just the cost of an 8x20 back.

We are all VERY fortunate to have Richard in our community!

[Blumine]

Richard is a great person to deal with. I had him repair an old Kodak 8x10 I had a number of years ago. The camera came back much better than I had expected and I continue to use it to this day.

My only suggestion if you need to contact him do it by phone, not email. His emailing was sporadic the last time I needed his services. One the phone everything was perfect.

Blumine

[John Bowen]

Yes, phone is better than e-mail for communicating with Richard. He lives in God's country and if he loses power or phone service it can be a while (think many days) before it is restored. With a phone it will go unanswered and you will call back. With e-mail you will wonder "why isn't Richard getting back to me?"

Richard is a wealth of knowledge and shares it freely, so give him a call and have a chat with him about your repair/new camera needs. You'll be glad you did.

[RichardRitter]

Last winter the phone company that service Maine Vermont and New Hampshire was sold with the promises of better phone service and high speed Internet service. What a joke. First an ice storm people with out phone service for weeks then this week I read a report on Internet speed and Vermont lost 6 places to number 44 out of 50. I now think the postal service is going to be faster then the internet.