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View Full Version : So I can't say you lied to me...



Stephanie Brim
26-Mar-2010, 22:35
This IS addicting. Jesus. I've given up completely on 4x5 now. Might as well just sell the ratty Speed Graphic because it's going to sit, unloved, in my kitchen. I've found my place in large format photography and it is big.

I'm not in a hurry to move up in format, but I'll admit to looking around. I'm attempting to sniff out bargains if I can.

One camera I've been doing some research on tonight is the Century Universal 8x10. It seems to me to be a great combination of lighter weight (as in I could stick it on a slightly modified Tiltall with no problems) and movements. It can also be had for under $500...when you can find them, that is.

I read part of the thread about the restoration of one from late last year and...yeah...that pretty much sealed the deal. I may have to look for one.

Of course, let's hope that this is sometime, you know, next year...and not two months from now because one popped up on Ebay for pennies.

Oh, and don't even get me STARTED on rough old Anscos. I have the lust. And damn it all, you guys are all enablers. :D

JRFrench
27-Mar-2010, 00:11
Haha thats the way Stephanie, keep on walking down the rabbit hole. Will 20x24" be enough??

I know someone in VA that is keen for a speed graphic...

Mark Woods
27-Mar-2010, 09:25
Don't even think about Carbon Transfer or PP. You'll get the itch and move on from 8x10. I thought the V8 Dorff I bought would be the end, and I placed an order with Hugo yesterday for the 11x14 Chamonix.

MW in Pasadena still falling down the rabbit hole...........................

Chauncey Walden
27-Mar-2010, 09:42
Hi Stephanie,
It's a great camera and worth waiting for. Have you run across this link?
http://www.southbristolviews.com/pics/Graphic/manual-pdf/CU-Patent.pdf

Stephanie Brim
27-Mar-2010, 10:46
I'm watching Deardorffs and an Ansco, but I really think I want to wait to see if I can find a Century Universal. I know that there isn't really a shortage of them so if I wait long enough one should appear at a price that I can actually afford.

That one Deardorff, though. Red bellows. I love red bellows...

venchka
27-Mar-2010, 17:55
You pays your money and takes your chances..........

Ansco 5x7. Or similar. Ken Lee makes 5x7 negatives that sing. Lenses are cheaper & easier to find. Pay no attention to the lack of film downers. You only need one. Ilford offers two.

Calumet all metal 8x10 something or other. Cheap & heavy unless you stumble across the magnesium version.

Kodak 8x10 Master View. Heaven. Expensive.

Ritter 8x10 & reducing backs. When you hit the lottery.

Paul Bujak
27-Mar-2010, 18:21
Yup, the old wonderful Ansco 5x7. Got one, can't find lens boards, probably have to make some myself.

Calumet C-1 (magnesium type) only slightly lighter than a cement block. Love those big negs. My white orchid on a white background won a Best of Class in art at an orchid show a couple of weeks ago. Wish I had an 8x10 enlarger.

Got a Toyo 45A and a 45G. B&J Grover with those red bellows. Speed Graphic, too. Can one have too many cameras? What's next?

Feeling your pain,
Paul

Peter Galea
27-Mar-2010, 19:14
Two words.....Deardorff.

raizans
27-Mar-2010, 20:16
you could say that again. i never really gave a thought to either ultra large format or panoramic cameras, but now i absolutely must get a 7x17!

Brian Ellis
27-Mar-2010, 21:56
I'm watching Deardorffs and an Ansco, but I really think I want to wait to see if I can find a Century Universal. I know that there isn't really a shortage of them so if I wait long enough one should appear at a price that I can actually afford.

That one Deardorff, though. Red bellows. I love red bellows...

If you wait on a Century Universal it may be quite a while before you get into 8x10. I looked for one in good condition for over a year and never found one. I came across maybe 2 or 3 total but they were real beaters. I did see one in very nice condition on ebay some months back but I'm no longer in the market so I passed. Deardorffs are great cameras IMHO, I've owned two. I also owned a 5x7 Agfa Ansco and it was a very nice camera too but bulkier than a Deardorff and not as easy to operate.

imagedowser
28-Mar-2010, 07:05
Century Universals are around. Put out some WTB's when your ready. Here, APUG, Studio Q Collodion.... If you can find a clean one it's worth the extra $$ even if you rebuild it. Mine has the old "red" bellows, they last forever.

Stephanie Brim
28-Mar-2010, 11:29
I'm more of a function over form kind of a girl. I don't care what the wood or the bellows looks like as long as the camera is light tight, solid, and all movements work as they should. When I have more disposable income I'll start looking at cameras with looks. :)

I have the lust, but I don't plan on jumping the gun. I can wait for the camera I really want.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks I plan on heading to Ames to talk to the guy who runs Pyle's. He's got a large portrait camera with an equally large portrait lens on a studio stand in his window; I'm going to pick his brain about it and ask about the enlargers he has in back. I was going to head there yesterday, but he closed at 3 PM. I know that, even if he did plan to sell, he'd want more for it than I can provide, but it's just so neat looking. Wonder if he'd let me borrow it for a while...

To give you an idea of the giganticness, I'm pretty sure that the brass lens hanging on the front of it wouldn't fit on the 5 and a quarter lens boards that my Burke & James uses. It's pretty sweet. Couldn't see who made it, though, without going into the store.

There was also a Seroco 5x7 in the antique shop. I passed on it because it was in usable but not great condition and they wanted $300 for it. It did, however, have film in it. Next time I go I'll offer $200 and see if they'll take it. I need to hit the other antiques places, too, to see what can be had.

I blame Jim Galli. His website makes me want lenses I can't afford and most of them are so large that I'd *need* an 8x10 to put them on. :D

http://cgi.ebay.com/Century-Wood-Field-View-Camera-no-2-Gundlach-Lens-Large_W0QQitemZ180485626978QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item2a05c81c62

As an aside, that's what I've been lusting over recently...but pigs will fly before I pay $800 for it. ;)

John Powers
29-Mar-2010, 04:09
but pigs will fly before I pay $800 for it. ;)

Get his contact information before the auction ends. If he doesn't get his minimum price he will be sitting with the camera and no money. Make him an offer you can afford. If he doesn't like it make a compromise or walk away to another dream.

John

Scott Davis
29-Mar-2010, 07:46
Stephanie-

another alternative to the Century Universal that is far more common, equally light-weight, and quite affordable is the Kodak 2D. You can also find similar alternatives from Seneca and Korona that pop up periodcally on the cheap. I have a Seneca "Black Beauty" whole plate (actually, I have two of them) that I really like for hauling around town. I'd offer to sell you my spare on the cheap (just needs lensboards and a new ground glass) but getting film holders for it is a pain. Whole plate is a great size because it's almost as big as 8x10 square inch wise, but the camera is closer to 5x7 in terms of bulk, weight and portability.

Michael Cienfuegos
29-Mar-2010, 20:11
Stephanie,

On Ebay I found what was supposed to be a 5x7 Kodak 2D. I bought it for about $150 including shipping. What was in this very large box was A Kodak 2D, but it seemed to be too big. It DID have a 5x7 back on it, and when I took the back off the camera I realized that it was an 8x10 with a 5x7 reducing back. I later picked up an Ansco 8x10 carcass for under $50. I was able to adapt the 8x10 back to my 2D. Good luck in your hunt. :)