8x10 Progress

Some may remember that I bought a Kodak 2d last month and had some issues with major light leaks. A couple of forum members quickly put me on track to fix them. Thanks! Since then I've been taking a couple of shots a week, learning as I go. I started out using a 300mm Nikon M, then added a c.1910 Dagor 240mm, and now have a Fuji 210mm f5.6 (inside lettering.) Mostly I'm using the 300M. I've stayed with FP4+ since I know that film well, and process in HC-1110 in my SP-810. This is all working well for me. On deck I have a Lund 8x10 silver tank and all the supplies I need to do wet plate and am in the final stage of making my portable dark box. Should be done this week.:)

After the rocky start I'm finally getting pretty close to what I wanted. I use this strictly as a field camera and it's compact & light enough for this. One surprise is I find I tend to want longer lenses, not shorter. With my Chamonix 045n I tend to shoot, in order, 90mm, 135mm, 75mm, 180mm, 300mm. I'm thinking of a 500mm for the 2D. I'm starting to wonder how useful the Fuji 210mm is going to be since it really isn't big enough for any movements on my 2D and I don't feel any need for it on my 4x5. It didn't cost much so I guess it's better to have than not have. Mostly I'm still reaching for the Dagor 240mm (in Compound) when I want wider than 300mm. For wet plate I have a solid assortment of 19th C. lenses plus a 300mm Velostigmat in Betax 5.

The camera is heavier than anything else I have but I've not had much trouble with it. It fits into a backpack I bought at Walmart. I might go with a backpack cooler at some point, not sure. My Gitzo 1325 tripod would probably hold it OK but I have an AcraTech ballhead on it. I'm thinking a ballhead would be tough to use on something this heavy, even though it's strong enough. I've been using my Berlebach tripod which is plenty solid. It has a rising column and swivel bowl that's becoming a pain to level the camera with. I'm looking for a used Ries J-250 head now. Other than that I think I'm moving forward on schedule. For now I scan the negs with an Epson v700 but my plan is to learn how to contact print this year. So far, so good.


Kent in SD

Cool! The Reis 250 heads are nice (I have the A250). Have fun!

Nice results Kent!
I also have a 2D 8x10 and was concerned with stability using other pan/tilt heads that have otherwise worked fine for 4x5. I wouldn't be able to handle this camera attached to a ball head, but that's probably due more to my own clumsiness than anything else.
I'd heard good things about the Gitzo G1570M pan/tilt head, so I found a used one in great condition online. For me, it's perfect for the 2D. Big rectangular platform, no quick-release (don't need one), sits squat and low - close to the top of the tripod legs, good damping on all pivots and absolutely rock solid when locked down.
Good Luck!

A few years back out on the govt range where I worked we had a problem aiming RF receivers for digital computers on our camera mounts. The mounts the things came with were junk. Picture glorified muffler clamps. You'd get it tightened down and it would never be pointed where it needed to be. So I bought 10 Ries A250 tripod heads. Your tax $$$ at work keeping the world safe. I built a plate with 2 giant vise grip pliers for immediate install, and then the Ries head would do the fine stuff. Voila. It worked like a charm. But we only used 3 of the 10 clamps before we installed fiber and ditched the air to air horrors. So, somewhere in the desert, in a large plastic bag are 7 Ries A250 heads that will never get used, and it's safe to say now that I'm gone, no one will even know what the heck they are. And once that stuff makes it onto the reservation, it never comes out. Just thought that might cheer you up.

Kent, I too liked the long lens and I found the 2D was just not up to heavier glass up front. I used blocks of wood under the lens to supplement the brass toothed rise mechanism and also maybe reinforce the screws for the slider clamps for the lens board.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cowanw

Kent, I too liked the long lens and I found the 2D was just not up to heavier glass up front. I used blocks of wood under the lens to supplement the brass toothed rise mechanism and also maybe reinforce the screws for the slider clamps for the lens board.

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Will have to look at that when I mount my 5 pound Voightlander petzval on it.


Kent in SD