Rhetorical question, but did you ever notice how the progression of early No. 2 cameras got worse over time? The turn of the Century company products are marvelous. The first thing you notice about them is the glowing, rich mahogany and hand rubbed finish. Many parts are dovetailed with multiple layers for warp-proofing. Heavy, polished brass hardware abounds. The fit and finish of the rails is amazing, with a raised rail on one side and groove on the other side where the rail folds. Later, Eastman bought them out, supposedly to eliminate the competition, because they were too high quality. For a few years they remained the same, but then slowly the quality began to change. At some point, they began to wear the Kodak label, and they began to make the "D" model, signifying "Dark Wood." Kodak 2Ds are very utilitarian, and gone are the beautiful woods, the difficult to build features.
This early Eastman (circa ~ 1909) has a lot of features that were soon to disappear. It has the "bump and groove" folding rail connection. The sliding front lensboard gives as much movement left-right as the rise gives. And the rise runs on two gear tracks (not one), with a gear on each side, connected by a solid rod. Trust me, my 8x10 2D slips a lot. This one cannot. The folding rail has two pins and catches (not one), to hold it securely in the folded position. The rear extension rail has two slotted brass catches, along with a pinned locking thumbscrew. One half turn, it's locked. The 2Ds have thumbscrews.
It took me a couple days to decide what should go on it, but what better lens than a Dallmeyer 3D? Small, light sized classic that won't break the front standard, yet still covers 8x10 with that Petzval look. But wait, you are saying, that's not a 3D in one of the pictures. You're right, the beauty of the Dallmeyer selection is it shares the same, standardized flange as the Dallmeyer No. 3 Triple Achromat I got in a trade with the wonderful late Sean McKenna. When I remove the center element, I get a nice soft focus. So 3 different lens looks, on one lensboard. Yep, that's one "disadvantage" of the old design - the complex lensboard slides in a nice dovetail. It's not easy to make duplicate boards.
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Originally Posted by Randy Moe
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