Zone VI 8x10 Questions

[anton orlov]

Hi folks. I have a chance to buy a Zone VI 8x10 - asking price is $1750.

a) is it worth that much?
b) I read that tilt and rise and fall are the same knob - true?
c) how would it compare with a Tachihara 8x10? (I have a 4x5 Tachi and love it)
d) anything I should be aware of? Any weird things about it? I like the 32in extension (finally would be able to put my 24in lenses to good portrait use...), but hear it's heavy (though I don't plan on hiking with it)

Thank you!

[RichardRitter]

A. is it worth it. Yes ,no,maybe. That is best answered by you.
B, camera also has a base tilt.
C. I have repair both cameras in the past The Zone VI do to the photographer tripping over the tripod, Tachihara due to the way it is made.
D, No but parts are still available if you do break the camera. Most 8 x 10 cameras weight about 15 pounds. There are newer design cameras on the market that weight less, but are about twice the price new.

[Kevin Crisp]

I had one for years. It is a good solid 8X10. I never had issues with the front tilt / rise arrangement. Price seems about right if in good shape. It is not light. Neither is a Deardorff. I think the Tachi is lighter but not so heavily built. There was nothing weird about it that I can think of now. It would not be my first choice to hike with, but if that is not your intended use, not a problem.

[ghostcount]

I got one.

The knobs hurt when tightening and un-tightening, maybe I have sensitive fingers.

If you extend too far the gears comes off the rails, no provisions for a focus stop. Easy enough to put back but it can become off centered. It's an added stress on the gear teeth so attention to this must be made during focusing.

Mine weighs about 13 pounds.

[anton orlov]

Thanks for the help folks!
The thing coming off the gears is very strange to me - even my 100 year old 2D has a stop...


I'll see if I can get the price to a little better point though

Cheers!

[Bruce Barlow]

The long brass tracks are screwed into the wooden rails at both ends. If you back out the screws a little - maybe half a turn? - they'll act as stops when the gear hits them. If you need a little more than half a turn, try it until it works.

I know we did this with Zone VI 4x5s. Don't remember whether we did for 8x10s.

[Tracy Storer]

The ZVI is a nice simple design with good extension and ample movements, the front axis tilt is tightened via the same knob as rise, as it is on the vast majority of field cameras.
I'm sure Richard or another qualified person could devise a stop if one really wanted it, but it is nice to be easily able to disassemble the camera if you get dust and grit in the movement.
I used to sell Zone VI during my time at Calumet years ago, and I personally preferred the ones with brass hardware even though they were heavier than the "Ultralight". I felt they operated more smoothly. YMMV

[RichardRitter]

[QUOTE=Tracy Storer;1171362
I used to sell Zone VI during my time at Calumet years ago, and I personally preferred the ones with brass hardware even though they were heavier than the "Ultralight". I felt they operated more smoothly. YMMV[/QUOTE]

That's because the people who built the brass cameras were craftsman and cared about a what they were doing and the product they put out.

[Bruce Barlow]

That's because the people who built the brass cameras were craftsman and cared about a what they were doing and the product they put out.

Some of us could also use contact cement to glue plastic frames to bellows and get really high...

[Vaughn]

I have a Zone VI 8x10 (brass hardware -- #270) -- it has been my main camera since about 1996. I bought it used (Midwest Camera Exchange) for $1250. It was in beautiful like-new condition, until I used it anyway. Still solid and tight after 18 years of field work. From rainy Redwoods to toasty times in Death Valley, and a bunch of the West inbetween. One thing I noticed on mine, though, I have to make sure the back of the camera is well aligned with the camera body (there is a little wiggle room). The light trap there is not as robust as it could be. Sometimes I think a bail back would be nice, but the Zone VI back's springs are still tight as can be.

b) I read that tilt and rise and fall are the same knob - true? True, but easy to use for landscape -- tighten enough to hold rise/fall but still use tilt. Then tighten tilt. Perhaps a little more picky for still-lives, I suppose.

d) anything I should be aware of? Any weird things about it? I like the 32in extension. Mine is 30.5" from film plane to lensboard. I have used a 28" lens on it, but I had to use the last teeth on each rail! And yes, it is easy to run the rails off the gears when pushing it out there. I drew reference marks to tell me when to stop.

A lighter camera would be nice as I get older...I normally do not need 30" inches of bellows...a light weight kit probably would just have my Fuji 250/6.7 (~10"), so I would not need much of a draw. Something like the non-folding Shen-Hao non-folding 8x10. Eight pounds, but I'd be willing to add another pound if the back could at least tilt. https://www.badgergraphic.com/store/..._detail&p=3146

Me and My Zone VI, w/ Fuji W 300/5.6 (photo by Kate Jordahl):