Seeking info on 8x10 cameras

[SpeedGraphicMan]

Hello all!
I have been shooting 4x5 for about three years now, and all the while collecting equipment for 8x10 photography.
It is my goal now to begin shooting 8x10 within a year, unfortunately, I do not know the difference between so many of the different cameras.
(And frankly I don't see many differences - lol)

I would love to hear some recommendations from you all regarding an 8x10 I might be able to acquire inexpensively. (Not really seeking to spend more than $400).

I would be using this primarily for shooting portraits in a studio.

[Jonathan Barlow]

The Kodak 2-D camera is one of the few 8x10's in the $400 range.

[neil poulsen]

Another possibility might be a Burke and James.

Be careful on the Kodak 2D's. I had one where the bellows were tight enough that with any significant rise, the top of the bellows would cast a shadow on the negative. Someone else indicated they'd had the same problem with a 2D.

[Vaughn]

The completed listings on eBay for Kodak 2D 8x10's seem to hover around your price point (no lens). Great cameras, tho one needs to be careful about their condition as that can range all over the place. The extension rail is nice to have for longer lenses or close-ups, but one can live without it with 'normal' lenses. But for $400, one is talking fairly old cameras.

The Calumet C1 can sometimes be had in your price range, too. As an example only (I have no connection with this sale). http://www.ebay.com/itm/Calumet-C1-8...3D271571206260

Start keeping an eye out for holders! Nice modern ones hover around $50, older wood ones usually less. Keep an eye out for someone here selling 5 or 6 -- nice number to start out with.

[logan.egbert]

The Agfa-Anasco 8x10 can also be had for around $400 w/o a Lens. I paid just over $280 for mine.

[djdister]

Burke and James 8x10 Grover - monorail or folder. Here's the monorail version...

[Jac@stafford.net]

The Calumet C1 can sometimes be had in your price range, too. As an example only (I have no connection with this sale). http://www.ebay.com/itm/Calumet-C1-8...3D271571206260

OP: I have the same Calumet C1 shown in the link. It has become my favorite 8x10 (and I have Deardorff and Century 1 8x10s as well). It is very stable, rugged, reliable, easy to deploy, and as odd as it might seem, the black finish is easily flaked off with a bump or two so the advantage is that it shows its use. The one in that link looks darned good. Oh, one plastic knob has a little piece broken off. The all seem to have that. No harm in function.

Best of luck in your search!

[Will Frostmill]

Am I right in believing that the wooden 8x10 holders are not usually all to the same spec? Different T-distances on Kodak 2D's, Ansco's, and the like?

[richardman]

Funny I am in the exact same position. Why do larger format such a siren's call?!! :-)

Although I am thinking of doing "on location" 8x10 Impossible Instant film portraits. May be tintype collodian, but that's another step....

[djdister]

Why not buy this one from a forum member for $300?

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...-reducing-back