The front standard on my Intrepid 8x10II tends to spin even when tightened. Today, I contact cemented some epdm rubber, the kind used for roofing, into the bottom of the front standard. It looks like this fixed the issue, and the standard can still be easily turned when the screw is loosened. There might be some beneficial vibration damping, but I don't have a way to quantify that.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Easy to measure the vibration.Originally Posted by Peter De Smidt
1 tape a large piece of graph paper to the wall
2 tape a laser pointer to the front standard and tape it on and pointing at the graph paper
3 tap your camera and see the defection on the paper and how long it takes to stop.
That sounds like a good test, Bob. But I'm going to go with the "seems to vibrate less when I lightly tap it" method. Anyway, that doesn't really matter much. A standard that is easily moved out of place is a major problem. That's been fixed.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
That all-too-easy-to-move front standard was one of the two things that's been putting me off buying an Intrepid 8x10 so far - good to hear that it's solvable with something that adds minimal thickness. The other was the extent to which the bellows settle/ droop over time once set up - I'd be interested to hear how you find they behave once the camera is set up.
So far, the bellows have been ok, but a more serious problem has developed. I hadn't used my camera in a few months, and I went out photographing with it the other day. 3 out of 4 negatives had serious light leaks. I just took the camera into the darkroom, inserted a holder, turned out the lights and put a bright light inside the bellows. I could clearly see light leaking from the joint between the holder frame and the rear standard along two edges, the parts held together with magnets. It doesn't look like the plywood stays flat, and the light trap situation is clearly insufficient.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
now this is worrying...
I've got several 30 year plus Deardorffs that are still light tight. Matter of fact, I've never heard of a Deardorff that's been reasonably taken care of leaking. That is just unacceptable. L
I agree. I've emailed them.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
I don't think the ply is coated/ finished/ marine grade on the Intrepids & it often doesn't take much to get that sort of material to change shape.
Sounds like it might be cheaper overall to get on and build my own camera...
That sucks! It seems to me the lion's share of issues are coming from the 8x10 cameras.
Another point in favor of the 3D-printed parts of the new 4x5 model. I imagine here in the humid south issues would arise much faster.
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