Intrepid 8x10 experiences?

[Marky]

I ordered mine after the Kickstarter (Oct 2017) and received the camera in June 2018. So they did deliver but took a long time, and multiple emails asking for updates (and "soon" reply).

Bads:
- Having to switch orientation to fold it.
- The back will sag when film holder's inserted.
- The front standard is rubbish. It will not stand vertical if you have a heavy lens ( >1lbs) on it.

You can make pictures with it but it's extremely fiddly. It's a fun toy for recreational use, so you should treat it as such. If you don't have a lot of knowledge using a real camera before it will frustrate you to no end. But if it gets destroyed I will probably get a replacement, since it's a very fun toy.

[paulbarden]

Why not tell them if you don’t have it in 10 days you will cancel and demand full credit. Soon isn’t an acceptable response at this time!

I am not one to engage in “ultimatum tactics”, as I feel such behavior is unnecessarily aggressive and counterproductive. I’m willing to wait and see what happens, but since I purchased this in May hoping to use it for a late summer project whose window is now expiring, I’m likely to simply offer the camera for sale when it does arrive.

I was considering backing their LF Enlarger Kickstarter, but given my current experience, I doubt I’ll bother.

[cp_photo]

I'm sorry to say I had this exact bad experience trying to order the Intrepid 8x10. I was told "Soon" etc. and had difficulties in getting a reply at the time. When it was very late and it became clear there was no chance of receiving it in any reasonable specific timeframe I asked for and received a refund.

[Bob Salomon]

I am not one to engage in “ultimatum tactics”, as I feel such behavior is unnecessarily aggressive and counterproductive. I’m willing to wait and see what happens, but since I purchased this in May hoping to use it for a late summer project whose window is now expiring, I’m likely to simply offer the camera for sale when it does arrive.

I was considering backing their LF Enlarger Kickstarter, but given my current experience, I doubt I’ll bother.

Unnecessarily aggressive is one way of looking at it, but if you have paid for something and not received it in a timely fashion then they are making money on your money and hanging you out to dry! I admire your patience but I can’t respect. It.
If a business makes a commitment to a customer then it should be honored, even if it costs the company to honor it.
Once they get the reputation of not meeting their commitments and not delivering in a timely manner it is virtually impossible for them to regain a positive reputation.

And, if they can not honor that commitment, at the very least, they should be in regular, timely, contact with the customer to update progress. Not just say “soon”! You deserve to know how when and why there is a delay for what you paid for!

[kenj8246]

This thread is now three pages in length; I'm hoping one--or more--of the Intrepid principals might jump in with something to say. Other than 'soon'.

[paulbarden]

Unnecessarily aggressive is one way of looking at it, but if you have paid for something and not received it in a timely fashion then they are making money on your money and hanging you out to dry!
And, if they can not honor that commitment, at the very least, they should be in regular, timely, contact with the customer to update progress. Not just say “soon”! You deserve to know how when and why there is a delay for what you paid for!

Thanks for your input. We obviously have different styles for dealing with dis-satisfactory purchase experiences, and that's fine. FWIW, it should be noted that their responses were in fact more than monosyllabic, but I saw no need to quote the entire messages (which were fairly explicit in detailing the problems: a huge rush of orders in May/June, and unexpected manufacturing obstacles), so I condensed the messages to "soon". I assure you they had more to say than that, but it wasn't necessary to include it here.

This discussion has prompted me to compose an email to Intrepid Camera and cancel my order. I see that the last piece of correspondence was 15 days ago, in which I was promised my camera would ship "within 2 weeks". I have to conclude that it has NOT shipped (they promised a notification with tracking info) as I have had no new information from them since Sept. 15. Sadly, I have to give up on it. If I had known I wouldn't receive it before October, I would not have made the purchase. I hope they get it together, for their reputation's sake.

[Michael Kadillak]

I ordered mine after the Kickstarter (Oct 2017) and received the camera in June 2018. So they did deliver but took a long time, and multiple emails asking for updates (and "soon" reply).

Bads:
- Having to switch orientation to fold it.
- The back will sag when film holder's inserted.
- The front standard is rubbish. It will not stand vertical if you have a heavy lens ( >1lbs) on it.

You can make pictures with it but it's extremely fiddly. It's a fun toy for recreational use, so you should treat it as such. If you don't have a lot of knowledge using a real camera before it will frustrate you to no end. But if it gets destroyed I will probably get a replacement, since it's a very fun toy.

Please describe the condition above here the back "sags" when a film holder is inserted? Does the focus shift? Not sure I understand adequately what is going on here.

[Michael Kadillak]

Thanks for your input. We obviously have different styles for dealing with dis-satisfactory purchase experiences, and that's fine. FWIW, it should be noted that their responses were in fact more than monosyllabic, but I saw no need to quote the entire messages (which were fairly explicit in detailing the problems: a huge rush of orders in May/June, and unexpected manufacturing obstacles), so I condensed the messages to "soon". I assure you they had more to say than that, but it wasn't necessary to include it here.

This discussion has prompted me to compose an email to Intrepid Camera and cancel my order. I see that the last piece of correspondence was 15 days ago, in which I was promised my camera would ship "within 2 weeks". I have to conclude that it has NOT shipped (they promised a notification with tracking info) as I have had no new information from them since Sept. 15. Sadly, I have to give up on it. If I had known I wouldn't receive it before October, I would not have made the purchase. I hope they get it together, for their reputation's sake.

I honestly expect you will get a refund soon. I do not believe that the owners of this business are intent on purposefully causing harm or mis representing performance conditions. We do know that this company ascribes to a hybrid business model so that they can accomplish the stated objective of supplying a low cost 8x10 camera. They have a very limited staff and all of the employees have multiple tasks to produce the camera and lastly, we are talking about a $625 camera. How much profit do you think that they are making on an 8x10 camera? $300 or $400? Not exactly knocking it out of the park. They could move the price point up to $900 and hire more staff and likely see some orders dry up. As a businessman myself I get where they are coming from. The bad news is folks like yourself that ordered with an expectation that is far past due are frustrated and that is too bad. If I get sufficient data from other users to make an order, I am going to give it a good five months and be patient. The good news is the demand appears to be vibrant.

[Marky]

Please describe the condition above here the back "sags" when a film holder is inserted? Does the focus shift? Not sure I understand adequately what is going on here.

When the back is horizontal and film holder inserted, the top bungee cord cannot hold the weight of the back, and will slip down a little bit. What happens then is the top will have less pressure than the bottom, potentially causing a light leak/misfocus. I undid my top bungee cord and tied a tighter knot but it only helps somewhat. A metal spring back like the 4x5 MK3 will likely eliminate this problem.

[Michael Kadillak]

When the back is horizontal and film holder inserted, the top bungee cord cannot hold the weight of the back, and will slip down a little bit. What happens then is the top will have less pressure than the bottom, potentially causing a light leak/misfocus. I undid my top bungee cord and tied a tighter knot but it only helps somewhat. A metal spring back like the 4x5 MK3 will likely eliminate this problem.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my concern. That makes perfect sense. The inclusion of a metal spring back should remedy that situation fairly quickly. The more I find myself hiking in the Colorado Rockies for photographic opportunities, the more the Intrepid 8x10 makes sense. That said I will endure carrying my Canham wooden 8x10 for as long as it takes for the Intrepid to show up once I make the order. Just waiting to make sure that the bungie cords are a thing of the past.