8x10 Camera Musing

[fuegocito]

Ari, no matter how finely you do the slice and dice dance, you know deep down, you'll just have to submit to the idea you need way more than one camera system :P The most important question is how to justify it to the better half Wait, I just back read earlier posts and realized you are already operating more than one system... I think at this point of the game, you'll just have to hook up with a designer/manufacturer and come up with an ARI 810 camera...

[Ari]

That’s for sure, Robert, even though my wife is very understanding.
She also helps me a lot with work, so she knows some of the “dilemmas” with various cameras that I work with.
I do work with medium format, but one camera system at a time now ��

[Mark Sampson]

Sell off the Sinar stuff if you don't like it, and you'll have the down payment on the Arca-Swiss.

[interneg]

I do like the idea of an 8x10 with just a 300mm rail - at least for the focal lengths I prefer.

[fuegocito]

So if I hear you correctly, for your architectural itch, you need something very sturdy(i think you prefer metal?), yet compact and light(enough), with precision geared focusing, and ample of geared front rise... what other must-have function(s) is on the wish list?

[Ari]

Sell off the Sinar stuff if you don't like it, and you'll have the down payment on the Arca-Swiss.

It's going to happen eventually, Mark, no matter which camera comes next.

So if I hear you correctly, for your architectural itch, you need something very sturdy(i think you prefer metal?), yet compact and light(enough), with precision geared focusing, and ample of geared front rise... what other must-have function(s) is on the wish list?

No geared rise needed Robert. In fact focusing is the only geared movement I'd really appreciate having.
It doesn't have to be a flyweight camera, either, just robust enough to handle some heavier lenses.
If it can fold down easily and somewhat compactly, that's a plus.
I tend to use front rise 95% of the time, once in a while I use front tilt. Having fewer rear movements isn't bad, it just means tweaking your methods a little.
About 18"-21" extension is the last on the wish list.

[dodphotography]

Sell off the Sinar stuff if you don't like it, and you'll have the down payment on the Arca-Swiss.

After 8 years of owning and selling every camera known to man... I wish I just did that, plunked down the coin into an overpriced Arca Swiss and faced such a huge loss from selling it that I would be “forced” to keep it.

Buy once, cry once.


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[Tin Can]

There's an old saying. maybe 2/3 from one of my careers

These are not my words, they were told to me by customers

I don't pay tax

I need a discount

I know your markup

How much for cash right now?

I became pretty good at trade in...

I had at least 27 languages spoken at the HS in my territory, making all sales very interesting

Some were big ticket exotics

[neil poulsen]

As I said earlier, I have a friend who owns both the Misura and the Metric. I asked him which camera would be more capable of carrying a 3+ pound lens, here's his reply:

. . . but it’s stretching a bit too far with the huge ground glass frame perched on the relatively small interchangeable rear carrier, and requiring the maxing out of the rise on the front standard just to center up the lens with the ground glass. . . .

Exactly.

As for the maxed out rise, the Misura, and my old-style Arca 8x10, have a rear format frame that sits low above the rail. So, one doesn't need to max out the rise just to make the front format frame on axis with the rear.

Another advantage of my old Arca 8x10 is that, it's a model "A". (Axis tilt.) This means no tilt is available on the function carrier itself. (Only swing is available on the function carrier.) Moreover, the function carrier has a knob mechanism to grip the format frame above it. (For 8x10, I believe this to be an improvement over the Classic F function carrier.) Both these characteristics enable the front standard to better tolerate heavier lenses. I can easily use a 610mm Repro Claron on the front standard, and that's a relatively heavy lens. (I made an extension that uses an extra standard to increase the bellows draw, so that I could use longer lenses like the 610mm RC.)

A downside that I can see to an older-style Arca 8x10 like mine, is that it uses seals to prevent light from getting into the image chamber of the camera.

An operative phrase above is, "like mine." Not all old style Arca 8x10's have a rear standard that's built similar to that on the Misura. Still, if one became available, it would be a lot less expensive than a Misura 8x10.

[Ari]

Availability being a key word.
Thanks, Neil.
Not too long ago, eBay had a number of older, Oschwalt-era 8x10s for sale. Nothing now.
Hopefully supply is cyclical.