Intrepid 8x10 Mk III - Post your thoughts on design.

[Lachlan 717]

A few updates on my new Mk III 8x10:

*It came with the screws holding the ground glass clips in place bing loose. When I tried to tighten these, they were stripped. In addition, when I tried a Regal (not Regal II) holder, it did not bed in the groove. It seemed that the slot was either too close to the glass or not wide enough. To their ABSOLUTE CREDIT, Intrepid sent a replacement back that arrived from the UK to Australia in 4 days. Well done, Intrepid - great customer service.

*I purchased a 3D printed Sinar to Linhof adapter from a Canadian Seller on eBay. This is very high quality. It did come with square corners that didn’t fit the Intrepid’s rounded corners; however, under 5 minutes with a diamond nail file solved this and it is a great (Smaug) fit.

*I can focus my 120mm lens at infinity, even though the specs say 150mm minimum. I haven’t had a chance to check camera base ingress into the image and whether I can drop the bed. I have some doubt as the front standard is fixed, meaning longer minimum draw when the back standard is tilted backwards. Once we have a brighter day here (currently experiencing flooding), I’ll jump under the dark cloth and see how it looks

*I really like the rear screen magnetic hold design with one exception - it is very difficult to find a pry point to allow you to pressure off the back. I have sent through a design suggestion to alleviate this, so hope this is incorporated soon.



*The rear focus knob feels a bit cheap and nasty in a lightweight polymer material, as, too, do the dual knobs on the front standard. Not close to being a deal breaker; just be aware of this.

*The front Bellow is glued slightly askew on the wooden frame. If you’re one of those people who need to straighten crooked pictures, this might not be the camera for you….



*There is no beveled edge to the ground glass frame, making putting in/removing the film holder a bit painful. Again, I’ve passed this on to Intrepid as a suggested design improvement.

[Lachlan 717]

The 120mm focused at infinity. This would be easier with a recessed lens board if the base shows in the image and rear tilt/lowered base is required…
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The centre markings on the front standard REALLY need to be improved. This is small and located under the (aforementioned) low quality hardware.

[Lachlan 717]

The Sinar - Linhof lensbaord adapter and the post-filing corners

[otto.f]

Thanks for your comments, I’m just considering buying one. The few times a year I expect to work on 8x10 makes the beautiful Alpinist from Chamonix too expensive for me, I do not trust Stenopeika so much and the Gibellini Bellatrix was sort of discouraged by Gibellini themselves in favor of the ACN which is not on the website but costs around €3000…(?). So talking about a steady running business, Intrepid gives me more confidence. Just one point: Intrepid offers an adapter Sinar-Linhof themselves, so what you show here about that 3D printed one is just the result of your own sidestep.

[Lachlan 717]

The Intrepid one wasn’t available when I ordered this, and this was a bit cheaper as well.

[munz6869]

Lachlan - I have the Mark I, and am thinking about upgrading. My main issue with Mark I is the wobbly front standard, and the difficulty in locking tilt, rise/fall independently. Also, the bellows sag and I lose an inch of negative in portrait orientation with lots of front rise. Apart from these things, it's light and I can actually take it places without struggling, so I love it. How's the Mark III front standard perform?

Marc!

[Lachlan 717]

How's the Mark III front standard perform?

Marc!

Evening, Marc.

I think it’s pretty good. It gobbled up the biggest lens I tried today (120mm Super Angulon).

I think it would be fine for a big Plasmat (360mm).

Not sure it’ll take the 210mm Super Angulon, though!

One thing I have noticed is the front standard does feel like it’s lacking friction with the base. That is, it swings a bit too easily unless screwed down extremely tightly. I might consider sticking some 400 grit sandpaper to it at some point.

The little notches that indicate parallel are good. I think there’s an opportunity to cut an old credit card to fit them to speed the alignment process up as well as making it very precise. Hard to explain, but a simple process to make.

[munz6869]

Evening Lachlan!!

That's good - I have a Nikon 120mm f/4 and the massive Nikon 300mm f/5.6 - I ended up foregoing the Linhof adapter (as I wasn't really using those lenses on the little Wista) and popping both on Intrepid (Sinar-style) boards for better stability, which works well. To stop the front standard from moving on the bed, I put a sliver of gaffer's tape on the base - which seems to give just enough friction...

Marc!

[Lachlan 717]

I’m happy to catch up and show you the camera. No better way to get a gauge on it than handling it!

[munz6869]

A capital idea!! Actually, I did the same thing 14 years ago before I bought my shiny (at the time) new Wista, meeting Shane in the city who kindly brought his in for me to look at...

I'll send you a PM.

Marc!