Newbie to 8x10 (actually 18x24 cm)

[lungovw]

Hello, I started in LF with a Crown Graphic 4x5 and later with a Linhof Technika V 4x5. Recently I was gifted with a Thornton Pickard Royal Ruby Triple Extension 18x24 cm and a nice pair of Protars from Ross. Both are about 100 years old. While I “feel”, with the Linhof, that the whole set: camera, lens, film are firmly in place on my tripod, the Thornton Pickard, although in excellent condition, falls far behind in sturdiness. I can bend the lens board, or back, or rack parts with a little pressure of my fingertip. I am planning to use it also with an old Thornton Pickard roller shutter between the lens and lens board. My concern is that the vibration provided by the roller or wind will add some considerable noise to the image.

Now questions to the experienced 8x10 format colleagues:
Is that inherent of larger formats? Do modern 8x10 cameras also behave the same due to the size? Is this Royal Ruby, after all, a bad design or is that material fatigue? Any experiences whether this can destroy the good performance of a sharp lens by blurring the image due to camera shaking?

Regards


Wagner

[Ole Tjugen]

Not all 8x10" cameras are like that, but quite a few of the old plate cameras are. My new(ish) 8x10" Gandolfi Traditional is incredibly stable and sturdy, as is my 50 years old 5x7" Gandolfi Traditional, while the 70-80 years old half-plate Gandolfi Universal is wobbly as anything - despite being an inherently more rigid design.

An "English type" 18x24cm plate camera I have is reasonably stable - until it's compared with the 24x30cm "Reisekamera" tailboard-focusing plate camera.

But at least the shutter vibrations are no worry: The T-P shutter only shakes after the shutter has closed.

[Nick_3536]

No big studio monorails are not flimsy. OTOH the more weight you want to save the more you give up. OTOH you aren't likely to be pushing on the camera during the exposure. What matters is if the whole thing is steady during the exposure.