Some 10x8 advice please...

[Former Member 8144]

Hi all,

I have shot 5x4 for many years but am now embarking on a long term project that I am going to shoot on 10x8....and so I'm looking for a bit of equipment advice.

Shots will be of various objects and structures within the surrounding landscape, some more traditional landscapes and some larger structures, but mostly low level.

All shoots on locations including some where fair amounts of walking may be involved...perhaps upto three or so miles on occasions but not always.

I'll need some movements (not swing or tilt at all) but a good amount of rise and shift will be necessary.

I have started a thread in the lens section regarding lenses.

The brand of camera (and lenses) is unimportant to me but of course I'm looking to keep costs of this gear down so I have more money for the film and processing!
So are there any particluar cameras I should be looking at?

Any help will be much appreciated just to get me going.

Thanks,

Marc

[John Kasaian]

You might want to look for a nfs Deardorff, which go for considerably less than 'dorffs with front swing. If wind and vibration aren't considerations the Gowland Pocket View is an extremely lightwieght monorail that could be an option.

[John Kasaian]

For lenses, for architecture I think the 165 Super Angulon would be the cat's meow on an 8x10, but it is very heavy (like an anvil!) and I wouldn't want to carry one for three miles! For the "grand vista" an excellent lens is the 19" Artar---the red dots are newer, the APOs are older both are superb on an 8x10 IMHO. They are smaller and come in #4 shutters so they have a wieght advantage over the big f/6.3 ektars when you're on a 3 mile hike. G-Clarons are also good choices--the 240mm I find very useful especially for more close up landscapes plus they are small and light wieght.

[Walter Calahan]

I use a 165 Super-Angulon on my KB Canham wooden 8x10 with great results. This lens has huge movement.

Get a used three-wheeled jogging baby stroller to push your stuff around. Saves your back. The sell pretty cheap on eBay. Get one with full suspension.

Really Right Stuff makes a great 'ground-pod' for low angle tripod set-ups. http://reallyrightstuff.com/tripods/04.html

[Former Member 8144]

Thanks for those first few bits of advice.

I'll keep this thread for the camera questions and start a new one for the lenses in the lens forum...make sense!

Marc

[Capocheny]

Hi Marc,

I'd agree with John on the Dorff... not the lightest amongst 8x10 cameras but still manageable.

Also, you might consider the a 150SW Nikkor... also a big chunk of glass but well suited for 8x10. A 150XL is a lighter lens but has slightly less IC depending on your needs.

As for other lenses... yup, a 240 G-Claron (Copal 1) is a great chunk of glass in that it's far lighter than the Nikkor 240 Nikkor (Copal 3.) However, both are great lenses.

One other camera you might try and find is a Sinar F2 in 8x10... I'm not sure what the difference in weight is but I would think it's going to be roughly the same as the Dorff? As opposed to the Dorff... the F2 is a monorail camera and has some nice features to it as well.

Price-wise... the Dorffs have been selling at pretty reasonable prices these days regardless of wether they have the front swings or not. But, John is right... the ones without front swings do sell for slightly less.

Have you checked with Jim at Mpex or Jeff at Badger Graphics?

Cheers

[John Kasaian]

IIRC, Capocheny had a 'dorff up for sale awhile back---an absolutely beautiful example from what I saw in the photographs and at a very fair price too---likely it's long gone by now but you might ask him about it

I bought my 'dorff from Jim at Midwest long ago---it was one of a lot that came from a studio somewhere back east. Jim does get 'dorff's in and is a fine person to do business with.

Another person to check with would be Jim Galli who always drags some of the most interesting stuff out of Area 51---rumor has it that he gets his stuff by trading Model A Ford parts to stranded space aliens to repair their broken down flying saucers in exchange for their G-Clarons.

Good luck!

[Former Member 8144]

So doing some research etc leaves me with the following list:

deardorff nfs
wehman
shen-hao
chamonix
ritter
camham
wisner
tachihara

I'm assuming none of these would be restricted by bellows length to use, as well as the 240mm something like the 450mm fujiA?


of course (who isn't?) I'm looking for the lower end of the price scale so any others apart from those mentioned above I shuld be looking at...bearing in mind my shooting needs and hence the need for on the lighter side (without being unsturdy due to expected long exposures and often windy conditions).

Thanks.

[Dave Aharonian]

I bought a new Shen Hao 8x10 about 6 months ago for similar reasons as you. I've been carrying it in a small National Geographic camera bag that fits the camera, 2 lenses and 2 -3 film holders. Its a shoulder bag. I then have an old Nature Trekker backpack with up to 10 film holders and more lenses if I need them. It may sound cumbersome, but it works quite well, and I'm not a big fan or carrying lots of weight.

The camera itself has worked very well for me, and its one of the lightest 8x10s out there - I think - and its got more than enough rise for me. I've put my 110XL on it and a 16" Eastman Portrait lens, and the bellows have been fine. Hope this helps!

Dave

[steve simmons]

IMHO swing and tilt front and rear are essential. With those movements you can create rise and fall and shift.

Just my 2 cents.

steve simmons