I just bought this Wisner 8 by 10 1500

[Bernice Loui]

Does anyone know what ever happened to Ron Wisner? Yes, the company went bust for a host of reasons leaving much pooo.. still the cameras have a legacy and history.


Bernice

[Roboflick]

Does it not have a name plate? That looks more like a Zone VI than a Wisner and it is, definitely, not a Technical Field. The metal looks like anodized aluminum, not brass, and the bellows should be red leather. If it were a Traditional or Technical Field it would be a triple extension, that looks like a double extension. Forgetting the bellows color and allowing for the double extension and the aluminum metalwork, it is more like the Wisner Expedition, but I thought all of those were Technical Field cameras. I suppose Wisner might have made something to order, but that camera does not seem, to me, to conform to what he advertised for the Traditional, Technical Field or the Expedition 8x10 cameras. How much bellows extension does it have?

I'll check it out and report back. I have 30 days to return it. On the picture of the gg it says wisner classic manufacturing co

Thanks for the comments

Nik

[CP Goerz]

You bought a camera and now wonder if you got a deal and want confirmation whether to keep or return it from a group of strangers? Why not do the research first before bidding?

[Roboflick]

You bought a camera and now wonder if you got a deal and want confirmation whether to keep or return it from a group of strangers? Why not do the research first before bidding?

Thanks for your helpful and insightful comment!

Nik

[kgm]

It's a Wisner Traditional. I just sold mine last year. It does appear to be missing the plate on the front that said something like, "Wisner Classic Manufacturing Company, Marion, Massachusetts," but maybe he made some early or late models that didn't have the plate. I bought mine new in 1995. This one appears to be identical to mine other than the missing plate.
The bellows on this one is red leather. It's a dark red, but it looks just like the one I had. It's a nice camera. I decided to move back to 4x5 and that's why I sold it. The camera was still in good condition after 16 years of use. I had to tape up the top handle, and occasionally tighten some screws, but everything worked well. I did fray the bellows slightly when I first got it. When you open and close the camera, the front standard rubs against the bellows unless you push the bellows back a little with your fingers while opening and closing. The bellows never developed a leak, fortunately, and the fraying never got worse after I realized what was happening. The Wisners had their quirks, but I was happy with mine.
I had a Nikkor 240mm W and a 450mm M initially. When Cooke began to offer the Series XVa triple convertible lens about 10 years ago, I replaced the 450mm with that. The Cooke is a great lens for 8x10. It gives you 12 1/4", 19", and 25 1/2 " focal lengths, and all work well on the Wisner. The 25 1/2" configuration is a little difficult to use front movements with, since you can't reach the front standard when it's extended that much (at least I can't, and I've got long arms), but it wasn't that difficult to deal with. It was great having three useful focal lengths in a single package, and in a lens that cost less than you'd pay for a new 25 1/2" lens. I believe that Cooke is still making these (Badger Graphics lists them), but it's a special order and takes a few months. The last used one for sale I saw was mine. Cooke hasn't made a lot of these.
Enjoy the camera.

[Brian Ellis]

Does it not have a name plate? That looks more like a Zone VI than a Wisner and it is, definitely, not a Technical Field. The metal looks like anodized aluminum, not brass, and the bellows should be red leather. If it were a Traditional or Technical Field it would be a triple extension, that looks like a double extension. Forgetting the bellows color and allowing for the double extension and the aluminum metalwork, it is more like the Wisner Expedition, but I thought all of those were Technical Field cameras. I suppose Wisner might have made something to order, but that camera does not seem, to me, to conform to what he advertised for the Traditional, Technical Field or the Expedition 8x10 cameras. How much bellows extension does it have?

I'm sure the OP is thoroughly confused by now since he or she has been told that it's a Traditional, a Tech Field, or maybe a Zone VI but FWIW:

The bellows color is identical to the color of the bellows on the Wisner 5x7 I sold a year or so ago. I've also seen pictures of Wisners with this color bellows.

In the ad Adorama says it has geared axis tilt (presumably rear). If it does then I believe it's a Tech Field because I'm not aware that the Traditional (or the Zone VI) had geared rear axis tilt.

Without the name plate it's hard to tell from the pictures whether it's the Expedition version of the Tech Field or not. My guess is that it isn't because the Expeditions that I've seen had the more common thin circular knobs on the front standard, not the elongated knobs that this camera has. But I'm far from an expert on Expeditions.

I can't tell from the pictures what material the metal is made of nor can I tell how long the bellows extends.

The lack of a name plate is puzzling.

[kgm]

The photos of the camera do not show a geared tilt. I'm pretty sure that this is the Traditional. Actually, I'm not certain that the Technical Field cameras had geared tilts. I never used one, but I thought that they just had both base and axis tilts, but not geared ones.

I didn't think that there was any difference in the bellows extension of the Traditional and the Technical Field Wisners. I'm not sure of the maximum extension of the bellows, but I had a 25 1/2" (623mm) lens, and I could focus that at considerably less than infinity on my Traditional. It had over 30" of bellows draw, I believe.

[Brian Ellis]

The photos of the camera do not show a geared tilt. I'm pretty sure that this is the Traditional. Actually, I'm not certain that the Technical Field cameras had geared tilts. I never used one, but I thought that they just had both base and axis tilts, but not geared ones.

I didn't think that there was any difference in the bellows extension of the Traditional and the Technical Field Wisners. I'm not sure of the maximum extension of the bellows, but I had a 25 1/2" (623mm) lens, and I could focus that at considerably less than infinity on my Traditional. It had over 30" of bellows draw, I believe.

The Tech Field cameras had geared rear axis tilts. Ron said he had a patent on that feature and used it as something of a selling point. I don't remember what the backs of the geared rear tilt cameras (Tech Field) vs non-geared (Traditional) looked like so I can't tell from the pictures whether this camera has that feature or not. In the ad Adorama said it has geared axis tilt but maybe they're wrong.

There was no difference in the bellows extension of the Tech Fields and the Traditionals AFAIK. I believe both were right at 40 inches.

[Peter De Smidt]

It's a traditional. (I owned both a traditional and a Tech Field at one time.)

[Louis Pacilla]

The metal looks like anodized aluminum, not brass, and the bellows should be red leather.

Nik, it certainly looks like you bought a Wisner 8x10 Traditional L camera and looks to be a fine example IMHO.


The attachment is straight from the Wisner Catalog and it states that all but the 4x5 Traditional S camera (which uses brass hardware) where made with brass anodized aluminum hardware for weight savings.

I added the link for the PDF of the Wisner Catalog for all who care.
Here's the link- http://www.largeformatphotography.in...MonoChrome.pdf

Hope this helps