I went to a workshop in Virginia City Nevada in 1987 where I met Luis-F-S. He had brougt two Deardorffs, an 8x10” and a 4x5” and the teacher/master Oliver Gagliani had a 4x5” Dorff as well so I was bitten by the bug and ordered an 8x10” from Helix in Chicago right when I came back from the west. I never realy took to the camera. It sure was beautiful on the Ries tripod, but it was very heavy and I was always in panic that I would scrape of the glossy finish. So I sold it in Germany with good profit since there it was considered exotic. Then I got a Phillips Advanced Series 8x10” which has been my camera ever since. It’s light and if there is a mark on the stealth surface you make it black again with a permanent marker.