Two different mind sets. All of us want to make pictures. But there are some guys who want to exhibit a little style also. This is just my experience.

Doctors, Lawyers and Indian Chief's have a natural affinity towards Ebony's and Chamonix and other NEW gorgeous equipment. Very understandable. I get that. Let me share just a bit how I landed where I've been for the last 15 years.

I started out with 8X10 with a Deardorff. I couldn't afford an Ebony and Chamonix wasn't yet on the market, and a low mileage Deardorff is a lovely machine. Easy to use and a great overall experience.

But then the fascination with Soft Focus and all the ilk of antique lenses that make that happen came and the Deardorff is pretty useless.

My idea and it has proved itself over and over was to build a system that was a singular tool for all of the soft focus lenses. An ugly old Kodak 2D with a Packard shutter living inside the camera behind the bulkhead and in front of the first bellow fold. Ugly. Very ugly.




Impresses no one. But I've had so much fun with that contraption I eventually let the Deardorff go. Ultimately you can achieve most of the same movements with the limits of a 2D, it just isn't handy and it takes a bit longer.

95% of you are shrugging and saying, so what. Here's my point. Add it up laddies. That whole system of old used ugly junk cost me less than one of the big Copal shutter units alone.

So my question is anathema to many of you who pride yourselves on having sleek limited systems with zero overlap. My question is if people want to experiment with some of the soft focus lenses, why not have one of these as a dedicated tool in your tool chest. Keep the Cham or the Ebony, but build up one of these old terds to do the other work. Total cost is well under $1K

Soft focus is a dangerous thing. One lens and one resulting personality on film just makes you curious to see what something else will do. The darn things begin to accumulate. Having an old 2D as a dedicated tool for that kind of work makes sense to me. I'd far rather impress you with the pictures than the machine that made them.

If I've convinced anyone, make sure you get one that is complete. Tripod block and extension table and not too beat up. It needs to minimally function. Also, over time I've tried them all. Agfa's, Greem Monster Calumet's, Korona's et al. The Kodak works the best. The Packard that fits perfect inside is a 6 1/2" with 3 1/2" opening. No. 6 Instantaneous.