A few updates on my new Mk III 8x10:
*It came with the screws holding the ground glass clips in place bing loose. When I tried to tighten these, they were stripped. In addition, when I tried a Regal (not Regal II) holder, it did not bed in the groove. It seemed that the slot was either too close to the glass or not wide enough. To their ABSOLUTE CREDIT, Intrepid sent a replacement back that arrived from the UK to Australia in 4 days. Well done, Intrepid - great customer service.
*I purchased a 3D printed Sinar to Linhof adapter from a Canadian Seller on eBay. This is very high quality. It did come with square corners that didn’t fit the Intrepid’s rounded corners; however, under 5 minutes with a diamond nail file solved this and it is a great (Smaug) fit.
*I can focus my 120mm lens at infinity, even though the specs say 150mm minimum. I haven’t had a chance to check camera base ingress into the image and whether I can drop the bed. I have some doubt as the front standard is fixed, meaning longer minimum draw when the back standard is tilted backwards. Once we have a brighter day here (currently experiencing flooding), I’ll jump under the dark cloth and see how it looks
*I really like the rear screen magnetic hold design with one exception - it is very difficult to find a pry point to allow you to pressure off the back. I have sent through a design suggestion to alleviate this, so hope this is incorporated soon.
*The rear focus knob feels a bit cheap and nasty in a lightweight polymer material, as, too, do the dual knobs on the front standard. Not close to being a deal breaker; just be aware of this.
*The front Bellow is glued slightly askew on the wooden frame. If you’re one of those people who need to straighten crooked pictures, this might not be the camera for you….
*There is no beveled edge to the ground glass frame, making putting in/removing the film holder a bit painful. Again, I’ve passed this on to Intrepid as a suggested design improvement.
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