Got me a new version of Vist 8x10

[kmallick]

I had written a review of the Vist 8x10 when it first appeared a couple of years ago. I purchased the latest version (version 3 I believe) since the new features appealed to me. Plus given that the cost (< $600) was less than a couple of 4x5's I have owned, I wanted to give it a shot. I have no connection to the camera builder, Virginijus who lives in Lithuania. But he has always been friendly, helpful and easy to deal with. He deserves the credit for trying to cater to 8x10 enthusiasts with a reasonably well priced camera with nice features.

The new features are definitely worthwhile.

1. The rear film holder panel can now be unclipped and rotated to change from horizontal to vertical orientation. No need to turn the whole camera as I had to do in v1
2. The biggest improvement for me is that the front standard can now do tilt, swing and shift
3. The rear standard can tilt and tilt back more than the vertical position. However I wish there was a notch in the metal bracket to allow for a detent in the vertical position
4. The lens board mount has changed to a more common Sinar mount

A couple of things I had issues with:

• The front standard is difficult to grab and lift up from the close position of the camera
• The metal brackets may scratch or bruise the bellows if you are not careful during opening or closing the camera.
• The sliding motion to focus works well, but I really wish there was a control for fine focusing (it may be too much to ask for in a compact design like this)

I did some of my own feature improvements. I replaced the metal washers with nylon ones, stained the wood, added a bubble level on top and added a fresnel that also serves to protect the ground glass. The camera does fold down to something compact, easy to grab and reasonably light (8 lbs, including the Arca style tripod mount but no lens). I am yet to take it out for a spin but I plan to do so soon.

[Kino]

Reviving this thread to see if the OP could give us an update on how this camera has worked for them since purchased.

I am quite tempted, as it is competitive with the Intrepid, but appears to be a bit more refined.

How do you like the camera now?

Are the bellows attached directly to the camera, or is there a frame to which the bellows are attached? In other words, any possibility of inserting a bag bellows to this camera?

The only thing that concerns me are the rails, which look like drawer slides. How have these held-up?

[Steve Goldstein]

The manufacturer has a post about this camera in Facebook's "Classifieds - Large Format Photography Classifieds". The original post is two years old (December 16, 2022), but it appears to have been edited to state that the camera is sold out. But there's another post from June 7 of this year about the 8x10 compact version.

I've sent him a message to inquire.

[Kino]

He has 3 cameras available on Ebay at the moment.

I am tempted, but the price has increased to $699 and $70 shipping, so I would like to hear from the OP how the camera has been so far before I make the leap.

I quit Facebook 10 years ago and refuse to have anything to do with a Zuckerberg enterprise, so those resources are out of my reach...

[Kino]

I have since heard from the maker (contacted via Ebay) that the bellows are glued directly to the camera body; FYI.

Still would be grateful to hear if the rails (slides) appear to be reasonably durable.

[kmallick]

To be honest, I am quite pleased with the new version of the Vist 8x10. It solved my biggest complaints about Ver. 1, in that it now allows the portrait to landscape orientation by changing the back and also allows much better front movements. It is little bit bigger and you have to be careful when you close down the camera, but overall a very decent value for a 8x10.

The rails seem sturdy and durable. I have not used the camera that extensively to confirm it can take abuse. The only thing I wish it had was a way to fine control the focus. Focusing the sliding rail and locking it using the knob takes some practice.

[Kino]

Thanks much for the update!

I appreciate the information.

[Yourix]

Never used it myself but I met somebody who had one and he did a fine-focusing system with 3d-printer parts (not 3d-printed parts !). He just added a screw and bearings to focus like on an Intrepid. Cost him 30€ or so...

[Kino]

Never used it myself but I met somebody who had one and he did a fine-focusing system with 3d-printer parts (not 3d-printed parts !). He just added a screw and bearings to focus like on an Intrepid. Cost him 30€ or so...

Any chance you could show a picture of this modification?

[jeffnyc]

Have you seen this on ebay? From the looks of it seems to be the same 8x10. https://www.ebay.com/itm/186853749067