From: Les Newcomer (lnphoto@ismi.net)
Date: 05/03/00-07:50:04 AM Z
In the past year I was able to assemble a 'state of the art, 1957' camera package,
that would have been the envy of any commercial photographer 35 years ago.
1. Deardorff 8x10, new bellows
2. 7.5" Wide Field Ektar
3. 10" Wide Field Ektar
4. 14" Commercial Ektar
5. 19" Red Dot Artar.
85% of the shooting I do is with the 10" alone, 10% with the 7.5", 4.5% with the
14" and the rest with the 19", but I live in cramped quarters where a 19" is used
mainly for portraits, and unless your name is Karsh, an Artar isn't the best
portrait lens.
Total cost $2000. $500 less than a Zone VI camera alone. The lenses came from
ebay the camera from a car shooter here in Detroit that realized clients won't pay
for 8x10 any more. I got lucky and bought my camera when the Japanese economy
took a nosedive and got it for $600.
A Deardorff that has the right amount of scuffs, but nothing worn excessively is a
great value, don't buy mint, or new in the box. If money is tight and you don't
have the $1200 right now, a Kodak Master view is actually lighter, but uglier than
a Deardorff. The original 8x10 Masterview was made of titanium and aluminum, and
was essentially the post-war (WWII) answer to the Deardorff type camera, later
this was made by Calumet. At the student end of the spectrum is the Kodak 2D. Not
a great camera for wide angle lenses, but is cheap by comparison if you aren't
sure you really want to sink a lot of money in a hobby that you might not love.
Les
James Young wrote:
> I would agree with Les. With the digital age upon us a lot of
> commercial studios are going to be dumping their 8x10's and, and I
> recommend looking for a deardorff. They are great cameras but don't
> make good digital back platforms. 10 x10 enlargers are also becoming
> mostly obsolete as labs go digital.
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