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Wanted (from EU): wooden 8x10 field camera

Posted 24/10/2010 - 11:19 Link
Hi!

I am looking for a wooden field camera, with 8x10" back, or even larger.
I'd like to buy from within EU, to save on shipment charge, but if the shipment doesn't come too expensive, i am open to offers made from the other continents
I'd prefer to buy the camera alone, cause i already have plenty of large format lenses. I am just looking after soft/portrait lenses (with 8x10 coverage). I already have all the other 8x10 lenses i could ever need, as well as a couple of Packard and Thornton Pickard shutters.

Unfortunately a Deardorff is too much for my slim budget, but i would be content with a Deardorff copy (like the indian Rajah or Prinzdorff), or a Kodak 2D, Agfa Ansco, Burke & James, Korona, Improved Empire State, Thornton Pickard, etcetera).
The camera must be foldable, with extension rail (if originally sold with one), and made, in toto or in part, of wood. The back must be a standard 8x10 back, for standard cut film holders. I don't care very much if the ground glass is missing, but the bellows must be light-tight and supple (bellows are too expensive!).

I am open to any offer, but remember to be realistic!
If 10x12", 11x14" or "banquet" cameras are offered, the sale must include a couple of film holders

If you don't live too far, i can give you some Pentax 35mm and 6x7 stuff.

cheers

CJ
Pentax cameras:
K-1; K-5 II; K-01; K10D; K200D; 6x7; K2; MX; LX; Super Program; Z-1p
MY PK & M42 LENSES:
link
SOME OLD STUFF:
link
Edited by cyberjunkie: 24/10/2010 - 11:31
smc
Posted 24/10/2010 - 19:49 Link
ffordes has a Linhoff for sale at the moment but does not seem cheap.
Posted 22/02/2011 - 22:49 Link
Sorry. I missed your reply, but i have found it now, just by chance.
I have already a beautiful Super Technika III (fifth and last model, with graflock back and with many similarities with the IV - just the front standard is less robust)... but i am going to sell it!
I have to do it because i have too many large format cameras, and my current interest is more towards larger wooden cameras, namely ultra large format (bigger than 8x10 inches) or large "studio portrait" models, those with large adjustable wood stands.
I have too many cameras and lenses that i am not going to use very often, so i am concentrating on Pentax DRSLs, Pentax 6x7, and large format.
I need to sell most of the rest, because my budget is very limited at the moment, so i'd like to invest the value of rarely used equipments in very expensive dream lenses, like Veritar, Verito, Velostigmat Series II, giant Petzvals, and the like...
I am not against digital photography. I almost quit taking pictures some time ago: i loved travel photography, and when i could no longer afford to travel, for a number of reasons, i found that i was not so interested in photography anymore; digital photography meant a new refreshing approach, a new lease of life for my Pentax lenses. I found two bodies on Ebay for a very affordable price (a K10D and a K200D), so i could use again all the wonderful Pentax lenses i ammassed over the course of the years, without any expense for films and laboratories! I work with computers, so i didn't need to purchase anything more.
It's a very strange thing, but the re-start with DSRLs cameras revived my interest in analog photography! I brought home again all my pro stuff that was stored in my girlfriend's basement since nearly 15 years: Pentax 6x7 and Mamiya Press outfits, plus two Linhofs 4x5" (Technika III and Bi-System) and a 13x18cm Fatif. That's the stuff i used for some time, many years ago, when i did some commercial photography.
It all started with the purchase of the digital bodies The main reason for purchasing them was that i got sick to wait for a full frame digital body, and that some of them best MF lenses made by Pentax, payed with months of savings, and collected over the years, were left unused since too long time. What i didn't know, was that all the new stuff prompted a renewed interest in old photographic techniques. Digital is much fun, easy and cheap, but if money and time is no object, there is nothing like a pro camera. It doesn't need to be a monorail with extreme movements, a technical or a field camera are more than enough. It's not just big film area. Even with basic movements, a camera like that offers a degree of flexibility that can be as good for a photographer interested in serious learning, as for expressing the creativity of an experienced artist.

To cut a long story short, old analog equipments can be worth any cent you could pay for them. Large formats can be expensive, the larger they are the more you'll spend in film and laboratory charges... nevertheless, if you choose a camera with graflock back, you could resort to magazines for (cheap) 120 film (4.5x6; 6x6; 6x7; 6x9; 6x12). Older models can be quite cheap, and 120 developing tanks, to do B&W films on your own, are dirty cheap.
A cheap 4x5 press camera, like a Crown Graphic, can be very affordable, even for those on a tight budget. Normally they come with a nice original lens, with a matching cam that couples the lens with the rangefinder. So you can either shoot on a tripod, the large format way, or handheld.
A Linhof Technika III in good conditions, like mine, allows to do all that stuff, and more (ample movements, including tilt/swing back; big bellows extension, to use long focals; use of extreme wide angles, with recessed lensboards or special focusing devices; dedicated cams from extreme wides to long telephotos; an impressive range of accessories).
When i'll sell mine, i expect to get about 350 euros, maybe little more, for the camera with a couple of accessories, but without lenses.
My Pentax manual focus 2.8/300mm lens, in like new conditions, with dedicated duplicator and an Heliopan polarizer on the front, could sell for about ten times more Even some of those fast zooms, with that nice "plasticky" feeling, could cost quite a bit of money these days.
Enough to meditate a little, before going to bed...

Sorry for the long post, but i hope somebody would enjoy the reading

have fun


CJ
Pentax cameras:
K-1; K-5 II; K-01; K10D; K200D; 6x7; K2; MX; LX; Super Program; Z-1p
MY PK & M42 LENSES:
link
SOME OLD STUFF:
link
Edited by cyberjunkie: 22/02/2011 - 22:52
johnriley
Posted 22/02/2011 - 23:11 Link
The exchange for Pentax gear just keeps this in, but please note that Classifieds is for sale and wanted of Pentax items only. Also discussion is for other sections as it will not really be noticed here and anything that diverts from the buying/selling process may be removed.

Many thanks!
Best regards, John

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