Holy Smokes I Accidently Bought an 8x10 Camera!

[bmac]

Well, I never thought I would win this auction, but am glad I did. I Got an old cherry wood 8x10 view camera for $200 today It needs a lens and lensboard, and a little tlc, but I am looking forward to playing with it. What are some inexpensive lens options to go with this low end camera? I am thinking of a lens without a shutter possibly in order to save some dough. Any leads? I'll only be shooting B/W with it, but want something that will make nice negs.

Brian

[Chuck (CA)]

Congrats!

[Sean]

COOL!

[Thilo Schmid]

Brian,
there are lots of barrel process lenses around. Look for Apo-Ronars, Apo-Nikkors, Apo-Geregons, etc. The 6-element G-Claron is the best one (but usually the most expensive, too).

[Robert]

Do you want long or wide? You can get either but you'll need different designs if you want cheap. The normal process lenses I think you'll need to get the 360mm to cover the 8x10 well. OTOH the wide process lenses can cover 8x10 with a 210mm.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=30076

These supposedly cover 8x10 and if you're lucky will actually screw into a shutter. OTOH the sellers never seem to ship to Canada so I haven't been able to check.

Do some search on googles newsgroup archives for info.

[David A. Goldfarb]

A decent lens to start with is a Turner Reich triple convertable. It's not too expensive and gives you three usable focal lengths and typically comes in a shutter. Not the sharpest lens out there, but Ansel didn't do too poorly with it.

[Ole]

A 300mm Xenar or similar used to be "standard" for 8x10. You do occasionally see f:4.5/300mm Xenar's up for sale, both barrel and shuttered. You won't see mine for sale, it is far too useful (in a #5 shutter) to sell

[Donald Miller]

Brian,
Congratulations, this should be a lot of fun for you. One of the first considerations you must address is what is your bellows extension? That will determine the maximum focal length lens that you can use. Some of the double extension field cameras are limited in the amount of bellows draw that they have.
All of the thoughts that others have shared with you are valid. I would consider the focal length that you normally use on the camera that you now use. (I don't remember the format you have been using). If you commonly use a normal focal length on your present format, you will be most comfortable in the 300 mm range on the 8X10. If you use a mild telephoto now, use something in the 450 mm range on the 8X10 if you have the bellows draw ( 24 inches minimum) to accomodate. If you use wide angle now, then use something in the 210 mm range on your 8X10.
Not all focal length lenses have equivalent covering power (ability to project the image circle and allow for movements). For instance I have a 210 Dagor that covers my 8X10 and a 210 Symmar S that will barely cover 5X7.
If you want inexpensive, then a process lens will work...since you will probably not enlarge the negatives you can stop the lens down and use a lens cap to control the length of exposure. Or you can use a Packard (pneumatic) shutter on those lenses as well. Since you will probably consistantly be working at F45 and smaller, if you use a 125 or 200 speed film such as FP4 or Bergger BPF 200 and rate them at their true speed (64-80) shutter speeds become more lengthy and easier to control without a modern shutter. Good luck and have fun.

[John Kasaian]

Welcome to 8x10! The best thing going on right now in barrel lenses is 240 G-Clarons: modern, razor sharp APOs recently discontinued by Schneider. Igor has them listed under 'dark room' on the web for $90. A little high for a barrel lens, but if you eventually can obtain a Copal #1 from somewhere(NOT the Press model&#33 It should screw right in. Get a scale for the f/stops and you'll have a great moderate wide angle lens that you could have bought elsewhere for $500+. Other good used lens(s) in shutters would be the Commercial Ektars, either the 12" or(my favorite) 14" and Dagors. The best deal I know on 8x10 sheet film would be from Photo Warehouse & Freestyle sales for incarnations of Ilford film. For ultra cheap they have Ortho (ISO 3?) and develop in old paper developer. Enjoy!

[Jim Chinn]

Commercial Ektars are good performers and are often on EBAY.
They produce sharp negs with good contrast. You will proably need to have the Ilex shutter CLA, but the one I bought a couple years ago had a very good shutter that needed no work at the time.

Another option is the older Schneider Convertible lenses such as the 300/500. it is heavy and comes in a Copal #3 but usually sells for under $500.