1894 Empire State 8x10 view camera and my 1st post

[learning_jd]

Hello all,

I rediscovered my love for photography. It started with a 645 SLR medium format I got from a professional photographer. Then a medium format TLR which became my standard travel camera. Then a few 35mm. Then a 4x5 view camera that has totally blown me away it is so fun! Most of my cameras are older (20 or 30 plus years) but nice.

Well... I just stumbled on a 1894 Empire State 8x10 view camera. I have only talked with the seller and have not seen it (except in some small photo's). What I hear is that it could use a refinish on the wood, but is totally working. Has it's original lens that is clear and functional. The seller said it was purchased from the previous seller and it was the grandfather or great grandfather who owned a camera store way back then.

So my question - is this a viable camera to take out and collect photons? The seller said the 4 or so negatives taken were incredible. Is the camera delicate or can it be taken on trips and put to work?

I don't yet have details on the lens. It has a new focusing screen.

Any help, info, moral support would be most welcomed.

Jon

[Toffle]

I wish I could say something about the Empire State other than GO FOR IT.

...and welcome to APUG. We're all nuts. (Well, except for Sean, but if the server migration doesn't take soon, he'll be nuttier than a squirrel's pantry before you know it.)

[papagene]

Jon - first, hello and welcome to APUG. As far as the camera goes, if it is a good price for it... grab it and have fun.

[jimgalli]

Welcome to APUG Jon. YES! A VERY usable camera. And it's not a museum piece. If you use it to death, it's not an important loss. I take this approach with my own Kodak 2D (a later version of what you're talking about). When I'm done with it, there may not be much left but a half hour of BTU's.

8X10 cameras were sold without a lens most of the time. Anything that covers the format is usable, and the lensboards for that camera are simple to make.

[learning_jd]

Thanks for the welcome!

I really cannot figure out why I am enjoying photography and large format in particular. Maybe large format is like fishing? Slower pace, contemplative, simply a joy to be outside? I don't know.

So the empire can be put to work? I am very happy to hear that - because I already ordered a box of film for it!

I have not heard back what kind of lens it has. I did a web search and I think I found an older ad of it mentioning "voightlandr". I've heard of that but know nothing more - like how they function, focal length, and so on. If it's original, is there a trick to how they operate?

Does anyone know if the camera has a full range of movements?

I believe the seller has a few film holders. Not sure if they are modern (plastic) or period (wood?). The seller also said the bellows is light-tight.

I sure hope it works out! I'm rather pumped up about it. Crazy!

Jon

[TheFlyingCamera]

Jon-

Wait until you see the camera and lens before getting too worked up over the lens itself. It could be one of thousands of possibilities. Note what the lens says on the rim around the front element, on the barrel, and on the shutter. There may or may not be information in any of those locations, although the shutter is almost certain to be labeled. Those details will help identify it and help us provide you with information on how the shutter operates. Bring your own camera with you and take pictures of the lens and shutter - if it's something unusual, the antique lens gurus can help identify it by some detail you might not think important when describing it from memory. What the film holders are doesn't really matter much, so long as they are light-tight and they fit the camera.

Congrats on the find, and best wishes on your upcoming shooting adventures. I think a big part of the joy of using these large and ultra-large cameras is the same reason people like antique cars - there's a connectedness to the process that's not there with an auto-everything whiz-bang-mobile. Sure, the 1922 Packard may not go as fast, get as good mileage, or keep you in climate-controlled comfort, but it is very much in evidence the fact that YOU are what's making the car do everything it does short of burn fuel.

[learning_jd]

It was difficult to evaluate the camera at the McDonald meeting place. But this evening I looked at it closely.

The lens is a Voigtlander COLLINEAR U.S. Pat. 567326 Series III No 64505 Focus 7 7/8 in. The rear lens element has the same No 64505 number. I see two very tiny air bubbles in the front glass, 1 very tiny bubble in the rear glass, but other than that, the glass is rather clean and no scratches. Does not look coated (not surprised). It seems to focus the light bulb (above me) fine on the table.

The lens is in a Wollensak Opt Co. shutter gizmo. It has two pistons. One seems to actuate (by air I guess) the shutter, the other was frozen but I got it unstuck. There is a dial on top that says AUTOMATIC with numbers 1 1/2 1/5 1/25 1/50 1/100 B and T. The shutter seems to work in B and for all of the timed values, the shutter seems to have one constant speed no matter where it is set. The diaphram seems to work fine. It has f-stops of 64 45 32 22 16 11 7.7 and that's all the numbers I see, but opens up a tad more. There is a PAT.FEB.6.1900 on the shutter release side and PAT.JULY23.1901 on the other piston side.

The bellows look original and at first glance, look pretty good. But they were advertised as being light tight - not even close. I hear there are ways to fix that but I've never done it.

The original ground glass was broken long ago but the seller had another made and it looks like it should work. (I have the camera in pieces so I have not yet tried to get an image on it.

Wood is cracked in a number of places and one piece is completely broken but still there and I can glue it.

I got 2 plastic/modern film holders and 1 wood one that looks old but the wood is in nice shape. The hinge on it is broken and one side has a sheet of film still in it that I exposed the first inch. Not sure if there is anything viable over the rest of it.

The rear standard has, I guess it called, the "double" swing (instead of a single one I read in some old online catalog). (It seems to move just like my 4x5) Also rear tilt. The front standard only has rise/fall.

There is a front dropdown bed (with a long crack that can be easily glued), and a separate rear bed that looks fine. A chunk of the bed was replaced by some unfinished wood but seems to function fine.

So there you have it. Not a show piece (and was not advertised as such) and my goal was never that, but for a viable field camera (this was advertised as perfect working condition). I know it's 117 years old and I am probably being way too critical for something like that. I did not pay an arm and a leg for it.

What should I do? It would be neat to get such an old girl working again but is it worth the trouble? Should I try to get my money back and put it towards a truly working camera. Thoughts?

Jon

[learning_jd]

Here are some shots of what I mentioned above...

[lesm]

Just think how good you'd feel to restore it then go out shooting with a real piece of photographic history. I'm a romantic, so for me I'd be sensing the ghosts of the previous owners and the joy they had with the camera and I'd feel a connection with them and with this grand old dame that I'd put effort into and breathed new life into so that she could work again. I'd also be trying to track down the previous owners and see if the family still has any of the photos from the old guys.

I'm guessing you're in the States. Winter's coming on. What else you gonna do on those cold, dark evenings? Unplug the TV and go for it!

Les

[JMC1969]

Jealous.