RIP...

[scott]

TL/DR: Seneca Improved 8x10 is not longer.

'Morning, all -

When the kids were home over Christmas, I wanted to shoot some LF of them. Cold, dark, ugly the whole time. Day before everyone left, I dragged them out, late, at fading light. Brought all three LF cameras - 4x5, 5x7, 8x10. Started with the 8x10. By the time I was set up, light had changed; the one sheet I got fired is way WAY underexposed (still haven't scanned it). By then, no light. Fail.

Noticed on setting up, the ground glass had broken. Awesome. Was one of my nicest, too. Add it to the list. Brought the camera in and set it, open, on the dining room table. Fast forward to yesterday, and was cleaning. Collapsed the bellows and was folding it, and it wouldn't compress all the way. Hmmm - weird. Investigating further, found the bellows had completely blown apart on the bottom seam. This is a fatal failure. Can't repair it reasonably. And it was band aided together (though not there) anyway. The camera is so completely cobbled together that I'm not paying ecbuyonline $200 for a new set. At some point, I'll make a new set myself. But no time soon. Camera is going under a bench in the garage. Will update y'all in a few years when I find it and still don't have time. Until then, 5x7 and 4x5.

Drat.

[Julio1fer]

Tough luck! Hope you other LF cameras keep doing their job!

[PFMcFarland]

Oooh, I hate when that happens! Hopefully you'll come across some replacement parts in the near future so that we don't have to wait so long for an update.

PF

[Brazile]

Aww, nuts. I understand about putting off the bellows project. Doable, but daunting enough to make it hard to make time for. I've been putting off my various bellows projects for years now, and none of them looks likely to start anytime soon, so I get where you're at.

Robert

[melek]

That's rough and aggravating at the same time.

[scott]

Thanks, guys. Yeah, annoying for sure. I knew they were on their last legs, anyway, but it's still a drag. I will, at some point, replace them (either bought or built), but for now I have the two other formats. I have WAY too many projects not only on the list, but being juggled in-process. Attention span of a gnat these days. I should be done with PT in the next week or two, so hopefully can start knocking more off the list.

When I have a few minutes I need to drag out at least the 5x7 again...

[PFMcFarland]

Heal up, and worry about the cameras later.

PF