Brand new 8x10 SLR !

AnalogueWendy

AnalogueWendy

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What fun!
We know It’s not the first but I’m glad to see this project getting attention
Admittedly that lens would make good photographs mounted on a cardboard box (how long is it? They have cranked it out forever in the video) Well, maybe 2 cardboard boxes.
 
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Be careful. I just did a bit of research and, on their website terms of service page, there is a mention of a contact address of

UMALL TECHNOLOGY S.A.R.L
15 RUE DES HALLES, PARIS, FRANCE. (THIS IS NOT A RETURNING ADDRESS)

Put this into a search engine and you get results like this...

fakewebsitebuster.com

Umall Technology S.A.R.L - Chinese Shopping Scams » Fake Website Buster

Umall Technology S.A.R.L from France seems to be a Chinese shell company that operates thousands of scam websites targeting USA, UK and more.
fakewebsitebuster.com fakewebsitebuster.com
 
Hmm, yes.
Smartflex have been around for a while https://smartflexcamera.shop/products/smartflex-camera-4x5?
No idea who https://reflxlab.com/ might be.
Shopping scams are constant, but no-one has really suggested that the 10x8 is even for sale!
Perhaps it is all AI after all - smaller people using the regular 4x5 smartflex cameras - or something

I've asked @smartflexcamera about it on Instagram. I'll report back.
 
There are a few oddities in the Video, the bellows don't look real. It's not that easy to build a 10x8 focal plane shutter. It's probably a gimmick to hype their smaller Smartflex SLRs.

I must get around to restoring the Half plate SLR I was given, that's large enough, I'm not sure if I can convert it for modern 7x5/Half plate International holders. Since then, I've acquired a Thornton Pickard All Weather Press camera which does take modern 7x5/Half plate film holders, and the Focal Plane shutter works well, I just need a 18cm lens in a focus mount.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
There are a few oddities in the Video, the bellows don't look real. It's not that easy to build a 10x8 focal plane shutter. It's probably a gimmick to hype their smaller Smartflex SLRs.
Click to expand...
I think the bellows in the insta video are just cranked all the way out, hence the pleats are nearly flat.

I get the appeal of the larger SLRs, speaking as someone with a Graflex 3x4 (converted to almost 4x5). But of course this 10x8 looks about the size of the average microwave oven, so you're probably going to need a wheelbarrow to take it anywhere. So if it's too big to handhold, then what's the real point? What advantage is it actually offering over any bog standard 10x8" camera? Seems a lot of effort (and presumably expense*) just to avoid having to get the subject to stay still while you put the film in. I know there's the focal plane shutter but there's ways around that with normal cameras, like using sinar shutters etc.

*What are we thinking for the eventual cost of one of these? The Smartflex 5x4" is probably about £3.5k once you get onto into this country. So for the 10x8 we'd be looking at possibly well north of £10k? I'll pass on this opportunity I think.
 
If you watch both of the videos on YouTube it's clearly not a fake camera. I think it's quite ingenious. The video Wendy shared above is in English and the guy explains the advantages of this camera over a 10x8 field camera especially the 8x8 inch lens board for large/fast lenses which a Sinar shutter wouldn't cover. My Dallmeyer 3A is too large for my Sinar shutter and they're using a 5A in one of the videos. The Sinar shutter max speed is 1/60, I bet this reflex camera has a faster top shutter speed. Overall very impressive but the price tag will be the limiting factor for demand.

I've got a 5x4 Gowlandflex. I read somewhere he made very few in 10x8 size, maybe around 10.
 
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