Wista 810DX Cherry 8x10 Double Extension Wooden Field Camera

Comments about Wista 810DX Cherry 8x10 Double Extension Wooden Field Camera:

8x10 landscape, scenic photography. For lenses of 12" (305mm) and shorter the Wista performs quite well... just don't expect all the "bells and whistles" of some of the higher-priced cameras. If the front-standard struts are erected to the detent position you must use the base pivot for lens-plane tilts. There is no provision for optical axis tilt so if you are accustomed to the "center tilt" this will require some adjustment! The fresnel lens included is reasonably bright and relatively unobtrusive and focusing - even with a 120mm Nikkor SW (f8)- is decent. The use of short lenses requires "forward focus" of the rear standard which requires the use of both hands since each side of the rear standard is driven by a separate gear drive. The attached scales are fairly useful and visible enough to be read under low light.
This camera folds easily and setup is fast and easy - the lack of levels is a negative but the top-mounted bull's eye level found on many cameras is virtually useless anyway.
All-in-all this is a good entry-level field camera with reasonably good movements for field-work... a bit on the high side when compared with the Tachihara but I haven't been able to compare the two side-by-side for fit and finish.