De Vere Monorail?

Hi,

I am farily new to large format photography, but I have seen a De Vere
monorail camera that might be within my price range.

The camera seems in good condition, but will need new bellows and a new
focus screen.

Does anyone know if I would be able to get replacement parts for this
camera?

Thanks,

Andrew McCall

Andrew McCall wrote in
:

Hi,

I am farily new to large format photography, but I have seen a De Vere
monorail camera that might be within my price range.

The camera seems in good condition, but will need new bellows and a new
focus screen.

Does anyone know if I would be able to get replacement parts for this
camera?

There are at least two companies in the United States that can custom make
a bellows to fit pretty much any camera, for prices ranging from (IIRC)
$100 up (the lower end is for small, simple bellows; tapers are likely to
be more, as are larger bellows or special materials). Ground glass is very
simple to replace; you can find it on eBay any day of the week, both glass
and frosted plastic (polycarbonate or acrylic), which is cheaper, lighter,
and won't shatter, but is more prone to scratching by a loupe base or other
wear. You can even make your own ground glass with a sheet of window glass
the correct thickness, a jam jar, and a tube of fine valve lapping compound
from the auto parts store ($5 for the valve compound).

Proprietary parts like knobs and hardware are likely to be much harder to
obtain, but bellows and ground glass aren't a major problem -- just take
the cost of replacement into account when buying the camera.

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

Andrew McCall wrote in
:

Hi,

I am farily new to large format photography, but I have seen a De Vere
monorail camera that might be within my price range.

The camera seems in good condition, but will need new bellows and a new
focus screen.

Does anyone know if I would be able to get replacement parts for this
camera?

There are at least two companies in the United States that can custom make
a bellows to fit pretty much any camera, for prices ranging from (IIRC)
$100 up (the lower end is for small, simple bellows; tapers are likely to
be more, as are larger bellows or special materials). Ground glass is very
simple to replace; you can find it on eBay any day of the week, both glass
and frosted plastic (polycarbonate or acrylic), which is cheaper, lighter,
and won't shatter, but is more prone to scratching by a loupe base or other
wear. You can even make your own ground glass with a sheet of window glass
the correct thickness, a jam jar, and a tube of fine valve lapping compound
from the auto parts store ($5 for the valve compound).

Proprietary parts like knobs and hardware are likely to be much harder to
obtain, but bellows and ground glass aren't a major problem -- just take
the cost of replacement into account when buying the camera.

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

Andrew McCall wrote:

Hi,

I am farily new to large format photography, but I have seen a De Vere
monorail camera that might be within my price range.

The camera seems in good condition, but will need new bellows and a new
focus screen.

Does anyone know if I would be able to get replacement parts for this
camera?

Oh, I guess I should have looked at your posting address -- there's also
a custom bellows maker in the UK, they should be able to get you what
you need for the bellows...

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

Andrew McCall wrote:

Hi,

I am farily new to large format photography, but I have seen a De Vere
monorail camera that might be within my price range.

The camera seems in good condition, but will need new bellows and a new
focus screen.

Does anyone know if I would be able to get replacement parts for this
camera?

Oh, I guess I should have looked at your posting address -- there's also
a custom bellows maker in the UK, they should be able to get you what
you need for the bellows...

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.