L.F. Deardorff & Sons Inc. was a

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

of wooden-construction, large-format 4"x5" and larger bellows view camera from 1923 through 1988. They were used by professional

photographic studios Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed i ...

Company history

Laban F. Deardorff repaired cameras for nearly 30 years before building the first 8x10 Deardorff. He had been employed by Rochester Camera Company in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, during the 1890s.

Model history

Almost all Deardorff cameras were made of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

. * 1923 saw the first model, the V8 (or VO8) built in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. 15 models were built. * 1924 V8 – 50 units built * 1925 V8 – 175 units built * 1926 – the first batch production. Reference to a 5x7 Deardorff * 1937 – started

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

plating and changed to

wood. * 1938 –

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

first used * 1942 – rounded corners for the lens boards * 1944 –

Spanish cedar ''Cedrela odorata'' is a commercially important species of tree in the chinaberry family, Meliaceae, commonly known as Spanish cedar or Cuban cedar; it is also known as cedro in Spanish. Classification The genus ''Cedrela'' has undergone two m ...

used in some cameras * 1950 – front swing capability first introduced; 8"x10" camera serial numbers begin at "500" in May 1950 * 1952 – round metal bed plate * 1967 – knobs changed to

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

from nickel-plated brass * 1988 – last year of production * Present – cameras are still in production today, in small quantities, but built to original Chicago specifications

General features

All of the Deardorff view cameras featured swing and tilt movements, and there were optional accessories such as stands and cases. The 8x20, 12x20, 11x14 All Deardorff model featured: * Vertical swing of the back * Lateral swing of the back * Vertical swing of the front 30 degrees each side of center

Photographers' experiences in using the camera

Photographer David Munson has related his experiences in restoring and using a Deardorff 8x10. Kevin Klazek also related his experience in restoring a Deardorff V8 in ''''View Camera'' magazine''.

Publications showing Deardorffs

The February 1998 25th anniversary edition of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' featured a Deardorff on the cover and said:

The cover shot with the lens in the shape of the state of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, mounted on an 8x10 Deardorff, was shot by Pete McArthur. The lens itself was designed by Rick Elden. The work of over 75 photographers was included in their "100 best", including
Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...
,
Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...
,
Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...
, Jim Myers, Kent Kirkley,
Mary Ellen Mark Mary Ellen Mark (March 20, 1940 – May 25, 2015) was an American photographer known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were "away from mainstream society and t ...
,
Larry Fink Laurence Douglas Fink (born November 2, 1952) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of BlackRock, an American multinational investment management corporation. BlackRock is the largest money-management firm in the w ...
and many others.

References

{{Reflist

External links

"Large Format Field Camera Guide"

This site is good for parts.
"Firmware update for Deardorff V8?"
Note: This is a parody on digital!
Deardorff on Camerapedia

The View Camera Store - Deardorff 8x10 Lensboard

Jack Deardorff Dead in November 2007

Light Stalkers

Precision Camera & Video Equipment: Rental Large Format Equipment

* ttp://www.satinsnowglass.com/html/cameras.html Ground Glass Specialties featuring Satin Snow Groundglass
Camera History Links

Deardorff L.F. Deardorff & Sons Inc. was a manufacturer of wooden-construction, large-format 4"x5" and larger bellows view camera from 1923 through 1988. They were used by professional photographic studios. Company history Laban F. Deardorff repaired camera ...