8x10 Burke & James Commercial View

Large, heavy lenses are right at home on this camera.

**8x10 Burke & James** with 12 inch f/4.5 Carl Meyar Anastigmat. Under the bed is the balance block. (Color photos of the camera were made with a Nikon F, 55mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor-P.C, and Portra 400.)

**Roppongi, Tokyo.** 8x10 Burke & James, 12 inch f/4.5 Carl Meyer Anastigmat, Tri-X, early 2000s. Contact print on FB paper, selenium toned.

An 8x10 underdog

The 8x10 Burke and James, made in Chicago, has an almost humorously plain gray paint finish. It’s an underdog among 8x10 cameras.

A stout, heavy platform

My big, heavy 12-inch f/4.5 lens is a good fit for this camera. It’s a great lens; the large aperture helps in composition and focusing, and it creates nice bokeh.

**8x10 Burke & James** with the extension bed attached and the balance block removed.

Not the best for portability

A capable camera but not for every situation due to its weight. For carrying around on location, I use the 8x10 Improved Seneca View.

**Roppongi, Tokyo.** 8x10 Burke & James, 12 inch f/4.5 Carl Meyar Anastigmat, HP5+, early 2000s. Contact print on FB paper, selenium toned.

A good design and sturdy (albeit not smooth) build quality

The 8x10 Burke and James is a solid platform due to its mass and design. For example, the front and rear standards have a ‘long wheelbase’ at their point of attachment to the bed, to resist wobbling.

Focus locking on the front and rear standards is done with levers that are separate from the focus knobs. Movements are not geared. The focus controls work well and can be finely adjusted, but feel rough. Perhaps due to similar design/cost trade-offs that resulted in the gray paint?

**Three design/build features that add stability: (1) —** ‘Long wheelbase’ standard support, mounted on a metal track (red arrows). Lighter flatbed cameras such as the Seneca use less sturdy wooden grooves, and a shorter wheelbase for more compact folding.. **(2) —** Focus lock lever (green arrow) rather than a friction knob. **(3) —** Everything in this picture is either wood or metal, no plastic.

Complete movements

This is a flatbed with the movement capability of a monorail. That is, limited only by the bellows. And unlike monorails, it folds into a compact package when not in use. (Some monorail cameras can be compactly stowed but only after disassembly.) The bellows is permanently attached.

References / further reading

Stroebel, L. 1993. View Camera Technique, 6th ed. Boston: Focal Press.