Have a look at what showed up on my doorstep the other day:

This would be an 8x10 Eastman View Camera No. 2-D, better known these days as a Kodak 2D. Fully extended, it is almost as tall as my son. It looks a little rough, but it's in usable shape as it is. Well, it was before I dropped the spring back and shattered the ground glass...oops! I do have a replacement on the way, which should arrive early next week. The camera itself might be the least expensive part of shooting 8x10. Used film holders, I've found, run at least $50 each (compared to $5-10 for 4x5), and 8x10 color film starts at $10/sheet. Lenses are bigger and more expensive, especially if you want a shutter.

These costs have been the only thing stopping me from jumping into the 8x10 game, but $200 for a complete camera was too good to pass up. And I think it can be done inexpensively. My biggest large format lens is a 210mm Schneider Symmar-S (rebranded as a Calumet Caltar), which comes about a centimeter short of covering an 8x10 frame. That's fine, for now. I'd like to get a 300mm before long, but I'll try to be patient. For film, a 50-sheet box of Freestyle-branded Fomapan is just over $100, which isn't bad considering that it will probably last me a few years. Again, keep my eyes open for bargains.

As I said, its usable now, and I'm very excited to use it. I do want to clean it up a bit, inspired by how nice this guy's 2D looks. Don't know what the extent of my restoration will be, but I'll try to document the process. To be continued...