Deardorff 5x71929

History

L. F. Deardorff & Sons was founded in Chicago in 1923 by Laben F. Deardorff. The company produced large-format cameras in multiple formats, with the 8x10 being the most celebrated, but the 5x7 model was produced in parallel to serve photographers who found 8x10 too large for field use or 4x5 too small for contact-printing work.

Through the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Deardorff cameras became standard equipment in American commercial portrait and advertising studios. The combination of a large negative, full movements, and rugged wooden construction suited the professional studio environment where durability and image quality were the primary requirements and camera weight was less of a concern.

Deardorff continued production for decades, maintaining essentially the same basic design with incremental refinements. The Chicago factory produced cameras in small numbers, and the company passed through several ownership changes over its history. Production effectively ceased in the early 1990s, though a brief revival attempt occurred later. The cameras have remained in circulation on the used market as valued studio and fine-art instruments.

Why It Matters

Deardorff cameras occupy a central place in the history of American photography because of their association with the country's most prominent portrait and commercial photographers of the mid-twentieth century. The 8x10 model is the more famous, but the 5x7 served many of the same studios as a more manageable format that still offered a contact-printable or minimally enlarged negative.

The 5x7 Deardorff's significance lies also in what it represents about American photographic culture: an appetite for large film, contact printing, and the kind of tonal information only a large negative can provide. This tradition connects directly to the f/64 group and their contemporaries, for whom large-format negatives were not merely practical tools but aesthetic commitments.

The reducing-back design - allowing the 5x7 to accept 4x5 film holders - made the 5x7 a versatile platform. A photographer could shoot 5x7 glass plates or cut film for large-negative contact prints, and switch to 4x5 roll holders for situations demanding more economy.

Lenses & Accessories

The Deardorff 5x7 accepts lensboards sized to the Deardorff standard (not Linhof-compatible). Common lens choices for the format include:

• Kodak Commercial Ektar 203mm f/7.7 - a standard American lens of the mid-century period, well matched to 5x7
• Kodak Commercial Ektar 254mm f/6.3 - slightly longer option, often used for portraits
• Schneider Symmar 210mm f/5.6 / 370mm f/12 - convertible German lens common on Deardorff cameras
• Wollensak Raptar 162mm f/6.3 - wide-to-normal for 5x7, affordable American option
• Goerz Dagor 9-inch f/6.8 - classic Goerz glass with broad image circle covering 5x7 with movements
• Reducing back (4x5) - factory accessory converting the camera to 4x5 film holders
• Roll-film backs - 6x7, 6x9, and 6x17 panoramic backs available from third parties
• Fresnel lens - improves ground-glass brightness; many examples have been retrofitted

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Ansel Adams used Deardorff cameras alongside other large-format systems throughout his career; the 8x10 is most documented but 5x7 format was part of the Deardorff line used in his era.
• Edward Weston worked with large-format wooden field cameras of the American tradition; Deardorff was among the prominent American makers of his period.
• American portrait studios of the 1930s-1960s commonly used Deardorff 5x7 and 8x10 as their primary studio instruments.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Deardorff