[LargeFormat] Variant 8x10

[Tom Micklin]

Hi,
I'm seriously considering buying a Gandolfi Variant 8x10.
Any users in this group that might share some impressions of it?
I've been using a Deardorff for quite a few years. Everything works fine on
it, but it is old, tired, heavy and just a little too beat up {a perfect
reflection of its owner}
The light weight of the Variant (8.8 #), Bellows extension (30 inches) Price
(2,495.00 from BadgerGraphics) and reputation of Gandolfi are all positives.
The main problem is that I would buy it without ever getting my hands on it
and that's a big stumbling block
I appreciate any input from users.

Thanks a lot,
Tom

Just revised my Photographic site: http://www.users.qwest.net/~tlmicklin/