Making my first LF camera

[noseoil]

This is a camera I made a couple of years ago. Working on an article about building this type of camera, but it is taking longer than I thought. Lens is from a Polaroid 110A "Pathfinder" camera. It nearly covers 5x7, as a friend who uses one has shown me. tim

P.S. Please email me with questions if you have any.

[medform-norm]

This is a camera I made a couple of years ago. Working on an article about building this type of camera, but it is taking longer than I thought. Lens is from a Polaroid 110A "Pathfinder" camera. It nearly covers 5x7, as a friend who uses one has shown me. tim

P.S. Please email me with questions if you have any.

Ah, is that you who made that? We've seen this thing before somewhere else, can't remember where. Could you post some results as well, am curious to see what came out! And I might not be the only one either.

Thanks,
norm

[noseoil]

norm, take a look at the image in my gallery in color. It is a picture of a parade group, St. Patrick's day. tim

[phfitz]

Adrian,

Look on ebay for a Kodak 116 folder, preferably with a 125/4.5 anastigmat special lens. It has front lens focus and covers 4x5, and being in a folder it should be in very fine shape. CLA for a Supermatic should be easy.

Noseoil,

Is 'noseoil' a reference to Fred Picker?

Just a thought.

[phfitz]

Hi there,

Sorry for the typo, that should be a Kodak 616, not 116. Monitor or Vigilant models would have the anastigmat special lens.

No, I don't have one for sale.

[Donald Qualls]

Noseoil, I'm curious why you build with the sliding box inside the fixed one. Seems to me to be more prone to light leaks at the focusing slide than one built with the moving box (and front end with lens board) outside -- the latter would require light that gets past whatever felt or velvet to make at least a couple reflections before it can find film, while the way you have it either requires extra complexity in the form of light baffling or provides a potential direct path for light leaks.

Putting the lens on the outer box would also facilitate interchanging boxes with different lenses mounted or easily adding macro extensions (though that way, and not far down the road, lies the path to building your own field camera).

[noseoil]

Two-fold reason for my design. First, light trap is fuzzy velcro in two differing orientations. Second, it acts as a stop so the inner box doesn't slide out completely.

The inner box has the gasket attached to the back edge on the outside of the box. The outer box has the gasket attached to the front edge on the inside. In order to remove the inner box, the lens board must be detached, then the box slides inside the camera. tim

[medform-norm]

norm, take a look at the image in my gallery in color. It is a picture of a parade group, St. Patrick's day. tim

Thanks Tim, I did. Did you perchance use a digital back on that camera? The image looks quite pixelated


(no - ducking movements, waving of arms - don't hit me!)

[Donald Qualls]

Two-fold reason for my design. First, light trap is fuzzy velcro in two differing orientations. Second, it acts as a stop so the inner box doesn't slide out completely.

Okay, that's about what I thought. I just don't trust soft light traps much, given that all of my plate holders leak light around the dark slide at least occasionally.