Pix of your home-built cams here please

[Colin Graham]

Originally Posted by argus

wow Colin,

that looks great!
Is it 4x5? I bet you can add a 5x7 back on the camera.

G

Thanks Argus-
I made it a bit too small for a 5x7 back-kind of kicking myself. Oh, well.. A good reason to make another one I guess!

[Colin Graham]

Okay now I'm done. Finally figured out a way to have quick change bellows. The cloth from porter's camera ( http://porters.com/Merchant2/merchan...&Category_Code )
works very well for bag bellows too. Very lights and flexible.

[Dan Fromm]

Son of a bitch! Expression of admiration, not personally-directed insult.

[nick mulder]

yep, thats a pretty fine specimen

[Colin Graham]

Thanks for the kind words. Just glad to be finally done with the son of a bitch!

[nick mulder]

Originally Posted by Colin Graham

Thanks for the kind words. Just glad to be finally done with the son of a bitch!

Yeh, I know how you feel - I spent a long time on mine and the bellows were offensive to put it mildly - and I've used it three times since!

I'm now making parts for 16mm cine cameras like intervalomters, crystal sync cct's etc... - my big project is to make a motion control rig - hopefully I'll use that more than 3 times (;

I still think tho that the lessons learnt were *well* worth it

[Curt]

Colin your camera is fantastic. I am a woodworker and I have built a similar camera in Cherry and it is nice. I used brass which brought the weight up though. I made it some twenty years ago when I had very few tools. Now I have a large shop in which I am going to build a 5x7 clamshell folding type camera again. I worked on the design and filled a note book with designs and found that in the end this kind of camera almost has to be a triple extension design. I started out with the wish list of movements and features and it became ultra complex. In the end it's a combination of mandatory movements and ergonomic function. Once the worker does a rack and pinion it's easier to get it closer to perfection the next time. In fact the first camera is closer to a prototype so I am looking forward to the work ahead. I was luck to buy a new Canham bellows for a 5x7 with 26 inches of extension. I haven't designed a camera around a bellows before, it should be interesting. Today I set up my Kodak 2D 5x7 and looked at it. It's built like a brick outhouse. I can see where they were going with the design. Today it's lighter but still stronger. So many of the field cameras have a sag when fully extended. I would like to make one more rigid and keep the smooth focus. On seeing your camera I will have to rethink the wood. Maybe purple heart or zebra wood? I am not sure the Cherry Oak and Mahogany will do now. Beautiful camera you should be very proud, it's quite an accomplishment to be able to make an instrument of that high precision.

Regards,
Curt

[argus]

I am obliged to add my latest creation to this thread:

7x17" with homemade filmholders
600mm bellows extention
5.2Kg

Greetings,
G

[nick mulder]

thats a fair amount of tilt you've got there (;

nice work

[Dan Fromm]

Cute. How do you time exposures?