Pix of your home-built cams here please

[Dave Wooten]

Wow...nice camera and nice 1st post...welcome!
Dave in Vegas

[seananton]

Then there's the 10x8, a wet plate camera in cherry. The lens is a 3B Dallmeyer Patent Portrait lens. This was based on an E & H.T.Anthony design of the 1870s.

[razzledog]

Being obsessed with camera building must be some kind of mania? If it is, then I have it.
I really get off on building cameras of this format, so I thought I'd share the only 'Woody' I've built so far. It's mostly fashioned from aluminium, either 80mm channel section or drawn 3mm. With this particular camera I selected a lump of Australian Red Gum, but found it was harder to work with than metal. I certainly don't see smoke coming off the saw blade when cutting anything else, it sure is hard as nails.

I managed to fabricate everything myself....but the lens cone is welded for me by a guy who manufactures truck fuel tanks, so if I lay the ready to weld bits in his path he doesn't notice. All spindles etc were machined on my little converted wood lathe, with most brass parts originating from a scrap yard, (a great place to hang out on your day off, everyone should try it).

Buy yourself a Chinese helical focusing unit for around $130, then have all the bits powder coated after they've been sanded smooth, then wash 'em all in Palmolive.......

Finder was an adapted video camera wide angle lens with a mask made from 1mm aluminium. Add a double bubble and a nice 90mm f8 glass in a suitable shutter and voila!
Such big wide negs and trannies turn me on so much, I can't stop making these damn cameras.........not really an obsession, but more like a form of madness. Sadly Woody has gone but is not forgotten, simply replaced by a couple more......

[razzledog]

Hi Clayton........I still have those two 70mm cassettes you sent me for the 300mm panorama camera. Believe me I'm still seriously thinking about it, but being so busy, it's kinda hard to get all the ideas into fruition. I can ship them back if you like? Don't you find 70mm film hard to come by?
Cheers, Dean.

[phfitz]

Hi there,

update on my test-bed mule. I bought a Vitax from everyone's favorite Nevada lens mine and it came will a half cord of wood attached. when the dust cleared it is an Agfa/Ansco #4? studio portrait 8x10 from about 1920 and in fine shape. That's a SpeedGraphic 4x5 for size comparison.

SO, of course I just had to buy it's big brother, the Ansco 5A, which opens to 45 inches and closes to use a 190mm lens, has 2 lens board mounts so I can front or rear mount the Packard shutter and use the front bellows as a compendium lens shade. Now to make lots of 9x9 lens boards and a studio stand for it.

[Murray@uptowngallery]

Ha!

PhotoPete's Uncalled-For-Crime-Cam get's my vote! I don't know what category, but it's the only one I voted for!

[Sandeha Lynch]

This thread is quite a stunner ... I wish I'd seen it earlier.

Here's a few of the pieces I've made over the past couple of years ...

6x7cm, 4x5", 5x7" extension back, and a tilt/swing bellows for DSLR I made recently.





Thankfully, they all work.

[argus]

This thread is quite a stunner ... I wish I'd seen it earlier.

Here's a few of the pieces I've made over the past couple of years ...

6x7cm, 4x5", 5x7" extension back, and a tilt/swing bellows for DSLR I made recently.





Thankfully, they all work.

AHA! Here is the famous builder of the Surveyor.
Tha's quite a camera you made. Your website is in my bookmarks list.

Greetings,
G

[Sandeha Lynch]

Hi Argus !!

[Andrew Moxom]

Sandeha, great carpentry skills! I have wanting to build a medium format folder for a while now. Can you tell me if this uses RB6x7, or graflex film backs? Now you've gotten me started with this again! I have a front and rear stand made, but am not sure on the focusing mechanism yet. Do you have any views of the rear of the 6x7?

Thanks