Search found 46 matches

by banana_legs
Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:05 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: idiots guide?
Replies: 16
Views: 8968

Re: idiots guide?

Neil, Yes you can reverse process both B&W and RA4 paper. It is not something I do often, but have had some success. If I remember correctly, you need to expose for longer than you expect so that after the first develop, the image is rather dark; when it is bleached out, the second development is an...
by banana_legs
Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:35 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: idiots guide?
Replies: 16
Views: 8968

Re: idiots guide?

Bill, I started by using B&W photo paper as negatives as it works out very cheap per shot, plus it is quick to develop just a single sheet to check what happened (I think of paper negatives as a manually developed Polaroid). The down side is that the dynamic range is not huge so you have to meter ca...
by banana_legs
Sat Jun 18, 2011 12:18 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Adox APH09
Replies: 2
Views: 2191

Re: Blank film

Is the film completely blank; i.e. are there any frame numbers/ film name running along the edge? If there are numbers but no images, the shutter may not be opening. If there are not even any numbers on the edge, then there was a problem with the developer stage and the camera may be fine. Best rega...
by banana_legs
Thu May 19, 2011 3:26 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Well spotted about the tripod. The image I posted was one of the few I had to hand of the camera in a landscape orientation; it just happened to be a low-level set-up at home where the Uniloc tripod was ideal. I have a Manfrotto 785B with a modified centre column (decent ball head added) that I use ...
by banana_legs
Wed May 18, 2011 9:41 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Sweet! I really like the colour. For the 6cmx9cm camera and also on my 5"x7", I made the bellows out of 2 layers of black craft paper. I figured that if it is raining, the light is not good enough to take photographs in anyway (I often use paper negs of ASA 6) so paper bellows should be viable. As t...
by banana_legs
Tue May 17, 2011 8:10 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Neil, Looking good. I find the paper mock-up of the bellows is often harder to fold than the cloth ones; I think the stiffeners between the cloth layers really help to 'tell' the folds where to go. I have had good success with painting the inside of the curtain fabric black and have made a number of...
by banana_legs
Sat May 14, 2011 4:05 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Neil, Sounding good. A note of caution: I had some white blackout fabric and dyed it a mahogany red; I now have a folding pinhole camera with Barbie pink bellows! Try dyeing a test piece before you commit yourself to the whole batch of cloth! There is a picture of the camera here: http://www.f295.or...
by banana_legs
Sat May 07, 2011 9:31 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Bob, I have a few old wooden 6x9 film holders, also some '2x3' 6-shot graflex magazines. I have designed the back so that it also fits an RB67 roll film holder. I just remove the screen and then use velcro straps to hold the film holders in place. The graflex magazines were from Ebay in the states; ...
by banana_legs
Sat May 07, 2011 8:24 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Neil, Yes, the only way you can raise the lens is with the front rise as the rear standard has limited movements. For the 4x5 I did make a 'fine adjustment' device that allowed one to adjust the focus based on screwing a threaded rod. It worked well, however I found by tightening up the rear standar...
by banana_legs
Fri May 06, 2011 9:37 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Here are some more of the 6x9. DSC_8851.JPG The lens is salvaged from an old folder and is mounted into interchangeable 3mm MDF plates. All the focussing and shifts etc. are done using M6 bolts and wing nuts. I now use a tripod mount that is an M6 bolt welded to a steel plate so that I can move it a...
by banana_legs
Fri May 06, 2011 9:30 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Neil, I have found a few pictures of the 4x5 in action, and also some images of my 6cmx9cm MDF camera that weights 504 grams (without lens, but has tripod mount and screen). The first image shows the screen from the rear with a 'spring back' (elastic) however I often fit the screen/ film holder on w...
by banana_legs
Tue May 03, 2011 11:21 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5
Replies: 73
Views: 39966

Re: Some thoughts on the design of a lightweight 4x5

Just weighted my old MDF 5x4 I made a few years ago: 748g including a viewing screen (no lens). The camera has a folding tailboard and much of the weight is in the bellows as they were made from fairly heavy curtain blackout fabric. Not quite at the 500g but easy to carry though. The camera has full...
by banana_legs
Wed Mar 02, 2011 6:49 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Schneider Angulon 12cm F6.8
Replies: 12
Views: 5899

Re: Schneider Angulon 12cm F6.8

Keith, A cheap way to do a good practical test for light leaks is to put a piece of photo paper into a film holder and then put the camera in the light for a few hours with the darkslide out. I had an old cameo that the bellows looked fine, however it turned out the shutter blades did not close full...
by banana_legs
Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:20 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: 'show us your camera or improvised/converted camera'
Replies: 25
Views: 17361

Re: 'show us your camera or improvised/converted camera'

I meant to post a while ago, but there are pictures of my current 'workhorses' here: http://www.f295.org/Pinholeforum/forum/Blah.pl?m-1284496262/ I have a half-plate constructed too that just needs some bellows making, and the paper bellows on the baby camera are beginning to be only usable with rea...
by banana_legs
Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:48 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Why film
Replies: 25
Views: 10070

Re: Why film

Much of my work leans more towards art than capturing an 'accurate' image. I use my DSLR for general photography/ snapshots, and most importantly, as a light meter. For most of the more artistic shots, I use film in either MF, 4x5 or 8x10. My MF work is usually with my ultra-wide angle pinhole camer...