lf-photo.org.uk

Hi everyone,

I am a new member, originally from Teeside, but now living near Pickering in North Yorkshire.
My interest is in making black and white photographs of the North York Moors and the North Yorkshire coast, and life on local hill farms.
I use home made 5 x 4 cameras, and also 35mm and 120 formats, printing digitally from scanned negatives and also in the darkroom.

Alan

Hi Alan,

welcome to the club
You'll find a few people here around your meridians...


Marc

Welcome to the forum Alan.

North Yorkshire is a great part of the world, I lived in Flamborough for many years and still love to go back there.

Paul

Marc and Paul,
Thanks for the welcome,
Alan

Alan
Would like to know more about your home made gear.

Richard,

I have made three 5x4 cameras to date. The first was an aluminium monorail with wooden frames. I bought an off the peg bellows from the Camera Bellows Company. These extended to 18" so I made the monorail 12" long with a 6" extension, and the bellows are removable so I can use them on my home-made 5x4 enlarger.
I used this camera with 121mm and 203mm lenses, and planned to add bag bellows and a wide angle lens when I could afford one. But I had never used a 5x4 camera before I made my own and knew very little about them, and made the camera with a full range of movements on both the front and the back. Totally over the top for landscape work, and not very stable. When I dragged it out of my rucsac at the top of some windswept hill it took me half an hour to zero everything before I could use it.
My second camera is lighter and much more rigid. All wood, non-folding, designed for lenses up to 150mm. As I only seem to use tilt for landscape photography, this camera has front tilt and no other movements.
I made the third camera after I bought a 90mm Super Angulon lens. I found that it stopped down to f64, and even at f45 it had tremendous depth of field -from about four feet to infinity. So I made a 5 x 4 box camera for it. No bellows, no focussing, just a ground glass screen for composing. Foolproof! Which counts for a lot in my case! This camera is extremely light, completely rigid, can be used with a lightweight carbon tripod, and even allows the lens to be transported inside the camera box body for safety.

Alan

Alan Clark wrote:Richard,

I have made three 5x4 cameras to date. The first was an aluminium monorail with wooden frames. I bought an off the peg bellows from the Camera Bellows Company. These extended to 18" so I made the monorail 12" long with a 6" extension, and the bellows are removable so I can use them on my home-made 5x4 enlarger.
I used this camera with 121mm and 203mm lenses, and planned to add bag bellows and a wide angle lens when I could afford one. But I had never used a 5x4 camera before I made my own and knew very little about them, and made the camera with a full range of movements on both the front and the back. Totally over the top for landscape work, and not very stable. When I dragged it out of my rucsac at the top of some windswept hill it took me half an hour to zero everything before I could use it.
My second camera is lighter and much more rigid. All wood, non-folding, designed for lenses up to 150mm. As I only seem to use tilt for landscape photography, this camera has front tilt and no other movements.
I made the third camera after I bought a 90mm Super Angulon lens. I found that it stopped down to f64, and even at f45 it had tremendous depth of field -from about four feet to infinity. So I made a 5 x 4 box camera for it. No bellows, no focussing, just a ground glass screen for composing. Foolproof! Which counts for a lot in my case! This camera is extremely light, completely rigid, can be used with a lightweight carbon tripod, and even allows the lens to be transported inside the camera box body for safety.

Alan

You clever fellow Alan, I envy your skills. It`s great to read that some people can make their own. I hope you will post some pictures of these soon.
Have fun.

Not so clever Keith. Just persistant!
I will post some pictures when I can figure out how to do it. I may have a talent for woodwork, but not for computers!

Alan