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Dan Fromm
1-May-2013, 03:36
I made a Baby Bertha (long lens SLR built around a 2x3 RB Series B). An account of the adventure has just been published on the French large format forum in English and in French. See:

http://www.galerie-photo.com/baby-bertha-6x9-en.html (English)

http://www.galerie-photo.com/baby-bertha-6x9-fr.html (French)

Robert Brazile
1-May-2013, 05:00
I really enjoyed that, Dan, thanks for the link.

Robert

Jim Jones
1-May-2013, 05:59
Thanks, Dan, much useful information for some of my rainy day projects.

BarryS
1-May-2013, 07:01
It's strangely comforting to know that beneath all those authoritative posts lies a kernal of pure insanity.

Dan Fromm
1-May-2013, 07:20
It's strangely comforting to know that beneath all those authoritative posts lies a kernal of pure insanity.

One doesn't have to be crazy, but it helps a lot.

DrTang
1-May-2013, 08:21
Interestingly - there are no photos he actually took with his contraptions

Dan Fromm
1-May-2013, 09:54
Dr T, I shot one roll of E6 after I had the beastling together and stabilized, looked once at the processed film, measured the area covered, looked hard at the RB, and bailed out. My test shots aren't pretty, I took them to test the complete system for function. After it flunked I didn't see the point of wasting more film or of trying to take pretty 6x6 shots.

Full frame or nothing, my motto, unless I'm shooting my little 38/4.5 Biogon. With it, nearly full frame 6x9 (corners missing) is ok.

Cheers,

Dan

DrTang
1-May-2013, 10:08
I love a crazy project as much as ..probably more than..most people.. but I do usually have some reason in mind first

hand held 8x10 for street photography - yeah.. I woulda had to have been charles atlas...
8x8 camera built to fit in a grocery cart for taking pix of store displays (Hint - store managers weren't keen on the idea)

stuff like that

I'm interested in what you wanted to use it for..

jp
1-May-2013, 10:36
I'm fascinated by the big bertha cameras as well. I've got a working RB, 24" aero ektar, but would need black pipe and focusing hardware. I don't have time is the main problem, but it's still fascinating. Meanwhile I use the camera as intended. Thanks.

Kimberly Anderson
1-May-2013, 10:52
Planning to shoot some baseball with a 5x7 Big Bertha sometime this year here in Utah. It is one of the cameras that photographed the World Series in the early '50's. It's an AMAZING camera.

Dan Fromm
1-May-2013, 11:09
I love a crazy project as much as ..probably more than..most people.. but I do usually have some reason in mind first

hand held 8x10 for street photography - yeah.. I woulda had to have been charles atlas...
8x8 camera built to fit in a grocery cart for taking pix of store displays (Hint - store managers weren't keen on the idea)

stuff like that

I'm interested in what you wanted to use it for..

Well, the real motivation was "because," but I'd never admit that. What pushed me over the edge was some nearly satisfactory Ibis shots taken in the Fakahatchee Strand with a 480 on the tandem Graphic. They needed a longer lens and a faster-working camera.

Where I usually go shooting long lenses rarely make sense, but having the capability makes me feel better.

Michael, yes they are amazing devices, but what I find most amazing about them is the thought and planning and alertness needed to use them effectively.

Brian C. Miller
25-Apr-2014, 21:01
A couple more articles on Big Berthas:

Gizmodo: This Huge Camera Rig Was the Howitzer of Early Action Photography (http://gizmodo.com/this-huge-camera-rig-was-the-howitzer-of-early-action-p-1565650523)

Kodakery: Big Bertha and Don Newcombe (http://kodakery.com/2013/06/28/big-bertha-and-don-newcombe/)

jbenedict
25-Apr-2014, 21:12
I love a crazy project as much as ..probably more than..most people.. but I do usually have some reason in mind first
hand held 8x10 for street photography - yeah..

Ever heard of a Hobo Camera?

http://www.getdpi.com/forum/large-format-cameras/32616-hobo-like-8x10-cameras.html

Mkillmer
26-Apr-2014, 06:49
Hi Dan!
I have been working on a similar camera. I call it my "Red Aviar", basically it is a very heavy 13 1/2" Taylor Hobson Cooke Aviar Anastigmat mounted in a Polaroid MP4 camera frame.
I had to drill out the front to fit the new lens, the body is a scrappy red wooden box I've had just sitting around doing nothing, and the rear is a leftover Toyo 4x5 rear standard.
The tripod Mount is a permanently mounted Manfrotto Hex.
Lot's of plywood, cutting and glueing, but it's all worked out:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7387/13510843864_beb68fba85_z_d.jpg
Here are some pictures I have taken with it:
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2843/13510484165_e2a56f9cf0_q_d.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7357/13510790614_1b955d8486_q_d.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/13558081543_8b1ceba860_q_d.jpg
My biggest issue with the camera is the lack of a shutter.
I have made a poor man's "before the lens" focal plane shutter by dragging a black piece of paper (with a gap cut in it) in front of the lens, but I would like a more elegant solution.
The focal plane shutter from a speed graphic would be ideal, but I'm in Australia, and these are pretty rare and expensive over here!!
Any ideas on how to construct a shutter?

Mkillmer
26-Apr-2014, 06:50
A few more pics I've taken with the camera...
(gotta take pictures of cameras with the giant camera!!)
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2857/13581271144_f1bf76c189_q_d.jpg https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3731/13894826682_94f4a580c5_q_d.jpg

Jim Noel
26-Apr-2014, 08:28
This reminds me of the lens a friend and I cobbled together while in high school in the 1940's. Using two single elements we picked up somewhere, and heavy cardboard tubes we made a lens with approximately 60" focal length. With it mounted on one tripod and our 4x5 Graflexes on another we photographed such things as the dome of the Tennessee State Capitol from a hill about 3 miles distant. Ir was clumsy and slow and subject to excessive flare during the day. We learned to search out night subjects. Wish I still had it and the Graflex.

Tin Can
26-Apr-2014, 09:18
Great thread and wonderful write up from Dan Fromm on his Baby Bertha. PVC pipe extensions and rubber sewer fittings. Great ideas. Thanks!