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The UK Large Format Photography forum has been dormant for years, not much point in posting there.

I took this three, maybe four years ago with my MPP MicroPress 5x4 camera (a British camera similar to a top rangefinder Speed Graphic) and only found the double darkslide today so decided to develop...

Yes, Resin Coated Fine Lustre.

Thanks for all the comments.

I think if I tried to fix it the sheet of paper would go white. Because the exposure is so long the paper has lost a lot of its sensitivity and can be viewed indoors...

I set up the camera on June 21st and took it down today so I could scan the picture and give it to the school before the end of term.http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/8284021164/

The beer...

As Pete said, some of the early MPP cameras had a different register, as would the MPP plate holders.

I've also been told (may or may not be true) that wooden plate/film holders can suffer from...

My English MPP MicroPress press camera, similar in design to a top rangefinder Speed Graphic. 5"x4" with focal plane shutter speeded from 1/30 to 1/1000 second.

Steven, I've scanned the paper twice with no immediate degradation.

The paper has been kept in the dark for the past couple of weeks and I've just taken the attached picture of it - the paper was...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/6605661299I made this exposure from June to December last year http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/6605661299

It was done with a beer can pinhole...

I'd like to get hold of a suitable roll film back for my 1930s Thornton Pickard Junior Reflex. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/sets/72157628688197883/

At the moment I have several plate...

I made a pinhole camera out of a beer can and put it up in my garden for six months, starting from June 21st last year.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/6605661299/

I used a sheet of...

Hi Ash

I've got a 9x12cm VN Press camera which uses metal single plate holders - there's a hinged back which opens to insert the plate holder, and I'd be interested to hear if it's similar to your...

Slightly off topic, but I've noticed the price of 178mm f2.5 Aero Ektars going through the roof - I bought one about five years ago for £33 (wish I still had it) and have seen one sell for over £1000...

Hi Ian

That looks like it's in great condition, and it's always nice to see a classic British camera.

Thanks for the link Andy, that's a very interesting series of films.

Thanks Brian, but that's not me in the film, it's a lad who has worked with me, and yes, he was wearing a radio mic.

Good choice Andy, and good luck in your search for an MPP.

Here's a short video I made of my MPP being used in anger:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl0Pa7UTpuo

Hi Andy

You need to mount a 90mm on a cone so that the front standard is on the short rail inside the body, before the point where the rails hinge. If it was on a flat panel the front standard...

I used to own the previous model to the Saphir (can't remember the model name/number) and spent ages getting a SCSI card to work with XP via Vuescan, but got so frustrated that I bought an Epson...

I've also heard that the Mk7 is better than the Mk8 as it has a one-piece die-cast body, but the Mk8's body is assembled from several pieces, so not as rigid. The Mk8 also uses smaller lens panels...

Yes indeed, and certainly my Mk8 has back movements which the press cameras don't have.

The MPP MicroPress is a wooden-bodied press camera with a focal plane shutter, similar in design to the Speed Graphic, and having used both I'd say the build quality is pretty much the same.

The...

My newly-acquired Thornton Pickard Junior Reflex, made in England in the 1920s, with Taylor-Hobson Cooke Anastigmat lens.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/5204069070/
...

Another option would be to buy a lens from the era the camera was made. I bought a 150mm f4.5 Schneider Xenar from the 1950s/60s cheaply to use on my MPP MicroPress. I always shoot black and white so...

... and the Mk1-7 Micro Technicals use square-edged lens panels, but the Mk8 uses smaller round-edged lens panels....

I'm the other end of the county - near Wotton-under-Edge, but I'd be happy to shed any light on the camera.

I can pass on my contact details if you send a PM.

Matt

If the Turn control is working properly it tensions the focal plane shutter (with speeds from 1/30 to 1/1000 second).

The F/S switch determines either Fast or Slow range of shutter speeds on the...

Thanks Pete

I've been in touch with Ian over the weekend.

I was wondering if anyone had tackled a similar shutter. I'm not sure of things like whether it should be set to the widest or...

I'm in the process of trying to get my 1950s VN Press Camera back into working order.

The shutter mechanism works but the fabric of the shutter blinds has become very stiff and crinkled and needs...

Thanks Ian, your advice is much appreciated.

Matt

Hi Ian, where can I buy the shutter curtain material in the UK? I need to replace the shutter on my VN camera as it has pinholes in one of the curtains.

Matt

I got that page as well when I tried to download the book - it asks for payment details etc, and I can't see a way of downloading it for free.

Thanks Ian - would it be beyond the realms of possibility to fabricate something like that myself or is it too complex/fiddly?

Matt

I've managed to get the focal plane shutter working on my VN Press Camera and I also have one of the original holders for 9x12cm glass plates.

Has anyone ever successfully used cut film in one of...

Definitely Chris Killip's 'In Flagrante'. Great social documentary project about the North East of England in the 1970s and early 80s.

Thanks Steve. Here are a few more photos. The seller was economical with the truth about the condition of the shutter, but with any luck it might be repairable.

1950s Van Neck press camera. Shoots 9x12cm glass plates (I have a few rusty plate holders) and I hope to get the focal plane shutter working when I have a day or two.

Fitted with a six inch Ross...

Love this shot - and a great looking old Merc!

Hi Vladik - love those first pinhole pictures. Where were they taken?

In response to Emmanuel's earlier post, in the UK newspapers were still using plate (cut film) cameras in the 1960s. I began working at a regional newspaper in 1986 and my boss had started working...