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The Chamonix 045n might be my own favorite camera to use.

Age is first. I'm after the very oldest lenses I can catch. Second would be if I can fit it on either my Chamonix 045n or Gundlach Korona 5x7 (with 4x5 back.) My favorite brands are the pre-Civil...

I don't disagree with your premise, but the fact that women were making photos did challenge the conventions of the time.

Agreed!

Thanks for your diligence!

I took the train across Canada last month and had no problems. I kept my mouth shut about camera gear. When they asked the purpose of the trip, I told them we wanted to see the birthplace of Justin...

It's the same seller, same camera. Nice looking for sure.

One rough way to date is if it has a slot for stops or not. If it does, it's from after 1860, roughly.

If it's a "Century" stand, that means it was made by the Century Camera Company. They named it that because they started in 1900. Doubtful either is a wet plate camera since that went out of fashin...

Remote? Nope. You're still within an hour of a commercial airport, shopping mall, etc. If you want remote, try the northwest corner of the state, or south central.


Kent in SD

Wow! That looks like a helluva set up to do some birds in flight photography with.

I used to wear boots all the time. Winter boots in winter, light kangaroo leather hunting boots in warmer temps. For the past several years I've been wearing GoreTex hiking shoes, low cut. These...

The really great thing about 4x5 is that you will now be able to use lenses from any age of photography. I too have a Chamonix and like it a lot.

Congo?

I'm reading this before going to bed for the night. Thanks for a very inspirational way to end my day.

All of this is now getting interesting! Maybe 4x5 existed in the 19th century as just another format, but when sizes started to become more standardized around 1900 and the use of film it became a...

They're on YouTube.

This episode has a Winchester rifle, Speed Graphic, '57 Chevy, and a big titty blond. What more could you want?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjqMb3dl1mE

Change it to "Taylor." That way we're at least talking about a real person.

Another thing that puzzles me a little are the three common "survivor" sizes-4x5, 5x7, 8x10. I can see how 4x5 (20 sq. inches) and 8x10 (80 sq. in.) fit together, but 5x7 (35 sq. in.) seems like...

So, nobody really knows. Here's what I think. It (4x5) did exist before film, but was not as popular a size. And really, format size wouldn't have mattered much when you were coating your own...

The 5x4 comes from dyslexic people, the ones who like to add a lot of extra "u"s to their words. They were too busy making half plate cameras to have invented 4x5 anyway. Probably didn't start...

The 4x5 would be older than 1914 because I have a Century cycle camera using 4x5, made around 1905. And, Petzval started well BI but there's tons of stuff on it (lens) and him (Josef.) How did 4x5...

I've been doing some google searches but still haven't come up with the history of 4x5 format/film. Near as I can tell, it was an American invention and probably from somewhere around 1898. Was...

We went there for our honeymoon, along with Kauii. I don't remember we got out of our room except to eat. Just saying, you have bigger priorities this time. On our second trip, I liked messing...

When I was walking down the stair
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today,
I wish I wish he'd go away!


Hughes Mearns, 1899

I have a 12 in. Velostigmat in Betax. HUGE Betax! Anyway, mine does not have the diffusion ring but it's very very smooth wide open anyway. I've always thought the regular Velostigmats to be way...

I don't believe anything in the HuffPo.

I live on the Northern Plains where the MacDonalds restaurants can be 70+ miiles apart. I think nothing of driving 250 miles on a day off. It helps that you can drive 80 mph on the interstates, if...

On a hot & humid day, you'll be taking a shower under there. :D

I too would have bought it. Things like that don't come along very often. I've foolishly passed on a few things I really wanted in an attempt to save a small percentage, only to lose it to someone...

You're going to wonder why you stayed with the Sinar so long after being with the Wista for about five minutes.

I've looked at wet plate several times, but it just has too many hurdles for me. For starters, I'm mostly a winter photographer and I'm not sure how practical it is to do something called "wet...

I got another chance today, on a small scale. I again used the Ross Petzval as I'm trying to learn this lens. I only had a couple of guys to work with, and I seated them at a table that was under a...

If you go for wet plate, you have to use a Petzval. It's required by federal law. ;)

The Velostigmat, a Tessar design, is very nice and smooth at wider apertatures. As a bonus they are still reasonably priced. I agree with the 8-9 inch length for portraits.

I should add the...

I do have a RR lens, but it's from the 1890s with wheel stop. I don't think RR lens was really available until nearly the end of the war, and that might have been mostly in Europe. I have been...

Amazing work. I tip my hat to anyone who brings a tresure from the past back to life. Did you end up having to drill out any of the old screws?

Shot taken using Chamonix 045n, Efke 25. Lens was 6 inch Ross Petzval c.1845. I like the out of focus swirl and corner vignette, but the DoF is not good here. Lens is f2.8. Would some lens swing...

I was looking over ebay, looking to snag a cheap front standard or something. From your suggestion I found something perfect on ebay:...

I like the 90mm, but don't see it as a general purpose lens. I use it when I need something really wide. My advice is to just buy a used one. If you don't like it, you can resell it for about what...