ULF on the cheap (ULF pinhole, paper neg)

[Jeff_1630]

I've searched ULF cheap and ULF pinhole with no hits. I suprised this hasn't been talked about, but here goes.

Anyone play around with ULF (11x14 and up) pinhole cameras? I really would like to try something like this out. I was thinking of shooting paper negs and then contact printing them. I'm thinking a variation on the cigar box idea, but with nestled boxes so the focal length can be changed. Most simple would be to use standard sheet holders. Will paper work in those? I'd just do the simple rubber band attachement of the holder to the back.

Any how, any thoughts, links, or comments are welcome.

[Nick_3536]

ULF film holders and cheap don't seem to go together. The only thing holding me up from doing something similar is figuring out how to hold the paper in place. I've got a couple of process lenses that can cover a fairly large area. Building the box won't be hard. I can even figure out how to give it front tilt. But the only thing I can see for holding the print/film in place is taping it to the back of the camera turning the thing into a single shot camera. The problem is what happens when I screw up and need to shoot a second sheet?

[Mark Sampson]

I've seen one person turn a VW bus (the '70s hippie kind) into a paper neg pinhole camera- the pinhole was in the sliding side door. The 'neg' was 30" roll paper. That was in the late '80s. If you look at unblinkingeye.com you'll see a link to lots of pinhole information.

[John Cook]

A friend had an 11x14 studio Deardorff in which we once tried shooting with B&W print paper in the holder.

We rediscovered the obvious, that paper is much more contrasty than film. So the image, when contact printed was much to snappy to be usable.

Our brief experiment ended there. But in hindsight we probably could have experimented with developing the paper in film developer for a softer image. Or tried printing-out paper.

[John Bolgiano]

You may want to consider using lith film, rather than photo paper. The Arista brand, sold by Freestyle, has worked well for me in some 8x10 pinhole boxes. You can handle it under a safelight and it can be developed for continuous tones in either a dilute paper developer (Dektol at 1:10 - 1:20) or Dave Soemarko's LC-1 formula. It's cheaper than paper, too, which makes it ideal for that pinhole learning period.

[jonathan smith]

I've got that bug in my system a little bit, too; right now I'm building a simple box camera for 8x10, and if it works out I'll do one in 11x14.

In my regular camera I shoot 8x10 Cibachrome paper and it works out well, nice level of contrast and great colors most of the time (you can see some of these at http://www.netwood.net/jonsmith ). But I am challenged for spare time, and I want to have something quicker and easier to use for those casual moments. So this box camera will be a point and shoot, or rather, a set-it-down and shoot.

One thing about shooting direct to print is your image is backwards, so this box camera will have a mirror inside to reverse the image, and this also will cut the depth of the box in half. I have a 300mm Boyer process lens to mount in it, and plan to make it to accept film holders. So the film holder would attach to the front side, where the lens is, and the mirror is mounted inside on the back. Maybe some bungee cords to hold it on there.

In thinking about the ULF version, I am thinking that it would NOT use a $200.00 film holder, but to make a hinged back with the paper inside. It should be quite easy to make a frame that the paper slips into, without using tape or tacks. I am thinking it would be a one-shot camera, but it might be possible to fit it into a changing tent and reload that way. Or, possibly a few custom film holders, made out of masonite. We'll see.

Years ago I got to thinking about making a "Volvo Cam" that would basically be mounting a box camera in my sunroof. Then I could just drive up to the shot I wanted. But this seemed a little more versatile.

[John D Gerndt]

I don’t do the pinhole thing but I have given the matter of film holders much thought and experiment. My thoughts lead me to simply change out the GG back and the film holders for each shot, no springs, no sliding, no problems.

For this simpler cheaper system you must build your own. It is not so hard to hold the film flat as it is to make the light trap. To get around that problem you can always keep the dark slide IN the holder, just slide it out of the way. You’ll need a longer holder to accommodate this technique (so the holder doesn’t fall out) but it solves a tricky problem.

When you have your holder designed THEN make a GG back that puts the glass in the same spot. Poof! You have the makings of an on-the-cheap ULF.

There ARE however many other problems to solve. You might look into threads on building you own camera. IMHO, it is too much work to go through to make a so-so paper negative.

Cheers,

[jnantz]

i have built a 8x20 pinhole camera it's about 3/4+ done. it doesn't take film holders &C, but the paper is stored in the bottom of the camera. i have a sleeve and a glove that is used to remove one sheet of exposed paper, slide it into a light proof area, and place another sheet for exposure. my design is sort of based on the mandelette post card camera.

http://www.vintagephoto.tv/mandelette.shtml

[Dave Moeller]

You might want to look at the book "Primitive Photography" by Alan Greene. He gives full plans for making box cameras and film holders for Calotype paper negatives; I'm pretty sure it'd be easy to use his plans to accomplish what you want.

I've never used a pinhole (one of many things that I'll get to "eventually"), but if you're interested in making lenses he gives lots of information on that subject as well.