8x10 Prototype

[radii]

It looks great. Just one functional suggestion: I think you will eventually wish you'd inlaid little brass plates under where the bail bearings ride on the wood when they lift the back, but you can do that at any time.

And the screws on the side braces look like snaggers--I probably would have done something round headed or countersunk.

The wood is beautiful, and your finish on it and the metal is wonderful.

I'm looking for tripods for my 5x7--is that one enough for your camera? I have those legs, but have a weaker head that isn't working for me, but if the legs are OK, maybe I'll concentrate on replacing the head.

Bubinga is quite a hard wood. It will take a while for the bearings to dig into it. Brass inlays would have been a nice detail though.

For screws, I actually picked the socket cap type for looks mainly, and secondly because of adjustability. Countersunk screws allow no movement whatsoever, which makes lining up slightly mismatched parts ( +/- 0.01" ), rather tricky. If anything, I should have picked a bigger size of screw. I like the look of a good -"honest" connection.

The tripod is sturdy enough, considering it's size and price. I use the heavier/sturdier/pricier version at my place of work, but didn't feel like it was necessary for the 8x10. A potential 11x14 might be a different story ...
A strong head does make a difference and will probably yield the most improvement.

[radii]

Nice camera! Keep up the good work

Dave

Thank you

[radii]

absolutely terrific, congrats to you

maybe Barry Cochran should watch out

regards

andrew

Thank you

[David Karp]

Beautiful!

[Cletus]

WwwwwwwOW! A work of art if I ever seen one! Beautiful camera - the woodwork with the aluminum trim looks amazing. Would that I had those kinds of skills and resources to build my own dream camera. You are a very talented and lucky man, congrats.

[radii]

Beautiful!

WwwwwwwOW! A work of art if I ever seen one! Beautiful camera - the woodwork with the aluminum trim looks amazing. Would that I had those kinds of skills and resources to build my own dream camera. You are a very talented and lucky man, congrats.

Thank you guys :-)
I'm glad you like it.

I took the camera out yesterday and today for the first batch of pictures. It sets up quickly, is stable and is easy to carry around on a tripod.
The spring-back-lever should have some kind of 90 degree stop, as it can flip too far down if one is not careful.
Oh, and it's light tight with no apparent internal flares/reflections :-)

[cbk]

it's beautiful

[jon.oman]

Wonderful!

[radii]

it's beautiful

Wonderful!

Thank you both

[radii]

I have not put the camera on a scale yet, but since I did model everything in CAD 3D and assuming standard densities for all materials, the weight should be around 5.5 lbs., but please don't hold me to it.

I was wrong. The camera, without lens/lensboard, weighs 6.9 lbs. Darn CAD software ...