DIY LF film holder

[Brian C. Miller]

A while back there was a thread on cheap 11x14 film holder on eBay. The maker is in Europe, and I presume that he may still be making holders.

[normanv]

Whenever somebody talks about making their own equipment there are always so many people saying, why bother?...the equipment is there already....it is too much trouble......it is too difficult etc...etc. When will these people realise that some of us like the challenge, don't have loads of money, or just want to do it ourselves. If you can't offer practical advice just keep out of the thread and leave it to the people who are interested in DIY.

[Tim Meisburger]

+1 - Tim

[dsphotog]

Plywood might not be so bad... I've seen warped plastic holders.

[Tim Meisburger]

What would make sense is for someone to grind the molding head needed for this profile, then mill stock out of a suitable wood and sell it by the linear foot. Then you could just buy a kit and do any size. If I was in the US would do this, although having the heads ground would be much cheaper here.

[Brian C. Miller]

Then you could just buy a kit and do any size.

Ok, I want 6ft by 4ft!

Or maybe I need a different approach than a normal film holder...

[VPooler]

Whenever somebody talks about making their own equipment there are always so many people saying, why bother?...the equipment is there already....it is too much trouble......it is too difficult etc...etc. When will these people realise that some of us like the challenge, don't have loads of money, or just want to do it ourselves. If you can't offer practical advice just keep out of the thread and leave it to the people who are interested in DIY.

Yes, that is the problem in my case - most of the things a lot of people consider affordable or cheap cost me a month or two's salary. No kidding. The cost of one ULF holder costs more than i spend on food in one month. Should I stay out of 11x14 because I don't live in a country where salaries are high? I don't think so. I already bargained my way into 4x5, I can surely make my way into ULF.

Plywood might not be so bad... I've seen warped plastic holders.

Proper sealing and gluing techniques should rectify that problem

What would make sense is for someone to grind the molding head needed for this profile, then mill stock out of a suitable wood and sell it by the linear foot. Then you could just buy a kit and do any size. If I was in the US would do this, although having the heads ground would be much cheaper here.

Yes! My idea exactly! Just add the bottoms and darkslides and some velvet for light-tight seals and you are good to go!

[el french]

Does the ULF film holder actually have to be very rigid? Any warping should be removed by clamping it to the camera back.

[Tin Can]

I use drywall screws.



kidding

It could be somewhat flexible but too much flex and it will start changing FP.

Does the ULF film holder actually have to be very rigid? Any warping should be removed by clamping it to the camera back.

[normanv]

Surely the larger you go the greater the depth of focus and the less critical things become?