Homemade Calumet C-1 Lensboards?

[David Karp]

Hi,

Yesterday, I borrowed a Calumet C-1 8x10 camera and some film holders from a friend of mine to play with for a while, and I went to Freestyle during my lunch hour today and came back with a box of 8x10 Arista.Edu 400. I am all ready to go, but have a lens problem.

My friend had a No. 3 lensboard for the camera, but all of my lenses that cover 8x10 are in No. 1 shutters. I am thinking about fashioning some makeshift boards from thin sheets of modelmaker's plywood. This solution has been mentioned by others on this forum for use on other cameras.

Has anyone tried plywood for use on a C-1? The aluminum board is designed to fit into a stepped opening in the front standard. Will a flat board work? I would appreciate it if any C-1 users have come up with a home made solution.

Thanks in advance, and happy holidays!

[Jim Rice]

Hi David, While not for the C-1, I have successfully used 1/4" black-black-black Gatorboard for temporary lensboards. It's pretty easy to work (Exacto knife), compresses nicely to fill in the light traps on the camera and is strong enough to hold heavy lenses.

[Jon Shiu]

Yes, flat plywood works fine. I've made a few and put some black tape on the back so that the board fits more snugly. I believe the C1 has some felt around the opening so if the board is snug it should not leak light.

[Ernest Purdum]

Airplane model plywood is great, very strong, stable and easy to work. You can build up to just the thickness you need using sheets of hardwood from www.micromark.com or a few local stores. My recollection is that they come in thicknesses from 1/32" to 1/4".



Wood lensboards sometimes work out to be too thick for some modern lenses. You wind up not being able to screw the rear cell in all the way. You can, of course, correct this by cutting an oversize hole through some of the thickness.

[Dave Moeller]

David-

All of my C-1 lensboards are made from hobby plywood. I just cut a square to size, drill the hole for the lens, and paint them flat black. I've never had light leak problems, and I've never had to put anything on the back to mate with the light trap. I think that if you get the size right you won't have any problems at all.

Good luck.

[David Karp]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the quick responses. A trip to the hobby store is in my future tomorrow!

By the way, I rigged something up to put a lens on the camera temporarily, and all I have to say is WOW. The difference between the image on the 4x5 groundglass and the image on the 8x10 groundglass is amazing. I never understood how anyone could call the 4x5 groundglass image small, as I have seen from time to time, but now I do.

[Gem Singer]

It's awesome, isn't it Dave? I compare the difference between a 4 x5 and an 8x10 screen to seeing an I-Max movie screen for the first time.

[Merg Ross]

Now, that is dedication; a trip to the hobby store on Christmas Eve! Seriously, the hobby plywood will work fine, Dave, and as Jon noted the C-1 has felt at the opening as part of the light trap. Also, if you have the #3 board you can attach plywood with a #1 hole to the interior of the #3 with a good adhesive. This method depends on the size of the lens you are mounting. Make sure to paint with flat black.

To you, and others that frequent this forum, best Holiday Wishes!

[Alan Davenport]

Does the C-1 use the same 6 3/8" square lensboards as current Cambo and Calumet 4x5 cameras? If so, they are very easy to make using 1/8" birch plywood. Very stiff and solid.

[wfwhitaker]

Deardorff boards work, too.