Mahogany Polaroid 800 conversion to 4x5

[Tim Meisburger]

I recently picked up an old Polaroid 800 while on a trip to the US, and decided to convert it to shoot 4x5. Since I have some mahogany I am planning to use for an 8x10 I decided to use that. I had to build up the film plane some to get it to cover 4x5 completely, which meant I had to shift the infinity stop farther than the adjustment slots allowed. I drilled two new holes for the stop, but have not been able to find a tap small enough tap them yet. When I do get the stop in place, it looks like I will have to file down the front ears a bit so the carriage can pass over the stop when closing the camera. This shouldn't be a problem, as the camera front is sprung to hold tight to the back. Actually, so far I have not needed the stop, as I merely put int the ground glass, then determined infinity and made a pencil mark on the front and can pull the carriage out to the mark, the use the rangefinder focus knob as normal. Here are some pictures of the mod:

[Tim Meisburger]

I tried it out during a short business trip and it seems to work fine. I thought it might be fun for street shooting, but I think I might just sell it instead, as I seem wedded to my view camera, and missed it. Here is a street scene (cropped):

Below is a picture of a friend in the garden of the hotel, and then a crop of the same image.

[EdSawyer]

nicely done! I am impressed you made that out of wood.

[Tin Can]

I tried it out during a short business trip and it seems to work fine. I thought it might be fun for street shooting, but I think I might just sell it instead, as I seem wedded to my view camera, and missed it. Here is a street scene (cropped):

Below is a picture of a friend in the garden of the hotel, and then a crop of the same image.

Good work!

Do you think you could get a closeup pic of the hitch on that trailer/motorcycle?

Looks like a good design.

[Michael Cienfuegos]

Good work!

Do you think you could get a closeup pic of the hitch on that trailer/motorcycle?

Looks like a good design.

It looks like a fifth wheel connection. Randy, if you still have a cycle you might try thay type of connection, it would make it a lot easier to pull a small trailer.

m

[Tim Meisburger]

Next time I go to Cambodia I'll shoot it for you. Those things are typically knocked up in local welding shops, but I've never looked to close at the connections. It is actually amazing how much people there are able to move with a little 50-100cc bike. When I used to live there I twice saw seven people on a bike, and five was relatively common. Course most of those were babies or small children, but still impressive.

[Tin Can]

Next time I go to Cambodia I'll shoot it for you. Those things are typically knocked up in local welding shops, but I've never looked to close at the connections. It is actually amazing how much people there are able to move with a little 50-100cc bike. When I used to live there I twice saw seven people on a bike, and five was relatively common. Course most of those were babies or small children, but still impressive.

I agree, the Honda Cub, the largest production # of any vehicle worldwide is capable of fantastic feats.

I am curious what they do at the hitch.

Thanks!

[ic-racer]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.