DIY Right Angle Mirror-Box for ULF Closeups?

[John Layton]

As I’ve been getting back into using my 11x14 camera, I’m thinking that I’d like to do some close up work…with the camera in a more or less straight down orientation.

But from where I sit (or stand), there are three potential issues which can be encountered while tilting such a large(ish) camera forward to vertical - one being that the balance of the camera/tripod setup can become tenuous, another being that, depending upon actual film plane to subject distance, the act of viewing and focusing can become untenable without some form of stand/ladder/foot-stool or other device with which to elevate one high enough for such viewing…and third, that large format film sheets (ULF in particular) have a tendency to bow forward (downward) when placed in such an orientation.

My thought about mitigating such potential issues would be to construct a simple, right angle “mirror box,” consisting of a front surfaced mirror (such as I believe is available at Edmund Scientific) set at a 45 degree angle within a box with two openings - one which fits over the lens, and the other which would be facing down towards the subject, while the camera itself remains in a more balanced, less risky horizontal orientation.

At any rate, I’m just wondering if anyone else here has actually tried doing this, and if so - what have been your experiences in using such a setup? Pros? Cons? Etc.? Also…any hints/ideas about design, construction, and finding further resources for such an accessory would be most appreciated!

[Tin Can]

I missed buying a lens prism

Tryed front surface mirror

I shoot on ladder straight down

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I had a 19 3/4" Kodak Ektanon (f10) that came with a nicely made 90 degree prism for just this purpose. I used this for a bit with 11x14 and it worked as expected, but found that I was still constantly on a ladder. Even so, it was much easier to use the camera with the prism than without it. Looking down at the ground glass was difficult, I found it much more comfortable to look across.

[Greg]

I highly recommend Sinar's Front-surface mirror in its protective holder. #538.11. The bad thing is that they rarely are put up for auction or found for sale. The good thing is that they usually sell for very reasonable prices... I got mine for under $100. I think that there is just no market for them. Mine was very easily adapted to my 11x14 Chamonix.

[Tracy Storer]

We used to do this a lot in the Polaroid 20x24 Studio, using a front surface mirror at 45 deg to the lens to look straight down. It works great, keeping in mind any type in the image will be reversed. Going WAY back, we supported the mirror on a crossbar on top of a big Gitzo tripod, later, I made a bracket that attached to the front standard of the camera. I used an 8" x 10" x 0.25" mirror, which I glued to a larger piece of plexiglass to give myself something to clamp to.

As I’ve been getting back into using my 11x14 camera, I’m thinking that I’d like to do some close up work…with the camera in a more or less straight down orientation.

But from where I sit (or stand), there are three potential issues which can be encountered while tilting such a large(ish) camera forward to vertical - one being that the balance of the camera/tripod setup can become tenuous, another being that, depending upon actual film plane to subject distance, the act of viewing and focusing can become untenable without some form of stand/ladder/foot-stool or other device with which to elevate one high enough for such viewing…and third, that large format film sheets (ULF in particular) have a tendency to bow forward (downward) when placed in such an orientation.

My thought about mitigating such potential issues would be to construct a simple, right angle “mirror box,” consisting of a front surfaced mirror (such as I believe is available at Edmund Scientific) set at a 45 degree angle within a box with two openings - one which fits over the lens, and the other which would be facing down towards the subject, while the camera itself remains in a more balanced, less risky horizontal orientation.

At any rate, I’m just wondering if anyone else here has actually tried doing this, and if so - what have been your experiences in using such a setup? Pros? Cons? Etc.? Also…any hints/ideas about design, construction, and finding further resources for such an accessory would be most appreciated!

[John Layton]

Greg...how large is the mirror in that Sinar mirror-box of yours? Don't worry if its buried away someplace, but if its close by and you could get a look at it and let me know, that would be great!

[Greg]

Greg...how large is the mirror in that Sinar mirror-box of yours? Don't worry if its buried away someplace, but if its close by and you could get a look at it and let me know, that would be great!

Mirror - 5" x 6"
frame 5 1/2" x 6 1/8"
has a protective (dark) slide
mounts directly into a Norma auxiliary standard which easily mounts atop the front sliding bed of a Chamonix
FYI: Sinar also sold a 50/50% semi-reflecting mirror (#539.91). I doubt that most sellers would know the difference.

[John Layton]

Thanks Greg! I likely won't need to be using this until later this Spring...and in the meantime I'll keep my eyes open for one of the Sinar units (thanks for the heads-up about the semi-reflecting variant!) - and if nothing appears, I'll go through Edmund Optics for a mirror, and construct a box for this to work with my camera.