Show off your Large Format camera!

[W K Longcor]

Brian, that is one fine piece of work! Nice going.

I finally got a picture of me and my recently finished Walnut 11x14 and tripod out in the Redwoods at Prairie Creek State Park. The tripod has a Gitzo 1570 M low profile head and comes in at 15 lbs. and the 11x14 is 16 lbs. My Hybrid Voigtlander 18" lens in up front. Just developed the neg from this set up and it looks good.

Jim

Jim: That is a real beauty! If possible, I would love to get a better look at that super tripod.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Thanks for the nice comments on my camera and tripod. Unfortunately my digital camera is dead! It is funny that my 1904 Seneca Improved 8x10 still works fine but my 6 year old digital camera is dead! Go figure.
I'll have to see if I can borrow a digital camera and take some shots of the tripod. It is made out of American Black Walnut as is the 11x14. My design is proving to be quite strong and very stable. The Gitzo 1570M low profile head works great because of the low center of gravity. I use a Majestic head on the 8x20 and it works fine for that system. With the extra weight and mass of the 11x14 the low profile is the way to go.
I cheated a little making this tripod in that I got a 100 ft. extension cord and ran it from my apartment to the carport and used my Bosch plung router. Made things much more fun to make. Finally got to use the fancy router bits! I still wet sanded the whole thing with diamond pads to 1000 grit. Wet oil polished or French Polished I guess you might call it. At least my version of it. The pod did great out in the humid coastal climate. Again I'll try to get some pic's of the tripod soon. It is really not that hard to make.

Jim

[Pete_6109]

Jim,
The camera is gorgeous. Did you make the bellows yourself?

Pete........

[shmoo]

You guys are killing me. I've been drooling so much that my keyboard is about to short out!

[Brian Bullen]

Brian, that is one fine piece of work! Nice going.

Jim

Jim, unfortunately my camera is not a fine piece of work it is just adequate. It's quite rough around the edges with many flaws, that's why it's painted black! Nothing compared to your craftsmanship as well as your creative woodworking. A lovely camera and tripod!

[Colin Graham]

Brian! that's incredible. Are you planning to use x-ray film in it, paper negs..? Cant wait to see some work from it.

[Allen in Montreal]

Brian,

Despite any short comings you may have found, your camera is still an nice piece of work, I could never begin to imagine being able to bring such a project to fruition! A hand made, functional wooden 11x14 camera (I am very good with metal but absolutely terrible with wood!).

Just think how nice the second generation PB1114 camera body will be!

You could probably sell the first generation to finance the cost of the second G.

Jim, unfortunately my camera is not a fine piece of work it is just adequate. It's quite rough around the edges with many flaws, that's why it's painted black! Nothing compared to your craftsmanship as well as your creative woodworking. A lovely camera and tripod!

[Brian Bullen]

Colin, I wish they made x-ray film in 18"x24" because that would make things simple. I have a roll of 24"x200' graphic arts film. So I have a little more testing to do. I have had some excellent results with coffee developer, bringing it down to continuous. Here is a link if interested. http://www.apug.org/forums/forum37/4...-caffenol.html

Allen, just to be clear this camera is 18x24 inches. All the pieces I've built are crude at best, the important parts like the bellows and the back were made by the pros.

I haven't weighed the camera after putting on the front standard but I think it weighs around 25lbs. Not too bad for a small hike.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Jim,
The camera is gorgeous. Did you make the bellows yourself?

Pete........

Pete, thanks. No I managed to get the bellows off of e-bay for $100.00. Here is the funny thing. I had already built the back for the camera and the bellows that I got fit in perfectly!My back for the camera came off of a 11x14 Deardorff. These two parts saved me a lot of time and frustration.

Jim

[Jim Fitzgerald]

You guys are killing me. I've been drooling so much that my keyboard is about to short out!

It can be done! I built my 8x20 and 11x14 in my apartment with hand tools and plenty of time and passion. A good vacuum cleaner helps also!

Jim