Ben, Sorry if I missed this from an earlier post in the thread - What scanner did you use for the last set of color samples? Thanks.
65mm
90mm
Ben, Sorry if I missed this from an earlier post in the thread - What scanner did you use for the last set of color samples? Thanks.
Thanks guys,
Struan, I feel that the camera is pretty adaptable. What specifically are you hoping to put on the back? It has an international 4x5 back, so the possibilities are almost endless. You can put a DSLR, 6x12 rollfilm back, digital scanning back, Polaroid, etc. If you want to do something really weird, well, it's a cheap camera, so don't feel bad about destroying it in the process.
Corran, we'll have some kind of viewfinder, and we'll make it as accurate as we can. But keep in mind that this is an inexpensive point and shoot camera. One of the beauties of 4x5 and the 90mm focal length is that you can crop if the framing isn't 100% perfect.
It's funny you guys mentioned party photos with flash—I took a few shots like that last weekend! I'll get those developed and see if any of them came out.
I used an Epson 4990—great little scanner! They were all at 1200 DPI.Originally Posted by vijaylff
Thanks Ben. I know you are putting in a lot of work on this so I'm excited to see what is finally offered.
Another thought, if you do make the viewfinder, framelines for 6x12 would be awesome. I'm thinking my DaYi back on this would be awesome for a cheap panoramic camera. But I wonder if the focus would work due to the change the film plane with a pano back?
The DaYi 6x12 back puts the film in the same plane as a conventional holder. You must be thinking of the 6x17 back, which puts the film behind the normal film plane and requires its own ground glass.
Rick "who focuses for his DaYi 612 back using the regular ground glass" Denney
I didn't realize that. Yes I have the 6x17 back. Hmm...
If there was a super-wide version I could probably use the 6x17 back with a 90mm instead of the 65mm or whatever and figure out a good hyperfocal and make it work!
If you were going to use a 6x17 back, you couldn't use a 90mm—it would have to be something like 110mm or 120mm. I'm not sure what the offset is from the standard film plane.
If we do a 65mm version, that will be Copal 00, so the only 90 that would fit is the Optar. But that lens won't come close to covering 6x17...
The best option for viewfinders if you're going to be doing a lot of 6x12 is probably the Gaoersi 612 finder. Our finder will be a much simpler thing with 4x5 framelines.
Ben, nobody ever made money pleasing me, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt (or gin).
My biggest requirement would be to fit my Fuji Quickchange holder into the back, and hold it there securely. On my Norma I slide it under the ground glass, but then engage the Graflok slides. If I don't use the slides I sometimes get subtle, but annoying light leaks in the corners at the darkslide end. I don't think rubber bands will be enough, so I've been thinking about clamping arrangements to put the holder onto your camera.
There doesn't have to be a set of Graflok slides. That said, I've used a lot of electron microscope Polaroid attachments, which are pretty minimal, and relatively cheap, and would give you something to attach rubber bands etc to.
But that's me (and the Grafmatic users). More generally, some sort of structure you could hook a hasp or clamp to would simplify the process of adding various backs and tinkering generally. For example, the simplest way to add a Graflok back for me would be to mount the cone camera onto a lensboard and clamp it to the front of a Sinar format frame, with the usual GG back on the rear. I'd lose infinity focus for my shortest lens, but gain it for slightly longer ones. But I need a way to hold the camera onto the lensboard adapter without using glue, so it would be nice if some sort of slide or clamp system were included, or if you could add extra-thick portions of the rear of the cone for the user to drill for bolts of his or her own.
My other tinkering idea would be to make the cone part of a system. If you could easily add things in a mechanically secure, light tight way all sorts of possibilities open up. I, for example, would like a camera with an infinity setting for 65 mm, but enough travel on the helical to use a 90. Infinity focus on the 90 would be achieved by adding a spacer back. With a pair of spacers (thick and thin) the camera would be usable with four focal lengths, e.g., with 25 and 60 mm spacers the camera would be usable with 65, 90, 120-135 and 150 mm lenses, although you progressively lose close focussing with the longer lengths. Daft users could add them together ad-infinitum. I took my inspiration from the spacer backs for the Mamiya Press cameras.
It also means that you could make collapsable 8x10, using the same attachment system to connect the regular 4x5 model to a truncated cone with an 8x10 attachment on the back. For stowage, take the 4x5 cone off and nest it inside the 8x10, so you don't have such a large empty box to carry around in your rucksack. Again, a range of lenses could be accommodated by adding spacers between the 8x10 part and the 4x5.
I can rig up an ugly version of this if I interface to the Sinar system by glueing a 4x5 holder to a lensboard and removing the darkslides and septum. I can then make spacers with pairs of lensboards and suitable tubes. But I'm going to need a format frame for each connection, and the whole thing will be clumpy and heavy in a way that a designed-in clamp would not be.
Again, no demands. I know that moulds cost real money.
PS: for a cheap viewer you might consider the add-on wide angle adapters for digicams, which are inverted Gallilean Telescopes by another name. They are designed as afocal adapters for camera lenses, but they work just as well for the Mk. 1 eyeball. Those intended for DSLRs tend to be too large - they're designed to fill an entrance pupil much larger than the one in your eye - but there are others with 30 mm or so threads aimed at video users which are more compact.
Just multiply the stated factor by 150 mm to get the rough focal length it will work for. 0.5 or 0.45x are commonly found factors, and with a mask of the right size will work well for a 65 mm lens on 4x5. There are even versions sold on eBay with a tube you can use to add a cold shoe and put the eye at the right distance behind the adapter.
Struan, you sound like a hacker after my own heart! I'm glad my little project has you dreaming of modifications. Unfortunately, to do a reconfigurable "system" camera is simply not practical. It would cost us much more, so it would be a more expensive camera.
The Quickchange holder should stay on the back with two decent rubber bands. The lip will keep it from sliding out, and the bands will keep it on. You don't need much pressure to create a light seal. The unusually tall walls on this camera help to keep stray light out. Many view cameras have no walls at all, which is why they need the Graflok.
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