Wanderlust 4x5 P&S

[Ben Syverson]

I think they say exactly this in the intro video on KS

Yeah, it turns out that it's very difficult to design a compact 4x5 back. The most compatible option is Graflex, but it would really increase the size and cost of the camera. Now instead of a simple back and one metal spring, you need large angled wings to the top and bottom of the back, with sliding metal tongues. It would be a larger, $129 camera instead.

We figured that most people would be using standard film holders, so that was our target. However, we wanted to make it easy to adapt. That's why we opted to attach the spring back with three standard phillips head screws. You can easily remove the spring and reattach it in the field if needed. Once it's off, you can use heavy rubber bands or ball bungees to attach nearly any 4x5 back ever made. I haven't yet encountered an incompatible back.

Once the alternate back is attached, odds are it will be heavier and/or larger than the rest of the camera combined, so it makes sense to hold it by the back. I've done this with the Calumet roll film holder and the Fuji QuickLoad holder. It works well!

[Bill L.]

I kind of figured I'd have to do that, but never hurts to ask. Just wanted to avoid attaching and detaching the spring back repeatedly if I could avoid it.

[Light Guru]

You can easily remove the spring and reattach it in the field if needed. Once it's off, you can use heavy rubber bands or ball bungees to attach nearly any 4x5 back ever made. I haven't yet encountered an incompatible back.

You can send me mine early and ill test it with my grafmatic film holders and report back.

[drew.saunders]

Ben,

What's the "shutter" for the pinhole option? That's not explained well on the Kickstarter page. Is it "BYO hat" or is some attached cover provided? I might want the 65mm just for pinhole work. Also, would the 65mm come with its own "corrected" speed finder?

Thanks!

[Ben Syverson]

Ben,

What's the "shutter" for the pinhole option? That's not explained well on the Kickstarter page. Is it "BYO hat" or is some attached cover provided? I might want the 65mm just for pinhole work. Also, would the 65mm come with its own "corrected" speed finder?

Thanks!

Hi Drew!

It depends on how much we make. If we barely make our goal, we may have to ship the cameras with a loose pinhole plate that the user tapes to the camera. In that case, they can fashion whatever "shutter" they want (probably a flap of tape).

However, if we can do the custom pinhole cap, it will come with its own lens cap. So you can use that cap as a shutter.

The 65 will come with the same sport finder as the 90—neither are amazingly accurate. With the 90, it will give you a general idea of the frame, and with the 65 it will give you a sense of the central 75% of the frame. For critical scenes, you can use the included plastic ground glass.

[Larry Kellogg]

By the way, have you guys shot any black and white with the camera? Could you post some shots? Also, which color film did you shoot, Portra 400? Somebody on photo.net complained that the Angulon renders colors like pastels, so they ditched the lens. I was thinking, huh, I like colors rendered as pastels, LOL.

Larry

[dave_whatever]

Somebody on photo.net complained that the Angulon renders colors like pastels, so they ditched the lens. I was thinking, huh, I like colors rendered as pastels, LOL.

Larry

I shot this with a 90 angulon, not seeing much pastel action there.



Incidentally I shot this with no movements, stopping down to f/45 for full depth of field, so this is exactly the type of shot the travelwide would excel at.

[Larry Kellogg]

I shot this with a 90 angulon, not seeing much pastel action there.
Incidentally I shot this with no movements, stopping down to f/45 for full depth of field, so this is exactly the type of shot the travelwide would excel at.

Wow, nice shot! Is that Velvia 50? I was thinking to shoot only handheld with this but a really lightweight tripod would be great. I don't think I want to carry my Gitzo 1228 with the TravelWide. Any thoughts?

Oh, is there any sense in driving oneself crazy trying to find a newer Angulon versus an older one? Also, the whole Linhof badging thing has been dismissed by many people as a myth, that Linhof just checked the lenses to see if they met Schneider's specs, not some other, better spec.

[searover]

Ben,

You have my pledge, it looks a lot easier then dragging out my TK45 and wandering. It looks well designed and hopefully will get thousands into LF.

My question is what is the throw or distance of travel for the helical focus? And how does this attach to the body? Can the helical be removed for the use of the 65SA with it?

Thanks and congratulations on getting halfway there in three days!

I highly encourage all LF members get one...

John Allaman

[Ben Syverson]

Wow, nice shot! Is that Velvia 50? I was thinking to shoot only handheld with this but a really lightweight tripod would be great. I don't think I want to carry my Gitzo 1228 with the TravelWide. Any thoughts?

Oh, is there any sense in driving oneself crazy trying to find a newer Angulon versus an older one? Also, the whole Linhof badging thing has been dismissed by many people as a myth, that Linhof just checked the lenses to see if they met Schneider's specs, not some other, better spec.

I'm a big fan of the Gitzo Traveler tripod. Folds so small you can fit it into a side bag, and weighs about 2 pounds. Keep in mind that this thing is so light that any DSLR-grade tripod will work. I've used it with the medium Gorillapod several times.

All of the shots on the Kickstarter page were taken with an Angulon with a serial of 2.5 million, which puts it sometime in late 1950 or early 1951. I'm happy with the sharpness, but I've been testing a newer lens (7 million range) too. We also have a Linhof branded one from the same time. So far it seems like there's not much point in holding out for a new copy.

Regarding color—I shoot negative film, so the color, saturation and contrast can be adjusted ad infinitum when scanning or printing. I tend to like a fairly neutral rendering with a lot of detail in the shadows and highlights, so that gives a slightly pastel look by default. The lens itself does not have modern multicoatings, so when it's wide open, you'll also see a slight veiling flare that reduces contrast. Finally, our 3D printing process lets some light in (despite frantically taping it everywhere), so some of the haziness in our sample photos (especially in bright scenes) is probably due to the material.