I'm new here

[seanstimac]

Greetings LF fans. As the title states, I'm new to the site. I've been been lurking for awhile, but thought that I should stop in introduce myself and ask a bit of advice. My name is Sean. I earned photo degree in May of 2009 and am now a post-bacc art history student.

My first exposure to large format photography was six years ago when I took a studio photography course. I used a Sinar F series 4x5. I loved the camera and wanted to make one almost right away. The last time I used it was four years ago. We weren't allowed to take it into the field, as we only have three of them on campus with over 50 photography students.

So, I've decided to make one. I'm not new to camera making. I've been making them and modifying them for a little over two years. Aside from a table saw and dremel I use only hand tools. Here's a link (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seanstimac/4022942970/in/set-72157613851193581/) to a 4x5 point and shoot camera that I made a few years ago. It's still my favorite.

I love the controls on the Sinar, they allow you to be as precise as you want to be. I'm thinking that I would like to build a monorail 4x5, but am concerned that it would be huge to carry around with me. So, I've considered making a 4x5 field camera instead. My primary concern with the field camera is that I won't have the amount of movement and control as I would have with a monorail.

I understand that it will probably be expensive to make either of them and I could probably find one cheaper on ebay and repair it or shoot right away. I don't really care, I want to make it. I have an old retired machinist that can make any of the brass that I can't find at McMasters or Small Parts, I have access to just about any hard wood that I could want (except Cuban Mahogany, which is a bummer), and there's a great mill a few miles down the road that can make the really crazy cuts that I'll need for a few of the strips of wood.

I've already combed through a good number of plans for monorail designs and have sketched out a few ideas of my own. Grepstad meets, Cambo, meets Sinar, meets Burke and James. I'm pretty busy with school and the family so I'm planning on taking about a year to make it. What should I do. A nice collapsible field camera or sleek bad-ass monorail? Pros and cons of each? Thanks for reading.

[seanstimac]

Also I'm really struggling to find the average dimensions of 4x5 frames and standards and how to build a rotating spring back. I have a pretty decent design for a spring back, but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to make it rotate on the rear frame. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated as well.

[Brian C. Miller]

The rotating backs are just round with an L joint, and then locked in place. Get yourself a Calumet Orbit monorail, which are really cheap, and see how that is done. (I paid less than $150 years ago for mine.)

But you really don't need a rotating back. A couple of my cameras have rotating backs, but that's just a convenience when going from landscape to portrait. My Toyo 45AX doesn't have a rotating back, and I don't miss the feature at all.

[GPS]

...

What should I do. A nice collapsible field camera or sleek bad-ass monorail? Pros and cons of each? Thanks for reading.

Sorry, you are in a bad shape. A construction does not fall from heaven or is won in a lottery. It comes from the needs of the product user. If you do not know what you need you cannot know what to construct. If you ask people - should I have a horse or a cow? - you are in a bad shape. Asking for pros and cons of horses and cows is in the same league. Sorry.:rolleyes:

[msk2193]

Sean, with so little time available the question becomes: Do you want to be known as a phtographer or camera mechanic? Invest a few dollars in a used camera and go enjoy the art of making photos.
When time becomes less of an issue, go and make a camera yuo can enjoy.

p.s. Speaking from experience here!!!

[jb7]

I have an old retired machinist


I want an old retired machinist...

I had a look at your camera, it looks well put together, though slightly utilitarian,
and the colour makes it something less than inconspicuous for a hand-held...

This thread might be of some interest...

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=57684

[Vick Vickery]

Sean, welcome to group therepy! :)

[Brian C. Miller]

Do you want to be known as a phtographer or camera mechanic?

Are you kidding me??? ;) This guy built a panoramic camera out of Legos!

Sean, we have lots of threads here comparing monorails and field cameras. I think you should build a camera to do what you want, based on what you want to photograph. Do you photograph stuff indoors? Do you photograph stuff outdoors? Do you hike and make photos? Do you bike and make photos? All of it depends on you and what you want to photograph. Do you photograph things that are big? Do you photograph things that are small? Do you photograph things that are wide or tall?

Your ideal camera depends on you, and only on you. Make it and enjoy it!

[Vaughn]

Welcome, Sean!

My first 4x5 had a rotating back (A reducing back on a Indian copy of a Deardorff Special). The camera is long gone (it was stolen when it had a 5x7 back on it), but I still have the back. The rotating back was nice to use -- I could straighten up horizons, etc. without having to touch the tripod and head.

If it is of any help at all, I could send it to you and when you have looked at it enough, send it back. Just cover my postage...probably about $10 sent priority. Not the greatest time of year to be mailing packages, though. If you are not in a hurry, I can send it after the New Year.

Again, welcome and have fun!

Vaughn

[Peter De Smidt]

Well, the main difference is that a field camera can be folded up fairly compactly, and monorails cannot. In addition, monorails tend to have more extension available, as well as more movements. For most landscapes and portraits, a field camera is fine, but for tall building architecture, a monorail camera is the way to go. Why not plan on making both eventually?

[seanstimac]

Holy cow! I got a lot of responses. Sorry for not chiming back in sooner, I thought I would get an email message telling me there were some responses. I'll have to check on that. They're probably getting dumped in my spam folder - gmail is awesome.

So here goes some answers and clarifications maybe. I enjoy making cameras and I enjoy taking pictures, so I do both. I understand that I could go out and buy a good 4x5 for what it will cost me to build one. But I'm going to build one instead because that is what I want to do. I don't want to be a professional photographer or camera maker, they are both things that I love to do. I would much rather teach art history and/or photography. I have made some really cool and really wacky cameras and will continue to do so. Thanks for the nod Brian.

When it comes to time, I have no problems spreading a project out over a great span of it. Most of my projects are done this way. I'm certainly no engineer or draftsman. Ideas come slowly and when I pace myself I know things will come out well. A year seems like a good amount of time. However, it could take significantly less or more - only time will tell.

jb7, I don't have an old retired machinist. I just know one that will fabricate the parts that I need at a good price because he's retired and just loves small projects every once in awhile. I got lucky because I could save quite a bit of money with him and get 50 years experience behind each part.

@GPS, I'm not in bad shape I only wrote a few paragraphs when I probably should have written more. I wasn't clear enough with what I expected out of the camera. That said, I've decided I'm going to make a monorail instead of a field camera for a few reasons. Here they are: a monorail camera appears to be slightly easier to build, I can design it in a way that its easy to break down and reassemble (I'm not going to be able to take advantage of a Bresson moment, but it's a 4x5 I probably wouldn't have been able to anyway.), and I think that the monorail will be more versatile in the long run. I'm going to keep a log of the project and once it's finished I'll make the plans public.

Oh, one more thing. I've been digging around and think I may have figured out the rotating back. I haven't sketched it out so I don't know for sure. I have to have a look at it before I know for sure, meaning I have to at least see a visual of it.

[GPS]

...

@GPS, I'm not in bad shape I only wrote a few paragraphs when I probably should have written more. I wasn't clear enough with what I expected out of the camera. That said, I've decided I'm going to make a monorail instead of a field camera for a few reasons. Here they are: a monorail camera appears to be slightly easier to build, I can design it in a way that its easy to break down and reassemble (I'm not going to be able to take advantage of a Bresson moment, but it's a 4x5 I probably wouldn't have been able to anyway.), and I think that the monorail will be more versatile in the long run. I'm going to keep a log of the project and once it's finished I'll make the plans public.

...

Now that's a different word. I agree with your reasoning. For the amount of work you will get more from a monorail. Good luck.