Yup one open!
Go for it dudes!
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Yup one open!
Go for it dudes!
Yeah, when my wife entered her pledge (for the 65) just a few minutes ago, we noticed that a lens package was available. I was tempted even though I already have the lens, heh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Rick "but it was gone on the next screen update" Denney
I am glad you also suffer from restraint, but that could be a mod characteristic...
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdenney
A 65mm kit just opened up!
It's like lens kit whack-a-mole!
LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
and its gone!
Ok, I have my Angulon 90/f8 ! Now waiting for the camera to hang at the back :D ! I'm glad it came with an original mettalic screw-in type lenscap for the back, with the Scneider logo on it. Never seen one like this before.
Stefan.
Whaaaa?? Super Early Bird specials popping up all over!
Congrats, looks like this was a very successful project.
Well, as soon as I see the debit from my debit card, I am packing up my 90 Schneider 6.8 (linhof select) in Synchro Compur shutter and shipping it off to SK Grimes for a service. ($100 to $125).
I'm presuming the Kickstarter will draw the money from my account today???
With the film holders on standby, and including the price of the lens, the service and the camera body, This is the least expensive, lightest, most accomodating ergonomically, 4X5 Project I have ever done.
Originally, I bought my first Crown in 1990 (wow,23 years) at a Camera shop located in an old church in Columbus Ohio...... Columbus Camera Group. I think they are still in that old church. The first time I went there the building was filled with tables of used merchandise, and you used to pull boxes out from under the table and rummage through them. I found my Crown in one of those boxes.
I drove up from Cincinnati one day, expecting to spend a couple of hours at the camera shop. I had been a constant follower of the Columbus classifieds in the back of the old rag Shutterbug for some years. I finally realized after moving from Oregon to Cincinnati, that I was about a two hour drive, or less from CCG in Columbus. I got there mid morning, and started looking around. At noon I left and walked down the street for lunch. I went back to CCG and looked some more. I left about 3PM. Lighter by about $225, I took my new (to me) Kowa 6 w lens, and Graflex Crown, and drove home.
This was nearly as much fun, watching the dollars roll up on the screen. Thanks guys.
Hilarious, why would people give up a deal like that? I just got the email saying that preorders have closed and that my credit card would be charged.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Hooray! Congratulations!
Just yesterday, I pitched the camera to someone who was complaining about the hassle of shooting a Linhof. I hope he beat the preorder deadline. The $99 price did not give him pause, considering the cost of other cameras.
Thank you all so much... If it wasn't for LFF, I wouldn't be shooting large format, let alone making a 4x5 camera. The 65mm version is a direct result of the poll in this thread and the feedback you gave us... And you did an amazing job getting the word out. So THANK YOU!
Today we spoke to a tool and die shop in Michigan. We learn something every single time we talk to the tooling shops. It's always fascinating for us.
We also shot and processed two batches of two different light leak tests (one test for the back and one for the helical). Thanks to those tests, we were able to verify that our back is absolutely not leaking light. So that is a huge relief.
We keep adding tape to the inside and outside of Prototype #2, and the amount of leak/flare has gone from a large amount (visible in the Brazil shots) to an absolutely tiny amount. At this point, it's not visible during normal shooting, but when we do a stress test, we can still provoke fogging in one corner. I'm convinced that the cause of the leak is the 3D printing material on the helical. What's happening is that light is entering the tiny gap between the lens tube and focus ring, going right through the helical ridges, and entering the camera. This won't happen in the production camera because light can't get through black polycarbonate.
I'm posting this because I'm trying to be 100% transparent (no pun intended) about the process. We're going to quadruple check the CAD. We really don't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a faulty design. But the nice thing is that even if we need to scrap two molds and redo them completely, we have the financial elbow room to do it. This camera will not go out the door until it's working perfectly and we're proud to put our name on it.
Thanks again you guys. YOU made this happen.
Nothing happens without an idea. That came from you and Justin. The support from the worldwide photo community is certainly validation, but this camera concept wouldn't exist without your original idea.
I'm really looking forward to getting my Travelwide.
Any chance you'll be able to put an Arca-Swiss compatible mounting point on the bottom?
We did look into it... The portion that would make up the AS mounting surface would have to extend past the bottom of the camera, and would be a pretty thick chunk of plastic. Beyond adding bulk, that extra thickness means a potential for that section to sag or pull away from the mold as it cools. So I think the tradeoffs don't quite justify the convenience. Sorry about that!Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Goldstein
How about three 1/4" tripod threads instead of one? Then, we could use a long AS plate from eBay with two screws--the ultimate anti-twist plate. But for those not using plates, it would add flexibility to how they attach it to a tripod.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Rick "happy to spend your money" Denney
Three tripod threads?? People seem to use everything from DSLRs to Mamiya RZs to metal field cameras with one tripod thread. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by rdenney
The tripod thread itself is a metal insert which has to be hand-placed in the mold, so not only does the metal insert part itself cost money, it also costs more to run. Adding two more would add to the retail cost of the camera and would necessitate making the camera larger somewhere to house the tripod mounts.
I get that people want flexibility, but keep in mind that it's a 1.3 pound camera. A Leica weighs more!
Oh well, I'll just use the tripod hole to attach a small AS-type plate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
P&S camera...
When Arca-Swiss, Kirk, Wimberley, Acratech, or Really Right Stuff provides a custom anti-twist plate for the Travelwide same as they do for the cameras you mentioned, then I'll agree. It's not the weight of the camera that makes twist control important, but rather my fat hands pushing in a film holder. But if you can't accommodate my need, I suppose I'll get over it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Rick "that was a joke; you can laugh" Denney
(P.S. How about a hole or two that lines up with a Mamiya or Pentax medium-format camera, so that a plate for one of those, with the alignment pin, would fit properly? Would adding such a hole affect the design or cost? It would not need to be metal lined. Mamiya uses two holes, Pentax one.)
Color me skeptical... I made a short video demonstrating the Travelwide on a tripod, complete with a film holder insertion or two. If you're doing something rougher than what I do in this video, God help you!Quote:
Originally Posted by rdenney
https://vimeo.com/65355646
Link to the video
Edit: you'll notice that our spring back sticks a little bit—that's due to the gaffer's tape we've added to the camera, not the design. You'll also see the espresso machine which generates all my ideas.
The video is saying it's private. Can you open it up? Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
It will only play embedded in this page, not on Vimeo. It seems to be working for me—anyone else not able to see it?Quote:
Originally Posted by welly
Oh, I see. I was using my iPhone and it didn't have the video player. Can see it now!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Like
RRS makes a universal plate B-25 which nicely fits a Linhof, Graflex Speed Graphic and others. You may want to consider lining up the hole for one of those plates.Quote:
Originally Posted by rdenney
Cheers
Andreas
Nice video! Looks good. I always load 4x5 that way, push the holder in and punch the camera a few times, LOL.
Just make sure the metal/plastic tripod socket at the bottom of the camera is strong enough so that it does not somehow break, that would be a bummer. I'm planning to use the TravelWide with a GorillaPod, it seems a little silly to carry around my Gitzo for that, although I could.
Here's one thing that will be a bit annoying. The Blik rangefinder covers two cold shoes, and the viewfinder takes one, leaving no place for a bubble level. Do they make cold shoe extenders that would stick out from under the Blik allowing me to mount my bubble level?
Yeah, the Blik is annoyingly long, though that does give it a decent baselength. One option is to mount the Blik on the left-most shoe, leaving two free. It will extend past the camera to the left, which may or may not be a problem. The other option is to mount the bubble level on the front of the camera so that it's visible through the viewfinder...Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Kellogg
Yeah, but I don't want to see the bubble level when I compose every shot. Perhaps I will velcro it to the top of the viewfinder. ;-) Maybe I can glue another cold shoe to the top of the Blik.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Justin just sent me this drawing of the Really Right Stuff B25 anti-twist plate aligned with the camera... It looks to us like it will fit. So it looks like there's a solution for anti-twist after all! With that plate you should be able to take a baseball bat to the camera without twisting it, as long as you have a strong enough tripod and tripod head. Batter up! :)
http://bensyverson.com/images/2013/5/rrs-plate.jpg
Great stuff, but also more money I don't need to spend. However it is just a hole.
Why not?
Does that protruding screw on the bottom of the plate make it hard to attach it to the quick release plate of certain tripods? I'm thinking about the Ballhead-X for the Gorillapod.
Looking at it from a solution rather than problem perspective, one could mount the bubble level to a plate that fits the shoe... Resin... and stick the plate in from the front of the shoe and have the bubble level in front of the range finder.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Kellogg
Now at this point, the problem thinker would interject that the bubble level obscures one of the range finder windows... To which the solution person would say... AHaaa...but not if you put an "L", or dogleg bend in the plate that holds the bubble level and inserts into the shoe spot. The dogleg would be beyond the flat of the back and position down low over the cone, out of the way of the rangefinder windows.
The Blik may seem a bit long for an external rangefinder, but it focuses better than a shorter rangefinder.
Now, it occurs to me that there could be yet another approach to this situation. How about a dogleg plate to mount the Blik UP and Back a bit to move it behind and over the bubble level, and (bonus) closer to the shooters eye. That's another way to go....While mounting the bubble level directly in one of the cold shoes on the camera.
A problem thinker looks at the locations of the cold shoes as a fixed location, thus a prolem. The solution thinker looks at the 3 fixed cold shoes as an opportunity to hang three items on top of the camera, not necessarily right where the shoes exist. I suspect it would be easy to make a fairly "Universal TravelWide accessory bracket", a simple plate, no drilling needed, in order to place accessories BOTH in front or behind the shoe and to also raise or lower the accessory relative to the shoe.
A set of brackets may include two of the dogleg plates and one straight plate.
Now a problem seeking buyer might say, Nah!!! that won't work (for me). While a solution seeker might respond with, "Wow Lars, Your Pretty creative, How long did it take you to think of that?" to which I would respond (smart ass grin that you cannot see over the internet) About 5 minutes. First came visualizing the fix, then thinking how to make the bracket.
Now,,, before I make yet another enemy, Larry Kellog, I do not intend this to be a reflection on you. You would have eventually figured all this out. Remember, we have seven month to work all these out before we are going to have in our hands, one of the best things, that has happened (at least to me) in 20+ years of shooting large format.
Thanks again guys.
like
Lol.
I'm hoping we only have four or five months to figure out these problems. ;-) I'm going to need a bracket for a hand warmer if I have to wait until December.
Ya, what if they deliver early. I will be lost wondering...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Kellogg
We would like to be early! Some of it is out of our hands (mold production), but I would say that December is our most pessimistic estimate. We're trying our hardest to under-promise and over-deliver. It's a constant challenge.
Have you heard that rule of thumb for estimates you get from contractors? You double their number, and then move it to the next time scale. So if they say it'll take four hours, it'll take eight days. I'm slowly learning to self-apply that formula.
A question about a 90mm f6.8 Angulon filter size.
My sample appears to be about 40mm by measuring across the diameter. I've never come across a 40mm filter thread size. Could it be perhaps 41.5mm?
This 90 looks to be quite old.
40.5mm, but you can add a step-up ringQuote:
Originally Posted by zuiko90
Jon
According to Schneider's data page the filter thread should be 40.5mm with a pitch of 0.5mm:Quote:
Originally Posted by zuiko90
http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/.../6,8-90mm.html
Perfect! I already have a few spare B25 plates for my Speed Graphic and Linhofs... ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Cheers,
Andreas
Ah, 40.5mm, thanks for the info I'll get a step up ring, probably to 49mm, I have lots of filters and hoods in that size.
That is what I did when I had the 90 and with all the 49mm filters I have had for years for the Pentaxs.Quote:
Originally Posted by zuiko90
I arrived pretty late to the scene and would love to have one, if not two. Are going to take preorders? Or when do you think I can buy one? This is just the thing we all need. To have a project that will probably bring a lot of new users to LF, and more importantly, film. Thank you.
Sergio, I just sent you a PM.
Hasta pronto
Andreas
Just obtained a the 90 f6.8 Schneider. Holy cow that's a tiny lens. Drilled a new lens board to stick it on my 4X5 and had to mash the bellows almost all the way back to reach infinity. This is going to be one short camera, about 5 inch's front to back.
I can barely smash my Wisner technical field bellows enough to focus a 125mm, I have not bothered to try the 90mm. I think I would need bag bellows. The Travelwide seems longer than five inches in the video, though. What is the depth of the camera?
There are realities. A 3-1/2" lens (90mm) that is not a retrofocus design (which these aren't) will have its rear node 1) within the lens assembly, and 2) 3-1/2" from the film when focused at infinity. The front cell of this tiny lens may add a half inch, and the film holder another amount not quite 3/4". The total must be less than 5", or it simply would not be focused on infinity.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Kellogg
Rick "a 90mm Super Angulon would add more" Denney
Larry, my 4X5 is a cheap kit camera sold by Calumet in the early 80's. It was called the Porta-vue and came as a bunch of wooden sticks in a box that had to be glued and screwed together. The tapered bellows that came in the kit is rather stiff and maximum extension is only about 8 inch's. I bought it a couple of years ago for $25 as a basket case and have rebuilt it as a rather simple fixed back camera, with limited movements on the front standard only. The front lens board is only 5X5 in. with a 3/8 in. shelf so it would be hard to build a recessed lens board and still reach the controls for the 90mm lens. Still, I can *just* get the 90mm Angulon close enough to reach infinity so I'll have a chance to evaluate coverage and performance before the TravleWide body arrives.
I think the TravelWide prototype in the video just appears larger. Ben is clearly able to reach infinity as several of the sample photographs show. He says the minimum lens mount surface to film distance is 89.5mm and the helical extends to 109mm. My Angulon mounts right at 90mm at infinity so I'm good by about .5 mm, plenty of room for lens focal length variations.