6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

[tdicorcia]

Thanks for bringing up WP. One poster in this thread mentioned the flurry of WP activity on this forum. Reading that thread, just last year, got me excited about the format. The thread got really interesting with all kinds of projects suggested, but then it kind of died out.

I'm recently into LF, and I don't have an enlarger, so I do contact prints. But 5x7 is a little small. I live in Japan and bought an unusual camera from a seller that didn't know anything about it. I thought it might be 5x7. It's Whole Plate. So, I've got the camera. Next up, film holders. I've learned to really appreciate industry standards. I now have four different sizes (outside dimensions) of WP holders, but none fit my WP back. Well, one is close enough to modify, I think. This will be a future project, as I need to finish putting together my Toyo-View 5x7 kit and start taking pictures.

By the way, WP in Japan is called yatsugiri (1/8 cut, deriving from an old Japanese paper size). There is a related format in Japan called "yatsugiri-wide," which is 6.5x10 inches. I just passed on a Tachihara back with two pristine holders in this format. The set sold for about $280. I was so tempted, but told myself to focus. Pictures of my WP camera, which appears to be home-made (machined components built into a small attache case) and the yatusgiri wide back and holders that recently sold on Yahoo Auction in Japan.

[Nodda Duma]

tdicorcia, what width WP holder does your camera back require? If you measure, I can check my collection which has a variety of different widths.

[Steve Goldstein]

That yatsugiri-wide format is pretty cool. The image-area dimensions would be very close to the golden ratio (if you're into that sort of thing). In that regard it's very close to 7x11 but the camera would be a bit smaller and lighter, especially with a fixed "landscape-mode" back.

[Tin Can]

Try 2X click on image

It works for me, but maybe not for others

The file is 7mb

All faces are soft or motion degraded

But most stationary bits are not

Let me know if double click works

[Oren Grad]

By the way, WP in Japan is called yatsugiri (1/8 cut, deriving from an old Japanese paper size). There is a related format in Japan called "yatsugiri-wide," which is 6.5x10 inches.

For a while I had a Rittreck View outfit with backs for four different formats: 4x5, 5x7, yatsugiri, and sort-of-6x10. (For completeness: there are also 8x10 as well as 6x9 cm adapter backs for the Rittreck, but I didn't have those.) What I'm calling "sort-of-6x10" is probably just the "yatsugiri-wide" that you refer to - the holders were made by Tachihara. The reason I call it "sort-of" is that an 8x10 sheet required two cuts to fit the holders, not one - the long dimension was just enough less than 10 inches that a single lengthwise cut from an 8x10 sheet wouldn't fit. Unfortunately, that made it operationally rather less cool than it would otherwise have been.

[tdicorcia]

For a while I had a Rittreck View outfit with backs for four different formats: 4x5, 5x7, yatsugiri, and sort-of-6x10. (For completeness: there are also 8x10 as well as 6x9 cm adapter backs for the Rittreck, but I didn't have those.) What I'm calling "sort-of-6x10" is probably just the "yatsugiri-wide" that you refer to - the holders were made by Tachihara. The reason I call it "sort-of" is that an 8x10 sheet required two cuts to fit the holders, not one - the long dimension was just enough less than 10 inches that a single lengthwise cut from an 8x10 sheet wouldn't fit. Unfortunately, that made it operationally rather less cool than it would otherwise have been.

Oren,
I didn't expect that about the wide film holders, though not too surprised. That's too bad, as you say.

Not really relevant, but here is a picture of a box of (old) Japanese WP film. 163mm x 213mm. Nominally 6.5x8.5 inches, but 6.417x8.386 inches (by conversion). 163 x 213 is within the range that Sal Santamaura quoted in his post to this forum 1-Aug-2007. Ilford was cutting whole plate film to (162.7 to 164.3) x (213.0 to 214.6). Kodak TMY was said to be (163.1 to 164.1) x (212.9 to 214.9).

"JS" must be for "Japan Standard?
"I wonder if I could find Japan Standards for these formats?
Tom

[tdicorcia]

Thank you. Let me check and post this weekend. I had started to fill in a table of the holders and backs I have. I actually have one more WP back.
Tom

[Oren Grad]

Not really relevant, but here is a picture of a box of (old) Japanese WP film. 163mm x 213mm. Nominally 6.5x8.5 inches, but 6.417x8.386 inches (by conversion). 163 x 213 is within the range that Sal Santamaura quoted in his post to this forum 1-Aug-2007. Ilford was cutting whole plate film to (162.7 to 164.3) x (213.0 to 214.6). Kodak TMY was said to be (163.1 to 164.1) x (212.9 to 214.9).

Compatibility between the Ilford-cut WP film and Japanese yatsugiri holders can't be assumed. As I recall, the fit with the Tachihara-made yatsugiri holders I had for the Rittreck was OK, but I have some Fidelity 8x10-to-WP reducing holders from Japan in which dimensions of the inset flanges for the WP sheet are just a bit too tight. Antique, brand-proprietary book-form holders adapted with film sheaths need to be measured/tested to be sure.

"JS" must be for "Japan Standard?
"I wonder if I could find Japan Standards for these formats?
Tom

You might try inquiring at JCII - perhaps they have something in their library or could advise about where to look.

[tdicorcia]

tdicorcia, what width WP holder does your camera back require? If you measure, I can check my collection which has a variety of different widths.

Jason,
Thanks for the offer of information. The whole plate camera I bought has a back that is 192.5 mm wide. Meaning a film holder would have to be narrower than this. The distance from the "backstop" (the end of the 3-sided area that accepts the film holder) to the far side of the rib channel is 236.8 mm. In other words, the film holder should be <= 236.8 mm from the taped end to the top on the rib.
I am posting a picture of the the four WP film holders I have. The Toyo Cut holder is the only one that has a short enough rib distance to fit. Unfortunately, the Toyo Cut holder is about 3mm too wide.
Since I have several Toyo Cut film holders in OK condition, I think I'm going to increase the width on my camera back to accept the Toyo holders. These are the lightest holders of the bunch. Also, I have a Sakai half-plate, metal field camera. If I ever buy the whole plate expansion back for this camera, it should (I would hope)
accept the Toyo WP holders.

[Tin Can]

All this WP chatter got me

Waiting on a kit, which looked good on eNay

2 more weeks or more International