The "Old Man's Camera"

[Bruce Barlow]

Just held the bed and rail system of Richard Ritter's 4x5/5x7/8x10 camera system. It weighs 8 ounces. Aircraft aluminum and carbon fiber. It will use a single front standard, with interchangeable backs+bellows (as with his ULF system) to go from 4x5 to 5x7 to 8x10, maybe bigger.

Hmm. Other backs+bellows in one cooler bag, an assortment of holders in a second cooler bag, and the whole 3-format kit less than, oh, fifteen pounds at the most? An 8x10 camera weighing, oh, four pounds? Richard extends the rail system and stands on it, so it's strong and stable (but he is skinny, I don't think I'll try it).

It's the camera for my advanced age. Richard says he should have a prototype by Thanksgiving, and hasn't figured out any pricing yet. He's waiting for bellows to arrive from England, and has a few more tweaks he wants to do. I suspect I'll have to fight John Bowen for serial number 1...

Hey Richard, did you want me to post this? I didn't ask.

Can mine use Sinar lensboards, please?

[Rob_5419]

8 ounces.... 8x 50g = 400grams.

Wow! That's incredible!

Or is that my ailing maths in my own senescence?

[Nick_3536]

Bad math. It's about 227 grams.

[Rob_5419]

Yes....I was wondering how many ounces in a gram or vice versa.

Age

227gram - even more incredible! That's the same weight as a few chocolate bars to hike on!

[Bruce Watson]

8 ounces.... 8x 50g = 400grams.

Wow! That's incredible!

Or is that my ailing maths in my own senescence?

I think you're a tad high. I make that 0.227 KG. But that's just the bed. It'll be interesting to see what goes with this system. I personally would love to see a 4x10 option (to use Canham film holders). And yes, I do need to be able to make vertical panos with it.

[George Hart]

Is this thread about wind?? If I remember correctly, acceleration = force ÷ mass, so the lighter your camera, the faster it falls to the ground…

[Rob_5419]

That's another interesting take George.

Being retired, I do pay attention to the weight of gear. My own hiking camera is a whole plate field camera and with bookform plate holders, I would describe it as being manageable for those of us who don't have ADHD and are over 55.

A novel lightweight solution is always a welcome alternative.

[Bruce Barlow]

Is this thread about wind?? If I remember correctly, acceleration = force ÷ mass, so the lighter your camera, the faster it falls to the ground…

See the opening of the DVD "Camera Repair in the Field with Richard Ritter."

Cameras fall more often when you set the mainsail with your darkcloth over the camera, although the sail might let you reach a lower terminal velocity.

By the way, Richard, I'm sure, would make a 4x10 back for this rail system if asked.

[Steve Goldstein]

How about a whole-plate back? I suppose it would be smarter to ask Richard directly rather resort to than idle speculation, but the latter is so much fun.

[davidb]

So when do we get to see this camera?