ULF Camera Advice

[argos33]

I've got the LF bug and am thinking about building a ULF camera this summer, probably 16x20. The main two things I am concerned about are the cost and construction of the bellows and either buying or making a film holder. Does anyone have some good resources /recommendations for bellows material and/or construction? Also, do those of you making such cameras usually buy the film holder(s) and design the camera around them or make your own?

If any of you ULF users out there have advice for me I would be most obliged.

Evan

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

You should buy the holder (or make it first) and build the camera around it. There is really no standard for ULF sizes and they all make them a little bit different. I have used Sandy King's holders, Wisner holders and an antique holder that came with my Korona 12x20. I bought Sandy's holders and they were a bit wider and thicker than the Wisner holder, so I had to modify the Wisner to take them. Having said that his holders are good and reasonably pirced against someone like AWB who charges an arm and a leg.

I don't know about the Chamonix holders, you might want to contact Hugo and ask him how much they are.

Bottom line, get the holders and build the camera around it.

[robert fallis]

Enjoy makig your camera. here is a link to a bellows making page by Edward Hoover, which I use
http://home.earthlink.net/~eahoo/page2/page2.html

also have a look at Jon Grepsteds site http://home.online.no/~gjon/index.htm
trust these help

bob

[GPS]

You can happily use whatever film holder you have or want if you make the gg position adjustable...

[steve simmons]

Before doing this you shuld read the article on ULF film holders that was in View Camera in the January 08 issue. There were/are no standards for film holders larger than 11x14. If you get older holders made by different people/mfg's they may not be the same and will not fit the same in the back of the camera. Simply trying to adjust the position of the gg won't help..

steve simmons

[GPS]

Before doing this you shuld read the article on ULF film holders that was in View Camera in the January 08 issue. There were/are no standards for film holders larger than 11x14. If you get older holders made by different people/mfg's they may not be the same and will not fit the same in the back of the camera. Simply trying to adjust the position of the gg won't help..

steve simmons

Well, I didn't think somebody would like to build a camera for different film holder used at the same, sure. While it would be perhaps technically possible too (spacer frames), once he's got a film holder of some kind he can build the camera around it and adjust the gg distance (not necessarily the dimension, of course!) accordingly. That's what I meant but it was probably open to misunderstanding. A universal back camera? Possible, but a technical wierdo...

[steve simmons]

The problem is not the gg placement. The dimensions of the holders vary, the position of the locking ridge varies, etc. Again, I suggest reading the View Camera article to understand the problems involved. They are certainly not insurmountable but one does need to be aware.

steve simmons

[Colin Graham]

Holders aren't too difficult to make. Having the right tools certainly helps- especially a thickness planer for milling the parts to uniform widths and a mill for cutting the 1/32 darkslide slots. Some use 1/16 garolite to get around this problem- easier to find router bits and saw blades in this thickness, but it seems like the weight of the holders would get out of hand. If you do make them, make many...tooling setup is by far the most tedious aspect of construction. I posted a little of my experience over on APUG, not very concise or thorough, but maybe it'll be of some help.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

I forgot about the bellows. Aside from making your own, you can always wait around and see what is being offered on E bay. Many times there are bellows which came from process cameras that you can cut and glue to boards fitting the camera you plan to make.

You might also want to contatct Jim Fitzgerald in this forum, or look at his thread about the Mahogany camera he made, he should be a good source of information and ideas.

[sanking]

I've got the LF bug and am thinking about building a ULF camera this summer, probably 16x20. The main two things I am concerned about are the cost and construction of the bellows and either buying or making a film holder. Does anyone have some good resources /recommendations for bellows material and/or construction? Also, do those of you making such cameras usually buy the film holder(s) and design the camera around them or make your own?

If any of you ULF users out there have advice for me I would be most obliged.

Evan

Evan,

I will be happy to give you the dimensions of 16X20 S&S holders if you want to try to make your own.

We also have this size in stock if you are interested in acquiring one.

Just send me a pm and I will send you either dimensions or pricing information.

Sandy