Want to build a 11x14 camera for cheap ...

[SteveKarr]

Ok, before you click off this thread hear me out.

I've been shooting 810 paper negs & hand coated paper (along with Wet Plate) for years. I figured out my 480mm & 610mm APO Nikkor lenses cover more than 11x14, maybe 16x20 who knows.

So I would like to try some bigger portraits in 11x14 on X-Ray film.

So... to all the crafty types out there, how do I get / borrow / build a machine to shoot 11x14 paper / x ray film for cheap. Like Really Cheap ... ?

Thanks!
Steve

[Steve M Hostetter]

First of all you'd need to fork the $$$$ for a film holder

[EdWorkman]

Review 'show us your camera" and "..do.. homemade camera" threads. Jim Fitzgerald , for one, built his own 11x14. An old issue of Photo Techniques has an article about building a cardboard box camera- no filmholder needed IIRC, just tape to the back of the box, and use hyperfocal distance, or was it a ground wax paper for focussing?

[domaz]

You can make your own filmholder too. The book "Primitive Photography" illustrates this pretty well. It doesn't look particularly easy to do though.

[Nathan Smith]

Review 'show us your camera" and "..do.. homemade camera" threads. Jim Fitzgerald , for one, built his own 11x14. An old issue of Photo Techniques has an article about building a cardboard box camera- no filmholder needed IIRC, just tape to the back of the box, and use hyperfocal distance, or was it a ground wax paper for focussing?

Yep, I guess the cheapest thing you could make would be 11x14 pinhole camera using cardboard or, a little more upscale, foamcore. See one of the many books and online resources for pinhole camera making and just make it bigger! You can use paper instead of film - cheaper, and maybe a little easier to handle.

Sounds fun - be sure to post pics (both the photos and the camera) when you do it!

[Steve M Hostetter]

you forgot to mention some duct tape to attach his two lenses and tripod

[samuraiwarrior2]

Steve, I built a 4x5 camera earlier this summer for right around $100. Cheapest option is, of course, a box pinhole camera with the lens set at a certain distance for focusing. If you have some woodworking experience it isn't hard to make a camera. I would say to choose a simple design for a back and focusing system. Decide if you want movements and what movements you use in your work. I honestly don't imagine it would be much more expensive for me to have made a larger camera than my 4x5. Biggest cost was in the brass hardware.

http://tomasyoung.blogspot.com/2010_05_23_archive.html

[Steve M Hostetter]

Sam,,

Thats the tits,, where'd you get the hardware?

[samuraiwarrior2]

I made it all. I used brass sheet metal sold as push plates for doors. It wasn't hard, simply time consuming. All you really need is a drill, a jeweler's saw or hacksaw, and a file/sandpaper. The rack and pinion gear set was the most expensive, coming in at nearly $50.]

[Steve M Hostetter]

sweet,, your very resourceful and determind..