Chroma - Lasercut Acrylic 4x5 Field Camera

It might be time to start snapping up (sorry) all those interesting old LF lenses without shutters that pop up on the well known auction site.
 
For the DIY poor and needy is there anyway that you can use old projector lenses for LF....h'mm thinking projectors and lenses were usually for 35mm slides so might not work?????
 
excalibur2 said:
For the DIY poor and needy is there anyway that you can use old projector lenses for LF....h'mm thinking projectors and lenses were usually for 35mm slides so might not work?????
Click to expand...

Yes, certain projector lenses will cover 4x5. I know Simon Forster from the Large Format Photography Podcast uses quite a few of them.
 
Before I begin to make massive savings (on estate duty :D) by snapping up enough barrel lenses to keep Diogenes in a home for the rest of his life, may I ask what's the projected :))) cost of the shutter so I know how much to offset against the savings?
 
StephenM said:
Before I begin to make massive savings (on estate duty :D) by snapping up enough barrel lenses to keep Diogenes in a home for the rest of his life, may I ask what's the projected :))) cost of the shutter so I know how much to offset against the savings?
Click to expand...

I don’t know the exact retail price yet, as it will depend on the volume of orders/materials etc, but I’m hoping to keep it below £150.
 
Possibly a daft question, and one that I fully appreciate someone may have asked previously, but have you thought about incorporating a basic light meter into the design? I know this is scope_creep_101, but would be awesome :D
 
I’ve got a couple of Reveni lab meters here, and really like their very simple, quick, interface. I know there will be photographers who only want to use spot meters, but I think the simplicity definitely has something to offer.

I’ve spent a bit of time working with Matt (ReveniLabs) and going over the idea of a spot meter version that meters either directly off the ground glass, or in front of it. The main issue with metering off the glass is, even with a half dome around the sensor, the current sensor isn’t really strong enough to account for the light lift through the glass.

However, I did design a swing down spot meter ages ago, Pre-Kickstarter, which was built into the ground glass frame. Whilst my ground glass frame has changed quite a lot since then, it may still be an option that I’ll look into.
 
Honestly, given the shutter has a seperate box, I'd be inclined to put a small incident meter in the shutter frame and send the reading to the control box. Even if you're spot metering its sometimes handy to have a second opinion so you can see if you've programmed the wrong ISO into one meter or the battery is away.
 
Last edited:
steveo_mcg said:
Honestly, given the shutter has a seperate box, I'd be inclined to put a small incident meter in the shutter frame and send the reading to the control box. Even if you're spot metering its sometimes handy to have a second opinion so you can see if you've programmed the wrong ISO into one meter or the battery is away.
Click to expand...

Nothing like giving me more work eh....some people are never happy :D

I'll give Matt a shout and see how he fancies working together.
 
Personally I’d go without a built in meter and keep it simple but that’s coming from someone who wings his exposure times ;)
 
Like many LF togs i use a slotted holder ( cokin P) which attaches to the front of the lens and accepts 84mm square filters .
Being able to use these with the shutter in place is by far more important ( to me) than having an additional ( to a handheld) metering system.
 
Asha said:
Like many LF togs i use a slotted holder ( cokin P) which attaches to the front of the lens and accepts 84mm square filters .
Being able to use these with the shutter in place is by far more important ( to me) than having an additional ( to a handheld) metering system.
Click to expand...

That's good advice, thanks. I'm still finalising the shutter attachment fixings so will look into the possibility of integrating Cokin square filter slots.
 
Woodsy said:
Possibly a daft question, and one that I fully appreciate someone may have asked previously, but have you thought about incorporating a basic light meter into the design? I know this is scope_creep_101, but would be awesome :D
Click to expand...

steveo_mcg said:
Honestly, given the shutter has a seperate box, I'd be inclined to put a small incident meter in the shutter frame and send the reading to the control box. Even if you're spot metering its sometimes handy to have a second opinion so you can see if you've programmed the wrong ISO into one meter or the battery is away.
Click to expand...

Ok, I was chatting with Matt last night and he's going to send me the code from his meters so I can integrate it into my shutter controller code. The sensor itself is an off the shelf unit so I'll see about integrating one into the shutter housing, then connecting it to the remote unit.

I was thinking of having a few configuration options, which could be selected from the controller (after you specify the aperture/iso for the meter);

1) Manual shutter control, with a button to take a meter reading separately.

2) Fully automatic shutter speed selection from the meter reading.
 
Asha said:
Like many LF togs i use a slotted holder ( cokin P) which attaches to the front of the lens and accepts 84mm square filters .
Being able to use these with the shutter in place is by far more important ( to me) than having an additional ( to a handheld) metering system.
Click to expand...

This is actually a seriously good point. Perhaps instead of aiming for cokin specifically, might it be a good idea to instead just have a threaded part on the front of the shutter so that people can screw in their own filter system adapter ring? I appreciate Lee do an 85mm system, but every manufacturer has different product ranges with different size filters.
 
stevelmx5 said:
Ok, I was chatting with Matt last night and he's going to send me the code from his meters so I can integrate it into my shutter controller code. The sensor itself is an off the shelf unit so I'll see about integrating one into the shutter housing, then connecting it to the remote unit.

I was thinking of having a few configuration options, which could be selected from the controller (after you specify the aperture/iso for the meter);

1) Manual shutter control, with a button to take a meter reading separately.

2) Fully automatic shutter speed selection from the meter reading.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a winner :D
 
stevelmx5 said:
Ok, I was chatting with Matt last night and he's going to send me the code from his meters so I can integrate it into my shutter controller code. The sensor itself is an off the shelf unit so I'll see about integrating one into the shutter housing, then connecting it to the remote unit.

I was thinking of having a few configuration options, which could be selected from the controller (after you specify the aperture/iso for the meter);

1) Manual shutter control, with a button to take a meter reading separately.

2) Fully automatic shutter speed selection from the meter reading.
Click to expand...


Add in your digital waterhouse stops and you've got "A" mode for LF, folk will be lining up for this!
 
Touch screen to indicate which parts require to be sharp; removeable sensor to occupy position of film holder with software to register changes of contrast to enable autofocus; servo motors with appropriate attachments to loosen/tighten locking knobs for tilt and shift; arm to control tilt/swing; auto tripod head accessory, remote controlled from sensor to adjust camera angle. Job done. All very simple, really.
 
On a less serious note, I like the idea of a new shutter, given that makers of conventional ones are dropping out. A filter thread on the front to allow attachment of conventional or square filter adapters would be nice; and the mechanism sounds like it has potentially a variable ND filter built in.
 
stevelmx5 said:
I'll be burned at the stake by the more traditionalist photographers though :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...


To ensure that, shove a 5x4 digital sensor at the back end...

:coat:
 
TBH, the idea of a huge sensored digital camera rather appeals to me so the above post was only half in jest. I have a real problem with patience and have completely lost interest in a shot by the time it comes back from DP&S so being able to see the result instantly (or even within a few minutes) would let me into the world of LF.

Please note that this isn't a film v. digital post, I'd LOVE to have the patience back and shoot film again. I even have some small cards that only held 40 or so shots to keep me disciplined when shooting digital but they only fit my older compacts now (CF cards and most of my digitals now use SD.) I still have enough patience to set up a camera, just not to wait the length of time it would take a lab to get negs/slides/scans back to me.
 
Nod said:
To ensure that, shove a 5x4 digital sensor at the back end...

:coat:
Click to expand...
Well, given that "645" sensors are still much smaller than 60x45 mm and already cost a fortune, I suspect at 4x5 digital sensor would cost around the same as a small yacht! No, hang on, existing MF digital is already in that bracket, so perhaps a large yacht, though short of Ibramovitch scale... ;)
 
Nod said:
TBH, the idea of a huge sensored digital camera rather appeals to me so the above post was only half in jest. I have a real problem with patience and have completely lost interest in a shot by the time it comes back from DP&S so being able to see the result instantly (or even within a few minutes) would let me into the world of LF.

Please note that this isn't a film v. digital post, I'd LOVE to have the patience back and shoot film again. I even have some small cards that only held 40 or so shots to keep me disciplined when shooting digital but they only fit my older compacts now (CF cards and most of my digitals now use SD.) I still have enough patience to set up a camera, just not to wait the length of time it would take a lab to get negs/slides/scans back to me.
Click to expand...

I spoke with LargeSense a while back about testing one of their large format sensors on a Chroma. I haven’t gone back to them again since but maybe I should :0)


Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
instagram.com instagram.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top