Yashica 44 - Project Beater

[RaglanSurf]

I'm thinking something like this;

View attachment 72700

That's a thing of beauty.

 

[medwaygreen]

^^^^^^^^

I agree with that.

 

[stevelmx5]

First draft for a 3D printed 6x7 pinhole using my 23 Graphic 120 rollfilm back. I use the same mount on my SnapShot body so can switch the rollfilm back between cameras throughout the roll.







With a 0.25mm pinhole and 38mm focal length I'll get around an 85 degree field of view, F150-ish and full coverage of the 6x7 image.

I was going to build in a shutter but with the body being so light, I think a shutter will risk movement. Instead, I'll just hold my hand in front of the pinhole then remove the darkslide and control the exposure manually.

 

[ChrisR]

I think with the sort of exposure times you'd be using with a pinhole, a bit of movement at the start and end of the exposure isn't a big deal?

I think some folk use a lens cap, the fancy wooden pinhole cameras seem to have a pivoted piece of wood!

 

[stevelmx5]

I was originally drawing up a magnetic shutter but thought I'm adding more complexity. Might take another look. I should probably also start a dedicated pinhole thread.

 

[stevelmx5]

I've just got the first results back from FilmDev (amazingly fast again considering I sent the film 2nd class on Friday!). They called me first to say they wouldn't charge me for the scan because they had a few problems identifying images due to overlaps. However, they did send over 9 scans they'd done to give me an idea and I realised that I'd already used the film first in my PenFT hence the double exposures! This is the best image they sent though. The light leaks were a result of me opening the back when I thought the film was fully rewound when it obviously wasn't!



I'm happy with the overall exposure and sharpness so at least I know the shutter works! They're sending me the roll back uncut so I can see the results myself. Hopefully I'll be able to get more shots off this roll too.

 

[stevelmx5]

And some of the less successful "hipster edition" results...

1) what happens when you combine a half frame PenFT shot with a sprocket covering Yashica 44-135!



2) Very cool white balance on this one;



3) This one was pretty much gold coloured hence the B&W conversion.

 

[stevelmx5]

Ok, Mark 2 is in progress! After having to change the batteries yesterday (really should remember to turn off the circuit when I'm not using it...) I've decided that having the batteries inside the wlf is a pain in the ar$e! I really wanted to keep everything self-contained but there just isn't enough room anywhere else. As a result, I'm going to use a small lipo cell with usb charge circuit and mount it onto the outside of the rear door. I'll then shape a new cover that blends in with the original door and cover that in the same VH leather so it hopefully doesn't look out of place.

 

[RaglanSurf]

Ok, Mark 2 is in progress! After having to change the batteries yesterday (really should remember to turn off the circuit when I'm not using it...) I've decided that having the batteries inside the wlf is a pain in the ar$e! I really wanted to keep everything self-contained but there just isn't enough room anywhere else. As a result, I'm going to use a small lipo cell with usb charge circuit and mount it onto the outside of the rear door. I'll then shape a new cover that blends in with the original door and cover that in the same VH leather so it hopefully doesn't look out of place.

Can't you put a small solar panel on the top of the WLF?

 

[stevelmx5]

Not sure if you're serious but I did actually look at panels last night ;0) The biggest issue with solar is that it's inefficient so 30% performance coupled with UK sunlight means no power.

 

[RaglanSurf]

Not sure if you're serious but I did actually look at panels last night ;0) The biggest issue with solar is that it's inefficient so 30% performance coupled with UK sunlight means no power.

It was said only partly in jest, the efficiency of solar panels had improved immeasurably over the last few years and I would have thought a 2" square solar panel should provide enough power to keep a battery topped up.

 

[stevelmx5]

It might have given enough trickle charge I guess but I'd still have to include a couple of 3v button lipos or a boost circuit somewhere but they're then lower mah so likely to go flat just when I want them.

I've got the completed new circuit/hardware in place and the wlf is now a much easier fit!





The battery has been kindly donated by an old Sony Ericsson mobile and at 950mah it's a much higher capacity than the previous button cells. The charge/boost circuit was taken from a small USB power bank which boosts the 3.7v lipo output to around 5v and includes a micro-USB charge circuit. I'd previously used the battery/circuit in my touch controlled slide viewer (another one on the list to finish off!)



Once the new rear door skin piece arrives from CameraLeather, I'll refit it along with another piece I've got here to cover the battery/charge circuit. It looks a bit Heath Robinson with the tape at the moment but that won't be staying. At least I've now got the first lipo-powered, USB charging TLR ;0)

 

[stevelmx5]

Apart from a bit of paint touch ups here and there and the internal trim piece, the lipo-powered, 35mm converted Yashica 44 Custom is finished and on charge :0)





I decided to fit the "Use 127 Film Only" plate onto the outside to give a nod to the original setup and also to cover the top of the skin pieces where I didn't like the folds :0)

I'm not 100% happy with the rear door skin because I used a card trim piece under to give a solid base but the skin is very thin so t shows every fold in the card. I'm not redoing it though, this is the 4th piece of trim I've used!

 

[steveo_mcg]

Apart from a bit of paint touch ups here and there and the internal trim piece, the lipo-powered, 35mm converted Yashica 44 Custom is finished and on charge :0)

View attachment 73678

View attachment 73679

I decided to fit the "Use 127 Film Only" plate onto the outside to give a nod to the original setup and also to cover the top of the skin pieces where I didn't like the folds :0)

I'm not 100% happy with the rear door skin because I used a card trim piece under to give a solid base but the skin is very thin so t shows every fold in the card. I'm not redoing it though, this is the 4th piece of trim I've used!

Very cool Steven, look forward to seeing it next week.

 

[stevelmx5]

Very cool Steven, look forward to seeing it next week.

Thanks mate. Hopefully it delivers some good results for me. I got the test roll back from FilmDev today and I can see why they struggled to scan the results! I found that the power LED on the Trinket wasn't covered properly and who knew that a bright red led would fog film eh!

The trinket is now covered properly and the rear door is fully light sealed so hopefully it's good to go!

 

[steveo_mcg]

Thanks mate. Hopefully it delivers some good results for me. I got the test roll back from FilmDev today and I can see why they struggled to scan the results! I found that the power LED on the Trinket wasn't covered properly and who knew that a bright red led would fog film eh!

The trinket is now covered properly and the rear door is fully light sealed so hopefully it's good to go!

Should have used ortho pan film and a blue LED you'd have been sorted.

 

[stevelmx5]

Sounds like slightly more promising results from this test roll through the 44. FilmDev have counted 16 frames (on a 24 shot roll) and said there's quite wide spacing between them. When I wound on the shot I was giving it an extra short wind after the two green LEDs illuminated just to make sure but I think I should just trust the circuit on the next rolls! Bar a couple of light leaks here and there I'm hoping these images will be much better than the last which were pretty much destroyed by the red LED on the Trinket board inside! (that's now fully covered..). Just got to wait for my download link now :0)

 

[stevelmx5]

I'm pretty happy with the results on this roll. There's a light leak on a few shots but the camera still has the original black string seals so I think it's due an upgrade :0)

And one with the light leak;

The colours a bit off but FilmDev have scanned the 35mm film in a 120 holder as they don't have any other way of scanning the sprocket holes as they warned me that the colours might not be 100% correct!

 

[Andysnap]

Well they have come out ok, very sharp.

 

[stevelmx5]

Thanks Andy. I think, like a lot of cameras, it's better stopped down a bit but I'm not unhappy with them.

 

[Nod]

And one with the light leak;

That'll be 2 with the light leak, oddly in different positions within the frame. TBH, the streaks of green look almost digital in origin rather than creeping past seals.

 

[stevelmx5]

Yeah, I've been thinking about them more and have a feeling it's the other led on the Trinket board which I thought was fully covered [emoji35]. I'll check it out later and apply some more technical prowess (or "electrical tape") to the problem.