Making a portable 4x8 feet pinhole camera

Hi friends,

I am working on designing and building a 4 x 8 feet pinhole camera
which I will be using in about a month time for a project here in Montreal.
I'd be happy to hear if anybody has experience in this area.

The camera needs to be easy to move around
and its focal length should be adjustable with a bellows system.
It would be nice if it could have uptake and downtake spools
so as to accommodate a 100-feet roll of photographic paper
thereby allowing me to make something like 12 exposures
without having to go back to a base darkroom after each exposure.

As I see it, the design would work something like an old 120 Kodak Bantam or
Kodak Vest Pocket camera.
The basic camera will have 3 main parts: front panel, bellows, back panel.

The front panel would be 4 x 8 feet 1/4inch plywood.
It would have a large opening for a removable pinhole plate to accommodate
different pinhole diameters and off-center positioning.
The pinhole plate would allow for the placement of a 2-stop density
center-fillter (to reduce vignetting) and/or a yellow filter.

The front panel and bellows would be mounted together.
The bellows would be made of two layers of black fabric
with a maximum extension of 48in. since I want the camera to cover a wide
angle-of-view.

The back panel would be similar to the front, made of 4x8 feet 1/4 in
plywood.
It would initially be built for the placement of just a single sheet of
photographic paper (44x92in.)
I still need to design a contraption to accommodate a roll of photographic
paper.

The photographic paper will be loaded under safelight conditions
and the back panel fitted to the rear end of the bellows with a light-tight
fitting.
The camera would then be ready to be moved to location in broad daylight.

On location, the camera bellows would be extended to the appropriate focal
length
The back and front panels will be held together into a box with a series of
rods,
these rods acting also as a support to prevent bellows sagging.

The extended camera will be moved around to its exact final position with a
dolly
and will be held firmly into position on the ground with appropriate
fastening devices.

These are the rough specifications and the individual details need to be
worked out.
I expect to encounter the usual set of problems with the building of the
camera
and any suggestions, advice will be most welcome.
In particular, I would be happy to hear suggestions on the best materials to
use.

Also, I will need to get a bag for storage/transport of the camera.
Suggestions here are welcome.

Regards to all
and congratulations for WPPD 2008 to the organizers and the participants.
A fantastic success,

Guy Glorieux

--
Que la douceur de l'amitié soit faite de rires et de plaisirs partagés.
Khalil Gibran
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