How about making the camera so that it can be somewhat modular. It could be
made more compact for transport, and more stable for taking pictures.
If you were to make the back so that it can be made light proof and removed
from the bellow and front it may be easier to manage, and to support
independently from the front.
Can the bellows be made of fabric? Perhaps supported by fiberglass tent poles
or something similar. I'm able to buy light proof fabric. Its commonly used
to back draperies to make light blocking draperies.
Have the front made so that it is supported independently of the bellow and
back. It could be made relatively small.
I imagine something where the camera back is put in place. The front put in
place - both set up so they don't move, and then the bellows attached to make
it light proof.
A four foot roll of paper sounds difficult to manage. Would it be easier to
work with a number of 4 by 8 foot film backs?
If the back of the camera was made so that it is very rigid, and the film
backs were attached or inserted into a rigid support structure, it wouldn't
be neccessary for the giant film backs to be very rigid or substantially. -
they would only have to be light tight and made with some sort of dark slide.
Perhaps the dark slide could be made of fabric or some other flexible light
proof material that could be moved - maybe something like a roll-top with
opaque fabric and narrow slats.
If the bellows had a light proof entry of some kind - it wouldn't be necessary
to have an elaborate dark slide or paper rolling system. You could set up
the camera - and then go inside - put the film/paper in place - maybe use a
little 600nm LED as a safelight exit the camera and take the picture.
When the exposure is complete - you would enter the camera and roll up the
paper into a smaller light proof container - and then take the camera apart.
Maybe you could even preview the picture "camera obscura like" with an entry
system.
Hmm - sounds like I'm suggesting making a large light proof tent, with very
rigid but adjustable front and back and a light proof entrance.
Using something like tubeclamps http://www.tubeclamps.co.uk/index.htm would
provide a very rigid frame - but that might be overkill. Maybe wood and
plastic pipe would work.
Hope these suggestions aren't too outrageous. :)
Gord
On Friday 02 May 2008 9:29:38 pm Guy Glorieux wrote:
> 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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-- Gordon J. Holtslander Dept. of Biology gordon.holtslander@usask.ca University of Saskatchewan Tel (306) 966-4433 112 Science Place FAX (306) 966-4461 Saskatoon, SK homepage.usask.ca/~gjh289 Canada, S7N 5E2 _______________________________________________ Post to the list as PLAIN TEXT only - no HTML pinhole-discussion mailing list pinhole-discussion@spitbite.org FAQ at http://spitbite.org/pinhole-discussion/list.htmlReceived on Mon May 5 11:17:45 2008
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