Show off your ULF camera

[Duolab123]

1917 Folmer and Schwing 11x14.

[VariousLF]

Great camera but heavy and is not terribly convenient to put in the backpack. I don't have a date on mine, but is the later version.

[rrunnertexas]

DSCF7853 Small by rrunnertexas, on Flickr

A new journey - Rochester Carlton 11x14

[AgNO3]

Good day.

Needed to put two WW2 aerial lenses into use. Dallmeyer design, made by Wray in 36"f6.3 & 20"f6.3





30x40cm ambrotype


Since the 1969 4x4 camera is lacking power steering, composition is quite a work out, so the beams of the 4x4´s rear standard can be converted into a portable mono-rail now, too:


Cheers

[OKAROB]

Purchased an 11x14 parts camera from an online auction site. It was missing back, front rail and the back frame was screwed on to the tripod plate. (before)

Also found a used back online and modified the 11x14 back to accommodate newer film holders. Made ground glass from w-mart $3.69 picture frame. Used 600 grit silicone carbide from rock polisher.
Built a new front rail for camers using oak balusters from HD and Chinese metric rack and pinion gear from E-B and same for green bellows. (After)

[Dan Fromm]

What is the behind-the-lens shutter on the tripod mount version? I don't see anything like a shutter on the Landy version. How do you time exposures? And what formats are your film, sorry, paper, holders? I thought those lenses were made to cover 9"x9".

[AgNO3]

What is the behind-the-lens shutter on the tripod mount version? I don't see anything like a shutter on the Landy version. How do you time exposures? And what formats are your film, sorry, paper, holders? I thought those lenses were made to cover 9"x9".

The shutter I´m using on both versions is a Packard-Ideal shutter, slightly smaller in diameter, than the rear ends of the two aerial lenses, which are ca 120mm at the back. The older version with the mark I flash synchro port. It is clamped to the wooden board at the back of that lens.

I only use this for wet plate, so even a lens cap would do, but I liked the idea of a shutter. Even with that reduction of the exit diameter, the image circle is far big enough for movements with a 11"x14" / 30x40cm plate inside the car. I could double that size w/out vignetting, but couldn´t handle such sizes inside the car.

According to my sources these lenses were used in 9x9 & 9x18 Fairchild cameras, such like the K-18 & K-38, but these formats only use the very sweet spot in the center of the far bigger image circle, due to mapping and reconaissance requirements




In the car, the plates are held by magnets to the wooden rear standard (that thing behind the dog), which allows all sorts of movements like swing, tilt, shift, raise etc, all placed on linear guides of a huge lathe for creamy focussing.


1st prototype with a left over Land Rover military grade 24V alternator mount as 2-axis-anchor point, here still lacking the fully adjustable wooden board now used as plate holder. At first I was experimenting with rubber straps, to fit uneven shaped glass sheets with a car manufacturer´s part number. Whole thing assembles with a few screws and just slides in the mounts for my camping bed set up between the wheel arches.


For the DIY monorail version, I´ve butchered a front loading cassette/plate holder for 11"x14"/30x40cm, which is mostly reduced to 8"x10"/18x24cm or 5"x7"/13x18cm these days, as I´ve lost 2l of silver bath when the beaker broke during AgNO3 maintanance... Remains only allow to dip 8x10s...
... now all black coated and with black acrylic reductions...


Initially, I´ve thought to save up bellows by using a front cone up until infinity of the lenses (the 36"f6.3 is a telephoto, so both 20" & 36" nearly share the same ground glass position when focussed to inifinty), but found out the bellows isnt sacking over the full 900mm length of that monorail and the camera now fits better into the car. Still thinking about how to use it with normal lenses (there is a soviet 750/f9 waiting) by making the lensboard more comaptible.
Since resetting the Packard shutter doesn´t work 100% reliable, I needed to place it in reverse and outside the camera to allow manually pushing the piston back into it´s ready-position.

I´m exclusively using these toys for wet plates only. Never did anything else analog before I ran into a russian FKD 13x18cm camera during Covid-boredom. That wobbly lump luckily got stolen and I was forced to put these aerials into use in a portable camera, too.

During my lens buying disorder, these aerial lenses offered the cheapest mm of focal length & image circle per € at a decent speed (f6.3, where reproduction lenses for these formats barely are faster than f9), but they are huge and heavy, including mounts the 36"f6.3 is +10kg alone. Around 150€ for the 20" and 36" each. The bellows was found used on ebay for 50€ after I struggled on a DIY with 30€ worth of garden pond foil while the plywood and such already lay around the shed or were part of the Landy cam. I´d say I managed to stay close to the initial camera budget of 500€ and got two now:-)


Cheers

[newtorf]

Canham 12x20 Camera, shot by Chamonix 4x5N2 camera and Arista Pro 400 (Ilford HP5 Plus) 4x5 film expired in 2009, Adox Rodinal.

Canham 12x20 Camera by Jingmin Zhou, on Flickr

[John Layton]

Nice camera Jingmin! If I ever go larger than 11x14...I'd seriously consider 12x20.

[Tin Can]

Winner!

Thanks for posting!

Good day.

Needed to put two WW2 aerial lenses into use. Dallmeyer design, made by Wray in 36"f6.3 & 20"f6.3





30x40cm ambrotype


Since the 1969 4x4 camera is lacking power steering, composition is quite a work out, so the beams of the 4x4´s rear standard can be converted into a portable mono-rail now, too:


Cheers