4x5 Film View Camera

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The document describes the process of building a large format 4x5 sheet film view camera as a gift for a photographer friend. It details the various parts, tools, and steps required to complete the project.

The document lists numerous materials used including various metals, woods, hardware, and film camera parts. It also provides a detailed list of tools utilized for the various machining, woodworking, and assembly tasks.

The camera was constructed through a process of machining metal and wood parts, laser cutting frames, and meticulous assembly of all the components. However, the document does not go into specifics about how each individual part was made.

instructables

4x5 Film View Camera

by Honus

A lot of people would claim that lm is dead but that would be news to my photographer friendFrank Jackson.
Frank and I have been good friends for over 30 years and long ago we talked about making a large format 4x5 sheet lm
view camera. Frank is an exceptionally talented photographer and I wanted this to not only meet his desires for a hand
made 4x5 view camera but also be a view camera that was built to last (and pretty to look at)- sort of an heirloom
product.
A camera like this is a lot of work to make but I love making tools for other people to use- especially when it's for a really
good friend. I was incredibly excited to see the rst images taken with it. The oating egg photo is a recreation of the rst
photo of Frank's that I saw when we rst met. It's just wonderful.
The photo of the co ee cups is in relation to a series Frank has been doing for a very long time- he's been taking amazing
photos of co ee cups in their natural environment all over the world. You can read a couple of interviews with him here
and here.
Supplies:

This is a big project and I used a lot of tools and materials to make it. It involves machining, laser cutting, 3D printing, and
woodworking. The aluminum and titanium parts for the frames and uprights were laser cut by SendCutSend. They are a
fantastic company and I seriously could not have made this without them.
Tools used-
Lathe
Homebuilt milling machine
Bandsaw
Belt sander
Cordless circular saw
Drill press
3D printer
Spring clamps
10-32 threading die
6mm threading die (yes I'm mixing SAE and metric!)
1/4-20 threading tap
10-32 threading tap
6-32 threading tap
4-40 threading tap

4x5 Film View Camera: Page 1


Center punch
Drill bits- Use 135 degree split point Cobalt drills (with lots of cutting uid) when drilling Titanium.
Red Loctite
Blue Loctite
Materials-
80/20 aluminum extrusion- I used 1030 series 1" x 3" for the camera base.
1/4" thick aluminum plate- I purchase most of my metals from a local metal recycler as it's far less expensive.
3/8" thick aluminum plate
Round brass rod- 1/2" and 1/4" diameter
1/4" square brass rod
1/4" round stainless steel rod
Cherry wood- I used 1/4" thickness and 3/32" thickness material I found at my local hardware store (I believe it is made by
Midwest Products.) Another good hardwood to use would be walnut.
Gorilla Glue polyurethane glue
Wood glue
1/4-20 knurled brass knobs- 11 each
10-32 knurled brass knobs- 9 each
6/32 knurled brass knobs- 6 each
1/4-20 hex head bolts- 11 each
10-32 socket head cap screws- 4 each
6-32 socket head cap screws- 26 each
6-32 at head socket screws- 5 each
4-40 socket head cap screws- 8 each
6-32 threaded rod
6mm socket head cap screws- 6 each
1/4" ACME steel threaded rod
1/4" ACME steel nut
1/4" ID x 3/8" OD bearings- 2 each
Camera parts used-
Wista 4x5 lens board- This is a very common size lens board for lenses suitable for 4x5 view cameras.
4x5 Gra ok back- Gra ok backs allow for an enormous variety of lm holders and also hold the ground glass. They are
relatively easy to nd used- just search online for "Gra ex 4x5 Inch Camera Film Backs and Holders". This particular one
came from an old Toyo view camera. A Gra ok back even allows you to use instant lm- there is a LomoGra ok 4x5
instant lm back that uses Fuji lm Instax Wide lm. There is a nice writeup on using the LomoGra ok on PetaPixel.
Bellows- This supplier will custom make a bellows for you, just provide them the dimensions for the openings/ ange size
and the total extension you want.
Now let's make a camera!
Also there are notes on the photos so be sure to click on them.

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Step 1: Design

View cameras can be as simple or complex as you can imagine.


The design criteria for this camera was to make it as modular and rigid as possible while still keeping a full range of
movements- there is a full explanation here of view camera movements (and why you would want them.) We also
wanted to have it so the camera could easily be fully disassembled. The design of this camera is sort of a hybrid between
a monorail design and a eld camera. It's heavy and solid like a monorail with a huge range of movement but it has more
of the appearance of a eld camera.
Both front and rear frames have tilt, shift, swing, and rise/fall. The rear frame has less movement than the front in both
shift and swing. Also, the rear frame is correctly positioned at its lowest point when the front frame is centered for
rise/fall- so in order to get an e ective rear fall you have to raise the front frame further up. The standards pivot near the
base and have four knobs to set the rise/fall. It was done this way purely for rigidity and the ability to set rise/fall
independent of tilt. You could easily make it so the frames are attached to the upright with a single bolt that adjusts both
rise/fall and tilt and the tilt at the base is eliminated.
The base of the camera is designed around a 80/20 1030 series 1" x 3" aluminum extrusion. This provides a really
solid/rigid base upon which the camera standards can be attached (a standard is the name given to the frame/upright
assembly- so you have a front standard that holds the lens and a rear standard that holds the lm holder.)
The base is split into two parts- the forward and rear sections. The rear section is xed while the forward section
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slides forward and back when turning the lead screw- this allows for ne focusing. The cherry wood rails on the sides
keep the front and rear base sections aligned while focusing. The forward aluminum extrusion is made so it can be
swapped out for either a short or long version. The short version is used for wide angle lenses where you want the
standards very close together and the long version is for longer lenses when you want the standards far apart. By making
it this way and having them easy to swap out makes the base really rigid compared to a very long overlapping sliding
base. With this type of base you set the position of the front standard according to the lens you are using, then loosen the
front knobs on the side of the base in order to adjust your ne focus with the lead screw.
The forward upright pivot is also reversible so you can have the pivot behind the tightening knob in order to get the
standards really close together or ip it around to push the standards as far apart as possible when using the shorter
front extrusion. With the forward front pivot tightened down you are still free to shift and swing the front standard by
loosening the knobs located on either side of the center knob. The rear standard is free to shift and swing by loosening
the two knobs at its base- you can also move it slightly forward and back.
The standard frames are laser cut 3/8" thick 5052 aluminum with cherry wood bonded to it.The aluminum makes
the frame exceptionally rigid while the wood border provides a recessed fame material that holds the bellows ends,
camera back, and lens board. By bonding the two materials together you avoid having to machine a recessed lip in the
frames (I don't have a milling machine big enough to do that.) Plus the wood makes it pretty!
The upright frames/bases are laser cut 1/8" thick Grade 5 titanium. Totally overkill but they are very rigid/strong and they
will never corrode. Making them from 1/8" thick 6061-T6 aluminum would work just ne.
I didn't want to have huge knobs on the sides of the camera so in order to be able to really tighten down the knobs that
secure the pivoting uprights and the base plates I made a little key/rod that hides away in the front of the base plate. It
can be di cult to reach your ngers in underneath the frames to tighten down the base plate knobs and having the the
key to provide additional leverage makes it much easier.
Files are provided for laser cutting the frames, uprights, and upright base plates.
The frames were drawn in Inkscape and the upright parts were done in Fusion360. SendCutSend will accept both
Inkscape .eps les and Fusion360 .dxf les for laser cutting. Have a look at their guidelines for cutting parts. They also do
CNC routing as well as bending/forming if you want to make changes to the design or use di erent materials.
The leadscrew endplates for the base, as well as the side rails and center pivot, were designed in Fusion360 for 3D
printing and .stl les are provided. I ended up making the side rails from cherry wood and the center pivot for the front
standard from aluminum with a stainless steel pivot pin. I have also included .pdf les for the frames should you decide
you want to use them as templates to make the frames from wood. I would have liked to CNC machine the leadscrew
endplates but printing them was the only practical solution at the time. PCBWay does o er a service to CNC mill parts for
those interested. You could probably even 3D print the entire thing, with a few modi cations.
Note that almost none of the dimensions on any of the parts are critical. The pivots on the uprights and the lead
screw bearing t is probably the only part that really matters. The advantage of a design like this is that you can build it
without a high level of precision and it'll still work just ne! Having said that it's still challenging to build a camera like this
due to all the machining/thread tapping involved and guring out how to get everything to work just right due to all the
moving parts. Also depending on what camera back and lens board you use you may need to modify the les for the
laser cut parts, which will change the height/width of the camera and subsequently the fasteners/hardware used. In that
aspect, think of this a build guide/starting point for a design that you can modify as you see t.

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Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FD8/FY11/KXX9M7IZ/FD8FY11KXX9M7IZ.dxf

Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F7D/S3R9/KXX9M7J0/F7DS3R9KXX9M7J0.dxf

Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FVF/NQZM/KXX9M7J1/FVFNQZMKXX9M7J1.dxf

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FHA/OGLH/KXX9M7J2/FHAOGLHKXX9M7J2.step

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F1W/IX6Y/KXX9M7J3/F1WIX6YKXX9M7J3.step

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F73/C4AC/KXX9M7J4/F73C4ACKXX9M7J4.step

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FT6/GKT9/KXX9M9YM/FT6GKT9KXX9M9YM.step

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FAB/T9BH/KXX9M9YN/FABT9BHKXX9M9YN.step

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Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FFM/6FTU/KY04K5RJ/FFM6FTUKY04K5RJ.eps

Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F3P/MO1P/KY04K5RK/F3PMO1PKY04K5RK.pdf

Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F40/APX6/KY04K5RL/F40APX6KY04K5RL.eps

Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F8H/Y6LS/KY04K5RM/F8HY6LSKY04K5RM.pdf

Step 2: Building the Base

The base for this view camera is really solid and versatile
The camera base is what the lens upright and lm holder upright are attached to- it should be very rigid and have a
smooth focusing mechanism while allowing for a decent range of adjustment when using di erent lenses.
Since the base side rails are made from wood the rst thing I did was make a little mount for my mini cordless circular saw
so I could cut thin strips of cherry wood. I just cut a slot in a piece of scrap plywood and bolted the saw in place- instant
mini table saw! I glued together a square from scrap wood so I could cut the wood straight. I could have cut all the wood
by hand but this was a real time saver and gave me very accurate cuts.
The dimensions for the base are absolutely non critical- you can make it as short or as long as you want! I designed
this so the total side rail length is 6" -that is enough length to have a 1.5" long rear extrusion to hold the rear standard
and still have a good extension for the forward aluminum extrusion.
To make the side rails I cut two lengths of 1" x 6" x 1/4" thick cherry wood and then glued a 1/4" square strip down the
center of each piece. The 1/4" square center strip is what slides in the aluminum extrusion. The t should be snug while
allowing the extrusion to slide freely. Two 1/4" holes were drilled in each rail and a notch was cut out for bolt clearance.
The notch is necessary only if you are using 1/4" carriage style bolts that have a square section under the head- if you use
a regular hex head bolt this is not necessary. When tting 1/4" bolts to slide in the extrusion tracks it is necessary to grind
a small bevel on two sides of the bolt head in order to get it to slide in the extrusion like a T-nut and not turn when the
brass knob is tightened down.
The extrusion ends are tapped with a 6mm tap. I found this is the best size bolt to thread into the existing holes in the
1030 series 80/20 aluminum extrusion. The rear section is assembled by pressing the 1/4" ID bearings into the printed
plastic end caps and bolting the end caps onto the extrusion. The 1/4" lead screw is slid through and set screw collars are
t to both ends to keep the lead screw in place. The back end of the lead screw is turned down and threaded with a 10-32
thread so a brass knob could be tted.
The forward extrusion has bolted to it a 3D printed plate with the lead screw hex nut t into a recess on the back side-
the lead screw nut is sandwiched between the printed plate and the aluminum extrusion. This way, when the two
forward large brass knobs on the wooden sides of the base plate are loosened the forward aluminum extrusion will move
forward and back when you turn the lead screw knob at the back of the camera. The lead screw only needs to be long
enough to allow the forward extrusion to fully extend. It's incredibly simple and works very well.
Two 6mm threaded brass inserts were made for the front facing end of the forward extrusion. These inserts have a 6-32
internal thread so two at head screws could hold on a nice looking 1/4" thick plate on the front of the forward extrusion.
I did this so I could engrave our names on the top edge of the aluminum plate- plus I thought it looked nice!
By making two complete forward extrusion sections (one long and one short) they can be easily swapped in minutes for
di erent lenses.

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Step 3: Building the Frames

The frames are sort of a composite construction.


I liked the look of of wood cameras but I wanted the solidness of a metal camera- and the design I had in mind required
threaded fasteners be placed on the sides of the frames. So I had a crazy idea- why not combine the two? After several
tests I discovered that Gorilla Glue polyurethane glue bonds wood to aluminum extremely well!
Problem solved- The wood gave me the appearance I wanted and would also provide a frame to go around the Gra ok
back, lens board, and bellows anges. I began with the camera back by placing it on the aluminum frame and scribing a
line around it- this would tell me where to locate the wood strips. Then I cut strips of 1/4" thick cherry wood and glued it
to the aluminum using spring clamps to hold everything in place, forming a sort of picture frame. I cut the wood strips
slightly wider than necessary so I could later sand it ush to the edge of the aluminum using a belt sander.
Once I got the Gra ok back gured out, I repeated the process with the bellows anges and lens board. Super happy
with how this process turned out!
Holes were drilled and tapped in the corners where the bellows t for 6-32 socket head cap screws. A small notch was
led in each corner of the bellows ange to allow clearance for the screws. This way the bellows could be easily removed
if it ever needed to be repaired or replaced if it was ever damaged vs having it glued in place.

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Step 4: Making the Uprights

The uprights are made from laser cut titanium.


I wanted something that I knew would be very di cult to bend or damage and titanium totally t the bill. Since the
uprights pivot at the base I needed to make small plates in which a pivot screw and a tightening screw could be located.
These were cut from 1/4" thick aluminum plate using a bandsaw. Two holes were drilled and threaded with a 6-32 tap in
the bottom of each plate and a 6-32 threaded hole was made for the pivot while a 10-32 threaded hole was made for the
adjustment tightening screw. The aluminum pivot plates were then attached to the base plates after drilling two holes
for 6-32 socket head cap screws in each end of the base plates.

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I drilled the holes in the ends of the titanium base plates using a 135 degree split point cobalt drill. With a bit of cutting
uid these holes were no problem to drill. With titanium the choice of drill bit is super important and you can really only
drill it once. If you try to drill a small hole and then drill it again with a larger size drill it becomes extremely di cult and
has a tendency to destroy drill bits and not leave a nice clean hole.
Brass pivot bushings were made in order to allow the uprights to easily tilt forward and back when the adjuster screw is
loosened. These bushings need to be a close t with the pivot hole in the upright and should extend just beyond the
inside surface of the upright to keep it from binding when the pivot screw is tightened down.
Tilt adjusters were made by attaching short lengths of 1/4" square brass rod to each upright and adding a 6-32 threaded
hole at the bottom of the square rod. A short length of 6-32 threaded rod had a small brass knob secured to the end
using red Loctite. This threaded rod adjuster was then t to the square brass rod. The adjuster length was trimmed so that
when the adjuster is screwed in all the way the upright will be at a 90 degree angle to the camera base.

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Step 5: Making Hardware and Fasteners

Time to make a lot of hardware!


This is the part of this build that probably took the most amount of time. Brass retaining washers were made to secure
both the lens board and the Gra ok back in place using 6-32 socket head cap screws screwed into threaded holes in the
frames. They are all the same with the exception of the washer located at the top of the lens board. This washer has a at
led on it so the lens board can easily be removed when the washer is rotated. A modi ed 6-32 brass knob holds the
upper lens board washer in place- a small lip was turned on the back side of the knob so it would sit inside the edge of
the washer. A short length of 6-32 threaded rod is threaded into a hole at the top of the lens board and secured with blue
Loctite. To remove the lens board just loosen the small knob, rotate the washer and lift the board out. There's no need to
loosen the washers at the bottom of the lens board.
The sides of the front and rear frames had holes drilled and tapped with 10-32 threads to accept mounting studs. 10-32
threaded studs were then made to attach the frames to the uprights- these have thick brass spacers on them with a lip
that rides in the slot on the upright. The studs were turned on the lathe from 1/4" diameter stainless steel rod and the
spacers were made from 1/2" diameter brass rod. This part was not fun. I did this because I didn't like the look of larger
brass knobs on the sides of the uprights (and threading 1/4" studs into the 3/8" thick aluminum frames would have been
sketchy at best) and I wanted a smooth non threaded surface on the stud to slide in the titanium upright slot.
There is a way around making all this hardware- make the slots in the uprights narrow enough when laser cutting
them to have just enough clearance for a 10-32 fully threaded stud. Then just make plain brass spacers. They will wear
out faster due to the threads sliding against the slot in the upright but they will be way less time consuming to make-
and they will look the same. Instead of the fancy retaining washers holding the lens board and camera back just use plain
at brass washers held in place by a socket head cap screw (but they won't look as pretty.)
I could have stuck with the same style brass knobs for tightening the tilt adjustment on the base but I wanted something
a bit cleaner with a bit more clamping force. To replace the knob I took a short length of 1/2" brass rod, drilled a hole
through it and tapped one end for 10-32 threads. Then I cross drilled a small hole through it.
To make a tightening key for the tilt adjustment knob I took a length of 1/4" diameter stainless steel rod and machined a
step on one end so both 10-32 and 6-32 threads could be cut. A small step was machined in the opposite end. A 6-32
brass knob was then secured on the threaded end using red Loctite. Now I made a 10-32 threaded hole in the front
aluminum base face plate so the key could be stored by threading it into the camera base.
Drilling six equally spaced holes in the upright base plate knobs that match the end of the key allow for the key to be
used to tighten the base plate knobs. The easiest way to do this was to tighten two of the brass knobs onto a hex head
bolt and secure them with a nut on the opposite end. The bolt head then served as a marker for locating the holes and
held them securely in place while drilling the holes.

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Step 6: Assembling the Standards

Almost done!
Assembling the standards is done by rst threading the studs into the frames- secure them in place with red Loctite. Next
assemble one side of the the front upright by sliding the large brass washers over the studs and attaching the frame to
the upright. Then attach the second upright to the opposite side. Repeat this process for the rear standard.
One additional thing I did at this time was to add center locating holes to the front upright and frame to act as an
alignment marker. This would allow for quick camera setup when setting the height of the front lens frame in the upright.

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Now all that remained was to wax all the wood surfaces (I just used some carnauba wax I had on hand) and attach the
nished uprights to the camera base, then attach the bellows.

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Step 7: Finished!

After all this time building this camera I couldn't wait to send it to my friend for him to use.
Overall we are both pleased as punch with how this project turned out (so much so that another smaller lm camera is in
the works.) I think it's one of my most favorite things I've ever made and I know it's built solid enough that it should
outlive both of us.
I hope the build methods described in this instructable will encourage people to make their own custom cameras. There
really is no right or wrong way to do it as long as it accomplishes what you want out of it. It's incredibly satisfying to build
a tool that someone uses to make art- even more so when it's a dear friend.
As always, if anyone has any questions please just let me know- thanks!

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Incredible!! Once again i am struck with what exceptional craftmanship can be found on
instructables. You truly deserve to win this contest (by far). Good luck!
I do very much appreciate your work and wanted to ask, how this camera is used. Is it used with
traditional film and the aperture and exposure control is comprised in the lens?
Personally I would love to see this technology combined with a modern digital capture chip in
order to have a method to avoid falling lines when photographing buildings or other tall objects. I
think the main reason for this type of camera is to have all degrees of freedom of alignment
between film respectively sensor and lens. I'm very curious to see pictures which have been
taken with this camera and how they where taken.
It is used with traditional film and aperture/exposure is through the lens. This site explains how a
view camera is used (it is linked in the instructable)- https://www.alexbond.com.au/understanding-
large-fo...

Cameras with movements are very much used when photographing architecture for exactly the
reason you describe. It is possible to fit a digital back with a huge image sensor to a Graflok
compatible 4x5 view camera to capture the full image (they are obscenely expensive.)
Alternatively there is a Graflok compatible adapter to fit a Canon DSLR camera to a 4x5 camera-
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/995355-REG/... It's a bit odd in that you are taking
images of sections and then stitching them together.

There are medium format cameras that combine limited movements with digital backs but they
are also super expensive (like the Hasselblad FlexBody and ArcBody.)

There are tilt/shift lenses and adapters available for both Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras. I'd
love to have a macro one for taking jewelry photos at my work.
I went to a workshop where we used photosensitive paper instead of film with a camera similar to
yours, the results are very good and fast since one skips the film developing process.
Fantastic instructable btw.
That's a really cool idea!

You will find some amazing adaptations using large/ medium format camera with flatbed scanner
as digital compromise.... its all diwn to ones imagination and time allowed in construction....
Beautiful! Digital cameras are amazing, but they can't compete with the beauty of film cameras :)

That’s fantastic! I have a 100 year old Kodak (?) 3x5 that I may replace the bellows now that You
gave me a source, thanks!
Thanks! The bellows from the supplier is very high quality- super happy with their work. Check
out the link here in the comments too for a bellows supplier.
Just one word WOW !

Thanks!!

Every time I get feeling like I'm doing some great stuff in my shop, someone comes along and
brings me back down to Earth. This is a fantastic build. I'd love to see some of the pictures that
come out of it. You really did a great job. Fantastic might be the correct word.
Thanks so much! As my friend uses it more I'll be sure to add more photos taken with it.

To be even nicer and authentic, the wooden parts might be done in rosewood. I’m not sure how
difficult it would be, or how expensive it would be, if the metal parts were brass ( all pie in the sky
stuff, but beautiful).

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Rosewood works easily enough, is quite expensive and no more "authentic" than cherry or
maple. Perhaps prettier though.
I've never used rosewood- is it hard/durable? Maybe that could be a nice choice for the next
camera I make.
I have no idea how durable it is, but many years ago, I saw one at a flea market and really liked
how it looked. To say the least, it was big and would have taken up some room when displayed. I
didn’t buy it and have regretted it ever since. I thought it was made by a company other than
Kodak in Rochester.
This is very good but out of reach of most people. I wonder if there is any way to build a TLR like
camera (like a Rolleiflex) from a cellphone. The screen would be viewed by looking down and the
lens would be facing forward at 90 degrees to the screen orientation. That will be very
convenient to take most pictures. Most cameras take pics when an on screen button is touched
but can also take when it is triggered from a cord plugged in the earphone jack. That would
provide the shutter button interface.
They are not doing a twin lens, yet. But check out https://doragoodman.com/
Doing some great medium format things.
Sounds good, thanks!

You might want to have a look at the Dora Goodman cameras. They are 3D printed designs for
medium format cameras that use inexpensive Mamiya Press lenses. She makes an adapter for
the camera back that can use a cellphone to capture the image. You can either buy her cameras
finished or print them yourself.

https://doragoodman.com/store/goodman-cinezone-adapter/
What an absolutely kind and wonderful gift. If he needs a 4x5 enlarger I can gift him one.

Thank you for saying that! I'm pretty sure he already has a 4x5 enlarger but I will ask him next
time I speak with him.
Pleasure to help out. Sometime staying out of the way is just as important.

It is a beautiful thing and thank you for some of the supplier links but I have to admit to being a
tiny bit disappointed. More ASSEMBLY than creation.
Still... lovely end product.
I'm happy to expand upon this in greater detail and add additional steps and/or information. What
specifically would you like to see or know more about?
Thanks but that is OK, it's a beautiful job I just had an evil urge to SEE you make those bellows! ;)

Beautiful Camera, form and function!


For a US domestic source on the bellows here is an option:
https://dynatect.com/product/protective-covers/bel...
Thank you! Thanks for listing another bellows supplier- I'll be sure to pass that on.

Very cool. I took a 4X5 photography course back as part of my film production course at
University of Toronto in the late 80's and loved it. Never really gave it much thought again until
seeing this instructable. Thanks for producing a great piece.
Thanks- glad you like it! It was a lot of fun to make. I stumbled across a couple of DIY film camera
builder's groups online while doing research and it was really neat to see all the cool cameras
people are building. A lot of lenses and other film camera parts are also selling for really
reasonable prices these days so it's a fun time to experiment with different ideas.

4x5 Film View Camera: Page 121


Beautifully done. I am definitely going to look at what you have done here if I ever finish the 8x10
I got parts for and never started. :)
Thanks so much! My friend had an 8x10 at one point- I remember him coming to my work and
showing me contact prints from it. The image quality that he was able to achieve was amazing.
8x10 film has got to be crazy expensive these days...
Beautiful camera, although somehow the 80/20 aluminum extrusion seems out of place--it would
make me want to add a stepper motor for focus control. ;-)
Oh that thought has totally crossed my mind. It would be neat to make a motorized camera
base/control system for staged/focus stacking for macro work.
Very, very nice work. I'm sure your friend will enjoy many years and great photographs using the
camera you've built.
Thanks! I hope so- I'd like to have more of his photographs on my walls. :)

I've been wanting to build a LF camera for years and your camera is giving me new Ideas. I've
built a 4x10 back for a Zone Vi camera, but it still is slightly a hodge podge add on. I think using
some of your ideas could push me me forward again.

thanks
Eric
That's great to hear! I do really hope people can use some of the construction methods presented
to make their own designs.
I'm guessing by one of the images, and because I didn't read the entire thing, that the camera
back does NOT rotate? I'm not criticizing. What you've done is amazing and beautiful. I have
something like 3 or 4 4x5 camera's myself. I just need to make the time to use them.
Glad you like it! The Graflok camera back does not rotate from landscape to portrait mode.
Instead I made a 90 degree angle bracket that attaches to the camera's tripod mount that allows
it to be put in portrait mode.
I have a Nagoaka (sp?} wood 4x5 bought in 1961 but have not taken fotos on sheet film in years
because I have no udea where to get chemicals such as hydroquinone & metol plus "hypo" to
develop + fix film. Anyone know of reasonably priced sources? TIA
B and H Photo and Adorama both sell darkroom equipment and chemicals.

Breathtaking!

Outstanding! Thank you for sharing!

Thanks- glad you like it!

This is an outstanding work of art to create beautiful works of art! In Awe!

Wow- thank you so much!

Excellent job! Your workmanship is amazing. Good luck with the Photography Challenge Contest.
You've got my vote.
Thank you so much!

4x5 Film View Camera: Page 122

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