----- Original Message ----- From: "CJ Rumpolo" <rump...@yahoo.com>
> No I fully understand it would be unfair (if not illegal) to use someone > elses ideas without consent. I really have no plans on stealing another > person's hard work and design. I tend to look at things I like, then try to > make them myself. Call it a test of my thinking skills. My current design is > from another person's website but have run into a snag of film transport. > Today I pretty much considered on giving up the whole project and just stay > with the camera I have. CJ, Don't feel bad, do not give up in your project, firstly: you are trying to make a camera for yourself, not to massively produce it, secondly: there aren't too many manual ways you can turn the film cartridges inside a camera, 120 roll like cameras have been manufactured since the end of 19th century (I think) and those patents are now expired. If you take a look to early 20th century rolls film cameras winding mechanism you will find similarities with current 120 cameras mechanisms. > I figure if I am using a 4x5 camera and I make a > mask to give me two images of 2 x 5 on one sheet of film then I can enlarge > the negative to pretty much panoramic scale. That's a good way to make panoramics, you just need a dark slide cut like this: http://www.benderphoto.com/2x5pa.htm > The only thing I was thinking > about was the curved film plane. I am guessing lenses use their curvature to > correct for this and pinholes need the curved film plane to make the image > appear as seen. Regular photo lenses don't use their curvature to correct what you think. Curved film plane pinhole cameras help you lower the light fall off. > I tried to email Kurt from his site, hoping to purchase a camera, > Other plans I had were to purchase an old view camera and convert it to > a really expensive pinhole camera. If I remember correctly, Kurt's camera was priced at around $1000 and worth every penny, do the math, you could buy several old view cameras with the price of one of Kurt's camera. So don't think that buying a old view camera and using it as pinhole camera is a bad or expensive idea. > Then again I should use Mr. Au's camera more often as well. Its really a > nicely made device, though I think its focal length is a bit too wide to my > style of photography. Then an old view camera may be good for you, perhaps a press camera or if I you have the money, get a 4x5 Shen-Hao http://www.shen-hao.com it sells for $625 at http://www.badgergraphic.com/search_product2.asp?x=2594 (a steal at that price) and if later you want to do glass lens 4x5 you just get the lens. Guillermo
