Say michael,
sometime would you care to tell me about your adventures with making the
film holders. my current setup is a single shot back untill I can come up
with holders. but, as i'm sure you have found out, custom made holders are
rather pricey! I would like your construction ideas, etc.
thanks, tim
-- Original Message ---
From: "Michael Healy"
To:
Sent: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 09:30:58 -0700
Subject: [pinhole-discussion] Shutter alternatives
> Tim, a step-up ring is a great idea! I am going to experiment with
> this. I think it's going to work.
>
> The reasons a shutter had appealed to me are three:
>
> (1) I have to use HP5 for this camera, and it has a "focal length"
> that is quite short (6", about the equivalent of a 15mm lens in 35mm)
> . So I will be using rather shorter exposures than I have needed for
> the D100 and Maco 820ir I've been using. Even with a #29 red filter,
> this film appears to want only 1-2 second exposures in sun. A
> shutter would make for greater precision in the exposures.
>
> (2) I hate the jiggle I seem to introduce when holding a card to the
> hole, or pulling away a piece of tape. Once recently I dropped the
> darned card. Laning over to retrieve it from the ground meant
> exposing the back to the sun briefly, and so I got some flashing.
> Actually reinserting the darkslide is not a bad idea, but a shutter
> still would have been nice.
>
> (3) With a shutter one could temporarily remove the pinhole, stop
> down the shutter itself, and view for composing. This is the biggest
> attractant. With 35mm or even 120, one has the luxury of shooting
> off lots of film. Even if I had the pocketbook to afford infinite
> quantities of 7x17" sheet film, the supply of this stuff just is not
> very large or reliably available.
>
> So I think that something such as a step-up ring might provide an
> alternative. In particular, it may address my concern over composition.
> Could be I can stack a couple three of them: use one permanently
> mounted to the lensboard, and then have two others holding pinholes:
> Screw in a large pinhole for composition, remove and replace with
> the correct one for shooting. Fantastic. Thanks for the suggestion.
>
> Mike
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "Tim Midkiff"
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 7:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [pinhole-discussion] Home-brewed 7x17 update
>
> hi Michael, et al,
>
> I would like to sugest an alturnative to your shutter problem.
> when i built my 16x20 a few weks ago i had a similar problem. i
> decided to mount a standard step up ring in my lens board with
> epoxy. Then all i had to do was use old or cheap filters with the
> glass removed to mount my pinholes in. This will allow the use of a
> lens cap for a shutter as well as quick hole size changes if you
> have variable focal lengths. you can also use regular filters for
> color correction if shooting certain filmstocks. think about it, worked
> great for me!
>
> tim
>
> -- Original Message ---
> From: "Michael Healy"
> To:
> Sent: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 09:13:12 -0700
> Subject: [pinhole-discussion] Home-brewed 7x17 update
>
> > A short while ago (mid-January?) I posted a few questions soliciting
> > information so I could build my 7x17. I am very grateful for
> > feedback I got, because it helped me push this project along at a
> > satisfactory pace. Andy Schmitt expressed curiosity about it back
> > then, so I thought that I would give him and any hardware
> > geeks/voyeurs a quick note on my progress.
> >
> > I have completed two holders and a focusing screen holder, as well
> > as the body, which is about 8H x 18W x 6"L. On Saturday, the UPSP
> > delivered my ground glass, so I'm very close to testing the camera.
> >
> > About all that stands in my way -- "all", ha ha -- are several light
> > leaks in the body and some rather serious light leaks in each film
> > holder. Oh and wooden darkslides do NOT work AT ALL with this
> > camera. But yesterday in Ace I found sheets of thin-gauge aluminum.
> > I got one and cut it to size, and I think this is going to work
> > fine. So I have to get some more of these, prime and paint, and I'm
> > set, except for leaks.
> >
> > Also the pinhole may turn out to be a problem. I got a nice old
> > Cronos shutter on eBay a few weeks ago. I cannot believe how COOL it
> > looks on the black lensboard. The shutter is entirely black, with
> > only hints of silver lettering. Regrettably its diameter is a mere
> > 7/8", so the tunnel it makes does appear to produce vignetting.
> > Either I have to live with this or russle up a bigger shutter, or
> > just tape the pinhole to the front. Not the end of the world. That
> > accolade goes to the dramatic light leakage in the film holders. But
> > boy, the camera just won't look the same with a piece of aluminum
> > foil taped to the front. Maybe I can hire someone to paint a trompe
> > l'oeil shutter on it.
