Diy 6x9 Wide Angle Camera

Jamie Pillers said:
Great exposure!! Did you use the Ricoh digital camera as your meter?
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Yes I did. I use it in 'spot' mode, and it works very well. But I'll buy a proper spot meter when I can afford one.
I have been shooting as an amateur for more than ten years, but I had never heard of the zone system or reciprocity failure until a few months ago. Gotta love the internet.
 
Thanks for posting this, Rasmus. It's very timely as I had just bought a 65 6.8 to do this very thing. I didn't know that it had no cable release socket -- so this warns me.

I had been wondering about focusing but had almost decided to make it fixed focus -- trying to figure out whether it is better to put it at hyperfocal distance or put it at infinity and use a close up lens for near shots. Are you doing much focusing with it?

Giorgio
 
pagpow said:
Thanks for posting this, Rasmus. It's very timely as I had just bought a 65 6.8 to do this very thing. I didn't know that it had no cable release socket -- so this warns me.

I had been wondering about focusing but had almost decided to make it fixed focus -- trying to figure out whether it is better to put it at hyperfocal distance or put it at infinity and use a close up lens for near shots. Are you doing much focusing with it?

Giorgio
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Yes, using some matt clear tape as 'ground glass' I can definitely see a difference between the focus settings, so I scale focus accordingly when I take pictures with it. With the helicoid I built I can focus from appx. 70 cm to infinity.
But I guess the night image with the cars says it all: Almost everything is in focus at infinity and 1:8.

If I were to choose between fixed focus options, I would go for hyperfocal. That will give you more foreground sharpness and be good for snapshots as well. Remember that DOF is quite shallow on 6x9.
But modifying the helicoid was not super difficult, and a cheapo SLR lens should be easy to find. Give it a try. As long as the inner diameter of the helicoid is not less than 40 or 42 mm and the total length 15 to 17 mm, the light will go through. See my 1:1 drawing. You can do it all with a small metal drill, mini screw drivers, super glue, files and a fine-tooth saw.
Keep all the tiny parts from the SLR lens. My cable release holder was made from one of those small pieces of metal.
I'd be happy to give more advice if you need it. Just ask.

BTW, I highly recommend using a folder body assembled with screws. My ancient Zeiss Ikon was riveted together, and that did not make things easier.
 
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Here's a shot from tonight. Fomapan 400 exposed at 1600 and developed in HC110 B for 7 minutes at 20 degrees, 1 minute stop bath, 9 minutes in the fixer. Scanned in 800dpi with Canoscan 9900f. Only B&W converted in channel mixer.
I'm surprised that it's not grainier. I'll definitely try pushing this film further.
 
Great project and resulting images show it is a keeper and real user. Now, the $64k question. How many can you produce per week and what's our cost going to be? Also, will you be doing custom finishes, leathers, commemeratives and certificates of authenticithy?
 
I was actually planning to only do commemorative models. I'm starting with the soon-to-be royal twin birth. I'll gold plate all the chrome parts and cover the body in snake skin and use some extinct type of Amazonian hardwood for the box and laquer the hell out of it. Of course a portrait of the newborns will be laser engraved on the back along with the date the country stood still. If there are enough orders, I should be able to keep the price at about half of a commemorative Leica M6. Sign up here. Don't procrastinate, do it now!
 
No, unfortunately I have not eliminated the leak yet. Aside from the flares I have something like an evenly distributed double exposure on most frames, but with the second one coming from behind and being a bit larger than the image. I can only assume the light comes through the film window, but my attempt at blocking it today did not work. Sadly, the last few rolls have been useless due to this issue.
 
Sound strange. In folders, I shoot mostly Nettars and Ikontas and in sunny conditions. Some of those cameras have a cover for the film window to keep light out when not winding, some do not. Neither have ever given me light leaks through the window, tho I have read about people being concerned with that. In addition to everything else, there is the paper backing to the film, and you seem to be shooting at night.
 
pagpow said:
Sound strange. In folders, I shoot mostly Nettars and Ikontas and in sunny conditions. Some of those cameras have a cover for the film window to keep light out when not winding, some do not. Neither have ever given me light leaks through the window, tho I have read about people being concerned with that. In addition to everything else, there is the paper backing to the film, and you seem to be shooting at night.
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Yeah my experience is the same (Holga and an old 6X9 back for my Voigtländer Bergheil) and that window shouldnt expose such a large area, right?
Best regards
 
Yeah, it's really strange. I already painted the inside of the camera with matt black, and I put fresh light sealing in from the start.
Besk, I hadn't thought about your suggestion. But the film is also exposed between the frames, so it doesn't just happen when the lens is open. And since the falsely exposed area is larger than the image, offset by a few millimeters and has a rippled edge, I suppose they have different causes. The severity of the problem seems to be related to the outside light intensity and how long the film has been loaded. Well well, time will tell.
 
Rasmus, I have been rereading this thread and it struck me that you had exposed one of the photos at f8. I thought I had read that the Angulons needed f11 or smaller to be sharp but your f8 night shot looks fine. Have you enlarged for more than web use? what do you find about acceptable sharpness?

BTW, I got my Angulon 65 and it looks like it has a cable release socket -- perhaps lenses varied.

Giorgio
 
I have shot most of the images at f8 or f11. The post box shot above was done at f8. They're sharp enough for me, but I have only looked at scans on my Macbook, no wet prints yet. And I still consider them to be test shots, not serious work. Still, it seems to me that this lens has a high resolution for detail and a generally pleasant look to the images. If I didn't have that annoying light leak, I would have a more qualified answer. Hopefully soon.
 
I agree about the pleasant look. I'll be eager to hear about enlargements from f8 -- if good, that would make the lens all the more versatile.

Anybody else here with experience with this lens shot wider than f11-f16?
 
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