Vince Lupo
Whatever
A pair of new glass plates. I met with a good friend of mine for coffee on Friday and did a tableside portrait. Maybe a bit close, but I wanted to test it out with a +2 closeup lens. At first glance they both look pretty sharp. 1/30th at f/2.8 in outdoor shade, ISO 25 plates exposed at ISO 12.
Ermanox Glass Plate #3 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
I did back off on the development from 10.5 minutes to 9 minutes and the highlights seem a lot more reasonable. The plates are drying on the rack right now, hopefully will scan later today or tomorrow.
Ermanox Glass Plate #3 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
I did back off on the development from 10.5 minutes to 9 minutes and the highlights seem a lot more reasonable. The plates are drying on the rack right now, hopefully will scan later today or tomorrow.
raid
Dad Photographer
Camera is beautiful, and your work is awesome, Vince.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Many thanks Raid - I’m working on it!
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Ok we missed the focus a bit -- maybe Joe moved! Yeah that's it 
Ermanox Joe1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Think I was too close - but I had to give it a try. I'll look at the other glass plate and see if it's any sharper.
Ermanox Joe1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Think I was too close - but I had to give it a try. I'll look at the other glass plate and see if it's any sharper.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
I think the focus is OK: the right eye (for us) is sharp. The portrait would however gain if the left eye was sharp. The dept of field is very small, too small for all the details of the face at this distance.
Erik.
Erik.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Yeah I know, I wanted to try and see what it looked like. Obviously didn’t work!
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Second one is a tad better, less contrast, but still not completely in focus. Ah well, was worth the try!
Ermanox Joe2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Taking portraits like this really isn't my thing (not the least of which that it's not in focus) -- I'm much more comfortable photographing people with more of an environment shown.
Ermanox Joe2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Taking portraits like this really isn't my thing (not the least of which that it's not in focus) -- I'm much more comfortable photographing people with more of an environment shown.
You are being a bit hard on yourself.
Scale focusing is not that easy with a 100mm lens !!
Measured distance or guestimated?
The images of Eric Salomon that I remember most are usually 10 feet or farther away - much easier to nail scale focus at 10 feet or more!
How easily could a FOKUS rangefinder be mounted on the left side of the camera?
BTW, the number on the back of my Ermanox lens (looking thru the broken open shutter) is 150876
The number on the edge of the shutter crate is 1185538 (partially obscured, not absolutely sure of last two digits)
Apparently Ernemann numbered all camera models consecutively.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Those shots of Joe were taken with a +2 closeup filter (thank you farlymac!) and I focused on his eyes using the ground glass. So perhaps a) Joe moved a bit between the time I exchanged the ground glass for a glass plate film holder, and b) I dim-wittedly had the lens at like f/2.8, of course I knew his entire face wouldn't be in focus, but still went ahead. Ah well.
As far as attaching an auxiliary rangefinder, I've thought about it. I'd have to get some kind of cold shoe with a threaded adapter, but then it might interfere with the neck strap arrangement I currently have going (I've tried attaching the strap on the underside of the camera and I don't like the way it hangs). The FOKOS or FOFER is an option, or I could just hand-hold a FODIS. There are other rangefinder options out there -- I know, despite having spent a small fortune on this camera and its repair, I'm not crazy about spending another $400-$500 on a rangefinder.
Yes your camera is pretty close to mine -- your body is about 700 units newer than mine, both likely 1924 (first year).
I'm getting a nice collection of accessories for the camera -- original case, about 20 glass plate holders, two roll film backs, a couple of lens caps, and a nice selection of Series 7 filters courtesy of our good friend 'farlymac'. Still looking for more glass plate holders, as well as that 'felt' that's used in them for the light-trap. It's mysterious material!
Nokton48
Veteran
Hi Vince,
When I was hanging on the Russian Kiev Forum a friend there sent me a sheet of MOHAIR. It was perfect for light-trapping a lot of Plaubel Makina and RADA European metric plate holders. Just thick enough and light tight.
I've heard of mohair carpeting, and mohair evening coats. Always wondered where he found his stock of this stuff. It's great for the purpose
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I'll have a look for that -- it's definitely not velvet for clothing, as the woven backing material is too thick to be used for that. Almost like it's upholstery fabric. I've been on Etsy, have looked at JoAnn Fabrics, Michael's and a local fabric store, and none of them has anything like this material.
Luckily I only have a couple of Ernemann plate holders that need new fabric.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Follow-up -- I just looked online for mohair upholstery fabric and it looks really close. Not cheap!
farlymac
PF McFarland
I've got a solution for your rangefinder dilemma, sort of (it's marked in feet). A DeJur! Hangs from a strap around the neck, and painted in a nice crinkle black with chrome parts. Would look good with the Ermanox. Still accurate, I used to use it with a Voigtlander Vito B. Leather case included.
PF
PF
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Ah sounds good but a rangefinder in meters is what I’m really after. I’ve seen a number of them on eBay, but I’m just waiting for now. I still want to get more comfortable with the camera itself before I start adding more accessories like that. Having said that, I’m still on the active hunt for more plate holders.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Amazing what you can do with some aluminum strip from Lowe's and a shower.....
This is a solution to a nagging problem. There is a tiny 'latch' on the back of the camera that's supposed to 'lock' these roll film backs in place, but it isn't particularly effective. My roll film backs have slid from the back of the camera more than a couple of times, which doesn't do the film in the back any favours. So while in the shower yesterday (yes many of my bright ideas strike while I'm in the shower), I came up with this idea for the clamp. A bit of cutting, bending, filing and polishing (oh yes can't forget the polishing!) and voila. The knurled knob shown in the third photo came courtesy of the outer pocket of my light stand bag -- that knob had likely been rolling around that pocket for the last 10 years unused and unloved, and I finally liberated it from its pocketed-prison.
Have to say that I'm quite pleased with the result -- it doesn't add any bulk to the camera at all, it's pretty much a perfect fit (which is amazing for all-thumbs Lupo), and I'd say it looks the part.
Maybe we can say that it's a super-rare accessory for the Ermanox and the Rollex-Patent back. Surely adds thousands to the value of the camera kit, don't you think?
Rollex Patent Film Holder2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Rollex Patent Film Holder1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Rollex Patent Film Holder3 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
This is a solution to a nagging problem. There is a tiny 'latch' on the back of the camera that's supposed to 'lock' these roll film backs in place, but it isn't particularly effective. My roll film backs have slid from the back of the camera more than a couple of times, which doesn't do the film in the back any favours. So while in the shower yesterday (yes many of my bright ideas strike while I'm in the shower), I came up with this idea for the clamp. A bit of cutting, bending, filing and polishing (oh yes can't forget the polishing!) and voila. The knurled knob shown in the third photo came courtesy of the outer pocket of my light stand bag -- that knob had likely been rolling around that pocket for the last 10 years unused and unloved, and I finally liberated it from its pocketed-prison.
Have to say that I'm quite pleased with the result -- it doesn't add any bulk to the camera at all, it's pretty much a perfect fit (which is amazing for all-thumbs Lupo), and I'd say it looks the part.
Maybe we can say that it's a super-rare accessory for the Ermanox and the Rollex-Patent back. Surely adds thousands to the value of the camera kit, don't you think?
Rollex Patent Film Holder2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Rollex Patent Film Holder1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Rollex Patent Film Holder3 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
mconnealy
Well-known
Yes, that's some artful bending. If you painted it black and added some white pinstriping you could call it Art Deco. Bound to enhance the value.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I think some flames might be a nice touch
I bent the rounded part over a broom handle of all things -- I kinda sized it up against the rounded section of the back and thought that it was pretty close. I had to bend the other sections a couple of times to get the lengths right (as a result there are some faint remnants of those bends in the aluminum), but really I think it came out pretty well. Particularly for someone like me who just has very basic tools to work with and limited knowhow.
chipgreenberg
Well-known
What, no gaffer's tape? I thought that was the solution to everything.
Looks sexy Vince
Looks sexy Vince
farlymac
PF McFarland
A very elegant solution, Vince.
PF
PF
Retro-Grouch
Veteran
Very nice, Vince, but consider it a prototype. The final version will need to be black paint over brass. None of that fake brassing, either; you need to spend the next 30 years working on the proper patina!