My Polaroid 4x5 conversion

[shadowfox]

I've done it!

Yes, me, the All-barely-opposable Thumb Guy. Cobbling-up a portable 4x5 with my own hands 😀

Arista.edu 4x5 100ASA in 1+50 Rodinal (overcooked it a bit at 12 min. continuous agitation :bang🙂.

I've been keeping this "project" sorta under the wraps for the past year.

I wrote about the conversion details on my photo-journal, read it here.

 

[Fragomeni]

Excellent job! A more permanent solution to the black tape you're using to block light leaks would be the plumer's epoxy putty I mentioned in the other thread. You'll be able to press it into the area and when it dries you can smooth and sand it to match the curves of the camera perfectly. Paint it or cover in leather and it'll look like it was made that way. If you don't want to use the epoxy then I'd recommend replacing what looks like electrical tape (correct me if I'm wrong) with black gaffer's tape. The gaffer's tape will last much longer and it doesn't have to tendency to lose grip like electrical tape does.

Brovo on the build! I can't wait to start my next one!

 

[sienarot]

Nicely done!

 

[shadowfox]

Excellent job! A more permanent solution to the black tape you're using to block light leaks would be the plumer's epoxy putty I mentioned in the other thread. You'll be able to press it into the area and when it dries you can smooth and sand it to match the curves of the camera perfectly. Paint it or cover in leather and it'll look like it was made that way. If you don't want to use the epoxy then I'd recommend replacing what looks like electrical tape (correct me if I'm wrong) with black gaffer's tape. The gaffer's tape will last much longer and it doesn't have to tendency to lose grip like electrical tape does.

Brovo on the build! I can't wait to start my next one!

Note duly taken.
I have thought about J-B Weld (or something similar) for the lensboard anchor, but now I think that even a glue is sufficient for that.

The usage of epoxy for light leak makes sense.

 

[charjohncarter]

Will, nice job. On mine, I pushed my focus plane back about 1 1/8 inches. Maybe too much; what was yours? I couldn't really get a handle on what the image needed to clear the bellows. Mine does clear though and mine was on a Land 95b.

 

[shadowfox]

John, I don't measure the picture frame exactly, but it's a tiny bit less than one inch.
The pathfinder has a bigger lens than 95b, don't know if the bellows are the same.

 

[shadowfox]

From the weekend.

 

[Fragomeni]

John, I don't measure the picture frame exactly, but it's a tiny bit less than one inch.
The pathfinder has a bigger lens than 95b, don't know if the bellows are the same.

As far as the bellows go, the 110b and the 95b do have the same bellows. I confirmed this yesterday when I swapped out the crushed bellows on my 110b with a fresh set off of a 95b.

 

[Fragomeni]

Just to clarify, the bellows are the same and the rear bellows frame will fit perfectly but you will need to swap the front plate that holds the bellows to the front standard/lens board. Very easy to do.

 

[Fragomeni]

I completed my 110b and I've finally found the time to take pictures of it and post them to my website. You can see the full details and pictures here.

This one worked much better then my first attempt and people's reactions to it have been hilarious!

 

[shadowfox]

Looks good, Francesco.
Post some photos from it.

 

[bigeye]

They both look terrific. I'd like to see more images, even if they're wasted on the web (1G scans are still a bit unwieldy). Will, is that a 95b?

- Charlie

 

[shadowfox]

Charlie,

That's a Pathfinder 110, which is the older model with Kalart Rangefinder on top, not the built in one like the 110A and B.

 

[Jamie123]

Where do you guys find those 110A and B's? What did you pay for yours? I would love to use one for a packfilm conversion but can't seem to find any at a reasonable price.

 

[keytarjunkie]

Where do you guys find those 110A and B's? What did you pay for yours? I would love to use one for a packfilm conversion but can't seem to find any at a reasonable price.

It's a lot cheaper to buy a 900, and find a reasonable lens to use on it. I believe the 900 has some extra room up front so it can take a wider variety of lenses (although if you change the focal length, you'll have to change the shape of the cam). Personally, I bought a 160 and 900 for virtually nothing (at least compared with the 110A and 110B), I'm using the 160 as the chassis and the 900 for its rangefinder. I came across an extra rodenstock 127mm (for free!) and fit it into the 160's lens board, which requires some modification. It would have been much easier to just buy a 110B, but I'm a poor college student and didn't mind the work 🙂

 

[Jamie123]

It's a lot cheaper to buy a 900, and find a reasonable lens to use on it. I believe the 900 has some extra room up front so it can take a wider variety of lenses (although if you change the focal length, you'll have to change the shape of the cam). Personally, I bought a 160 and 900 for virtually nothing (at least compared with the 110A and 110B), I'm using the 160 as the chassis and the 900 for its rangefinder. I came across an extra rodenstock 127mm (for free!) and fit it into the 160's lens board, which requires some modification. It would have been much easier to just buy a 110B, but I'm a poor college student and didn't mind the work 🙂

Unfortunately, for us who don't live in the US, it's not that easy to source all these parts and whenever something remotely interesting pops up people start a bidding war. I can't even seem to find a 127mm lens to convert my 350 Land camera. Besides, while I myself am a poor student and do not mind the work, my tools are limited so I'd prefer to keep the work to a minimum.

 

[charjohncarter]

Unfortunately, for us who don't live in the US, it's not that easy to source all these parts and whenever something remotely interesting pops up people start a bidding war. I can't even seem to find a 127mm lens to convert my 350 Land camera. Besides, while I myself am a poor student and do not mind the work, my tools are limited so I'd prefer to keep the work to a minimum.

Jamie123, here is a site in the USA that has plenty for very cheap. You can also buy a Packfilm camera as a donor. I converted my Polaroid Land 95b for $60 to 4x5 so you could, I'm sure, easily have a Polaroid conversion possibly even cheaper. All you have to do now is find someone that will buy you the two cameras and ship.

This is it:

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/search/...0&sellerID=all&srchdesc=&showthumbs=on&page=1

This is one from my 4x5 Polaroid Land 95b:

and my $60 conversion:

 

[Fragomeni]

I got my 110b on ebay and got a good (well better then usual) price because the bellows had been improperly compressed at some point and there were rather crushed. I didn't care about this because I had a spare 95b that I'd picked up at an antique store for a few bucks a few months back that I would cannibalize for the bellows (same exact bellows except for the lens place which is easily swapped out). Realistically in the US a good price on ebay for a 110a or 110b is around $150 and it'll be unlikely you grab one there for less unless it needs some type of repair like mine did. Outside the US the prices go up considerably in my experience. The best thing to do is to be active about trolling antique and junk shops and eventually you'll stumble onto something. I can't tell you how much I've found at those places.

In regard to the necessary tools to do the job, I've found that I can build almost anything with a Dremel, some screwdrivers, a hammer, epoxy, and gaffers tape. You really don't need an excessive assortment of tools to do this kind of stuff and do it well. You just need some basic tools and a little ingenuity 🙂