dorkasaurus

yum!!!

As requested by ZB, here is my new toy, fresh from the workshop.

Basically what you see is a standard from a Plaubel view camera with a graflok back and groundglass, with a 65mm F8 super angulon in a homebrew focus mount that used to be part of an Agfa enlarger.

Add to that a leica wide angle zoom viewfinder, some chunky handles and a tripod foot, and you've got yerself a 4x5 happy-snap camera.

The only problem thus far is that the focal point does not quite extend back to infinity at a reasonable aperture yet, but on the upside the throw of the focus mount is quite long, and you can focus down to about a foot with use of the groundglass.

The Dorkasaurus works great, and provided inspiration for my next project, Darth Handy.

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Comments

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Yeah baby!! So the 65 covers the whole 4x5?
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Daniel Tückmantel says:

What is that ?!?
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

One of these, Daniel. Actually, I reckon this one is nicer.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Machine down the bit I've marked on the photo Ricky. The precise back-focus distance for all Schneider lenses is available from the Schneider websit. Hang on - let me look for it.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrick Bond says:

yeah Zaphod, it just scrapes it in. There is slight fall-off in the corners but its sharp and nothing to complain about.

I gots to get me a fresnel and some kind of viewing hood a la linhof technika and move the lens back a fraction, then we'll be in business!

Edit: Will do. I measured it all out at the time and calculated the flange focal distance to keep infinity sharp at F16, but impatience got the better of me and I went ahead and put it all together anyway, heh!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Daniel Tückmantel says:

Thanks for the description, Ricky.
So that's what you're doing when you hide in the workshop, isn't it ?
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Here we go. Back of the shutter (flange) to focal-plane (ground-glass) distance for this lens is 70.5mm. Individual lenses vary slightly. I suggest you make a new spacer that places the face of the fully retracted helical at 70mm. Then you can fine-tune it by placing shims between the two. Don't re-machine the existing one - you'll never get it aligned again.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Also, you don't really need the ground glass and hood. The dof is enormous. Calibrate the helical. Then guess distance, dial on helical, point and shoot. Mine is an f/5.6 and I never get an out of focus shot.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrick Bond says:

70mm eh.... thanks for that. Will have to have a look and see how far out it is. I dunno whether I can make a whole new lens cone, I'm running out of recessed devere enlarging lens tubs :P

@daniel- Of course, gotta have a pet project at work!

@zaphod- True, but it's nice to have for careful framing and I'm a sucker for a loupe and a dark cloth. Makes you look so suave.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Also, I am trying to build a body for this lens. This is a different from the one you saw earlier - smaller. Same optics as the Linhof 75mm f/4.5 Biogon, but the housing is different. I have a #3 shutter for it, and a body, but no helical yet. Maybe I'll use a macro-focusing bellows of some kind.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

As for the spacer, just use a piece of aluminium. A cylindrical piece large enough for your purposes shouldn't cost more than $50. The workshop should have some stock, or should be able to source it for you.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrick Bond says:

I could probably find a bit that would do the job, but to be honest there is already a shim between the shutter and the helicoid, and I reckon I may be able to make a thinner one and just scrape it in.

I remember knowing it wouldn't be right as I put it together, but I wanted to see how much of a difference the error would make, and I didn't have any room to move with the depth of the spacer. It was only a matter of 1 mm or so I think, should be able to do it with a new shim.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Just 1mm? Well, get rid of the shim. If you need a thiner shim, you can get sheets of brass of the order of 0.1mm from any decent hardware shop to cut shims out of. try a few of those.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrick Bond says:

Ah, if it were only that simple. Y'see, the face of the focus mount was not designed to mount a shutter on, so the shim is actually the lensboard as well.

Easy enough to make a thinner one though, I just didn't think about it at the time.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Harold Gee says:

Dang! That's BEAUTIFUL!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrick Bond says:

Thanks harold.

If you want one, this camera cost practically nothing to build (I already had most of the parts and scavenged what I didnt have) and only took a few weekends to put together.

Have a look at Zaphod's version as well, much smaller and probably lighter, on reflection I would have preferred a 6x9 form factor, and Zaphod's camera should be every bit as good as an Alpa, which is the holy grail of this kind of camera design.

www.fotomancamera.com also have a few interesting versions.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrigo Perez says:

WOW!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

DCE says:

Extraordinary! Upon completion did you throw your arms in the air and shout "It's alive!"? If not, you might want to check the dork handbook. I believe you're contractually obligated.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrick Bond says:

I tried to do all that mad scientist stuff, but sadly there was no lightning storm on the night that I finished it, and Igor was left standing around quietly clocking up the overtime.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Shmoovio (Jarrett) says:

Any idea what the combined cost of this was? It's one of the prettiest cameras I've ever seen. Beautiful damned job!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

javame says:

Great title and effort! I'm looking forward (pun) to the images you'll be getting. Found on Explore.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrick Bond says:

well it depends if you have access to a photography department full of spare parts!

Most of the components were taken from a Plaubel view camera, the standard itself, a graflok back and a lensboard. If you found these parts on ebay they might set you back a few hundred dollars.

You could do this with virtually any brand of camera- Sinar is a good choice as all the parts are modular. I have a spare sinar frame that I might use in my next project.

Then you need a focus mount and a lens- If you want the best, super-angulons XLs and apo-grandagons from Schneider and Rodenstock respectively. Select a focal length that will give you the field of view and the coverage you want for your chosen format, whether that be 4x5 or 6x12, 6x9, 6x7 etc, then get a helical mount for it, ideally calibrated for your chosen lens.

This is where you can spend astronomical amounts of money. Good optics are expensive, but there are alot of secondhand large format bargains out there. A good used 65 or 72 mm super-angulon or grandagon in a shutter you should be able to get for 6 or 7 hundred bucks AUD.

www.fotomancamera.com make some nice helical mounts, and they are much cheaper than the OEM lens branded ones. I used a mount designeed for an old Agfa enlarger- but scavenging parts like this severely limits your lens choice because of the internal diameter of the mount.

Then you need a viewfinder, my leica finder cost me a few hundred dollars (secondhand), but is great for this purpose because I can zoom it in when shooting on rollfilm and the optics are top notch. There are all sorts of old Leitz finders floating around on ebay, or go for a new Voigtlander brightline finder. These are good and not too expensive. Maybe $200 AUD.

Then you need some way of putting your lens and mount onto a lensboard- a lathe and a few old enlarger parts come in handy at this point.

Add to that some other little fabricated parts for mounting the viewfinder and some handles, and you're done. The only part I actually bought specifically for this camera was the viewfinder. If I had to buy everything, I think not much more than $1K AUD.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Shmoovio (Jarrett) says:

Awesome. Thanks mister bend.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

avalonux says:

Great work, just goes to show one can built a camera, no need to buy the Alpa, with a lense and graflex back one can do it, yours is a living proof :-)
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

bauhausler says:

Nice work.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Serge Marx says:

this is sensational!

--
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Sniper Adams [deleted] says:

errr.. can I borrow that? ))
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

dorkasaurus_rex says:

nice name
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

hannueskelinen says:

This looks nice!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

L-i-n-e says:

Thanks for share.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

original_ann says:

Gosh, this is so impressive. I have no idea how you learn to do this stuff! :)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

ootatsu says:

beautiful camera!
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

gerikson says:

wow, cool project and awesome product shot!
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

willebro says:

amazing and beautiful...
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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dorkasaurus

Comments

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Daniel Tückmantel says:

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Rodrick Bond says:

Daniel Tückmantel says:

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Rodrick Bond says:

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Rodrick Bond says:

Zaphod Beeblebrox says:

Rodrick Bond says:

Harold Gee says:

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Rodrigo Perez says:

DCE says:

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Shmoovio (Jarrett) says:

javame says:

Rodrick Bond says:

Shmoovio (Jarrett) says:

avalonux says:

bauhausler says:

Serge Marx says:

Sniper Adams [deleted] says:

dorkasaurus_rex says:

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