6x7 Pinhole hybrid project

So.. the other day I'm sifting through boxes of old camera gear at a yard sale and something told me to dig deep in this one box and sure enough.. what did I find? A film back for a Mamiya press camera. DYNAMITE! This is awesome. What I deal I got too, $10 bought this and a box of goodies. A simple "do you know what this does?" made it completely worthless to the seller because he could not answer. Was that a lie? I think not!

So.. I'm going to make a 6x7 pinhole camera from this. I've been wanting to save a few $'s and make it easier to process film while traveling so it just makes sense to bump down from 4x5 Zero Image when I can.

So, Zernicke sells pinholes and zoneplates you can put in a Copal 0 shutter.. I will buy the pinhole because of a (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

So the body? What will I make the body out of? And how will I attach it to this film back? Here's some photos. Anyone with some good idea? The black bit around the frame is recessed. I was thinking of pouring epoxy into that uhh... mote (for lack of better word) and then plywood (or sheet metal) directly into the epoxy, hoping that it would adhere permanently and be very sturdy. Would Gorilla Glue do? It's probably not lightproof.

I'm looking for the most elegant and simple solution. Not really into the idea of buying a Mamiya Press camera so I can rip off the back part of the camera that the film back clamps to. hehe.

Okay, already some progress. So I figured out how to remove the whole top plate mechanism. It is now gone! And a nice FLAT surface has appeared in it's place! This is going to be fun. I'm going to drill the holes bigger that held that mating plate (what mates to the press camera) in place and then I can screw directly into the box I make! Or glue it. Or.. fill the holes up (easy enough to do) and put velcro on the flat surface and have interchangeable bodies of differing focal points...

I'll report back with progress in case anyone is curious. Meanwhile, here's one photo to show the plate mechanism gone. It may look rough in the picture but that's just markings from tooling. Running my finger down the surface it is all smooth.

I robbed a bellows from a Polaroid and made a zoom 4x5 pinhole. Nice mahogany body, and a slider marked with different focal lengths. Its range is 80mm out to 190mm. Having a roll film back would really knock one outta the park. Have fun with the new toys and show us the results.

ralnphot said:

I robbed a bellows from a Polaroid and made a zoom 4x5 pinhole. Nice mahogany body, and a slider marked with different focal lengths. Its range is 80mm out to 190mm. Having a roll film back would really knock one outta the park. Have fun with the new toys and show us the results.

Click to expand...

Bellows occured to me but that may be for me more difficult than to make a series of differing focal length boxes, as I would have to fabricate some mating mechanism. I am thinking right now of making a mating surface with a lip on it like a shallow box lid, and get that secure to the film back and have thickness on the bottom of it to allow a tripod nut. Then the differing length boxes would slide into the box lid and mate inside with velcro. Each differing focal length should have an ideal pinhole size anyway so different boxes entirely seems like the thing to do, for me, for this specific project.

But for sure I will report back with progress

pinholes

These are the ones my daughter and I use. The one on the right is my hybrid Polaroid bellows on a box, 4x5 w/ 80-180mm focal length. The one on the left is one my daughter made, its a 4x5 w/75mm focal length.

ralnphot said:

These are the ones my daughter and I use. The one on the right is my hybrid Polaroid bellows on a box, 4x5 w/ 80-180mm focal length. The one on the left is one my daughter made, its a 4x5 w/75mm focal length.

Click to expand...

That Polaroid hybrid is really cool looking!

Thank you. The range finder is just for looks(intended).