A 39.5 ounce bundle of joy...

When I got home yesterday, I was greeted by a new-to-me 17" f/10 Kodak Ektanon that I procured through fellow APUGer Jeremy Moore (and indirectly from Jason Motamedi). What a spectacular, and very heavy, piece of glass!

Anyway, I have a plan that I wanted to run by ya'll for opinions:

My Century 4a has only about 18" of extension (it's a short track 8X10 camera). The front standard is massive and has no movements, I'm thinking about making a 9" deep front extension box to hold the lens board and a #6 Packard shutter.

My other option would be to build a rear extension box, but the camera has rear tilt and swing (which I use) and I'm afraid the geometry of that would really screw me up when using swing in a portrait session (the film plane would be waaaay back of the swing/tilt axis).

Opinions?

(I'm attaching a catalog pic of a 4a for those not familiar with the beast)

Super cool, Bob! BTW, what type of film did you use to take the pic of the 4A there? Nice old-time effect

Sounds like the lensboard box is the better option, but you'd better make it strong to handle that weight!

Nathan

Bob,

I would definately go the lens box way over the rear extention solution.

Dave

Sounds like what I'd do. But some thoughts

1) Will you be mounting the lens full time? Or will you be making something that can mount any barrel lens?

2) I'm guessing you've worked out 9" is the right amount?

3) If the box hangs out front of the camera I'd add a tripod mount. You could then stick a tripod underneath it. Might not be an issue but adding a tripod mount isn't that much effort.

Nick Zentena said:

Sounds like what I'd do. But some thoughts

1) Will you be mounting the lens full time? Or will you be making something that can mount any barrel lens?

2) I'm guessing you've worked out 9" is the right amount?

3) If the box hangs out front of the camera I'd add a tripod mount. You could then stick a tripod underneath it. Might not be an issue but adding a tripod mount isn't that much effort.

Click to expand...

1) No, I have other lenses I'll still be using. I probably will make the lens mounting plate interchangable in case I get another long lens. The camera has a 9" lensboard, so it'll be a rather large attachment.

2) Yeah, I'm figuring that 27" extension should be more than enough as I don't anticipate needing more than a 1:2 magnification ratio. The lens has a rather interesting locking flange attached to the barrel which engages the mounting ring. That flange/ring combo will add almost another inch of extension.

3) The camera sits atop a large platform on a stand so a tripod mount isn't necessary. A removable brace that runs diagonally back to the base of the front standard is probably a damn good idea though. I'll incorporate that in my design.

Definately add a tripod mount to your extension box. I had an Ektanon once and it will test the resolve of any camera with bellows racked all the way out.

Enjoy!

Bob, I would love to see some pictures from this beast! I have a 10" f4.5 Enlarging Ektanon that I am still getting to know but it seems quite sharp..

Bob,

Glad you are happy with lens. I also have a 4A, and would certainly go with the reversed recessed lensboard option. Even though this is a big lens, these cameras were built and designed for much larger. I use a 350mm f/3.5 lens on mine, a 12lb beast which no other camera could carry.

If you use the original studio stand, and the wooden shims around the sides of the center pole are in good shape (if not, they are easily to replace), then you don't really need to worry about secondary support.

Looking forward to more 8x10 pictures of your cat!

jason