Are we using our plate cameras?

dwross · Mar 11, 2009

Hi All,

I know this forum is primarily about equipment, and I love to collect stuff as much (or more) than the next person, but are we using our cameras? I'd love to start talking about what we're doing with our babies, not just what we're collecting for them. I thought about starting a plate camera social group, but that could bury the lead. I'd like for newbies to APUG and old-timers thinking of branching out to know easily where to join in the conversation. This forum seems like the logical clubhouse.

So... I shoot dry plates with 4x5, 5x7, Whole Plate, and a 6"x15" panoramic. I just got an old B&J studio 8x10 that needs lots of TLC with a set of plates holders in great condition (I told you I liked to collect!). The beast is huge and heavy, so it won't be making it out into the field. My pano is a lot lighter and I still have to haul it around in a red Radio Flyer wagon .

Anybody else like to tell us what and how they shoot? I know there is wonderful wet collodion work being done.

d

Ian Grant · Mar 11, 2009

Well I have 6 plate cameras, 5 are 9x12's of which 4 are functional, I also have a De Vere Whole plate, half plate, 5x4 monorail, it came with some half plate holders which are in a very sorry condition, and some boxes of Ilford FP3 plates (back in 1976).

At present I have no plans to start coating my own plates, although I have manufactured photographic emulsions commercially in the past, and have sufficient capability to make a reasonably high quality emulsion. I have no interest in making Daguerreotypes or wet plates, but if I felt I had a specific & worthwhile project I'd consider dry-plates.

Meanwhile I use the cameras with film adaptors.

Ian

doughowk · Mar 11, 2009

Planning on getting into dry plate usage. Had purchased a 7X17 plate holder that needed some repair. Completed it recently, but hesitant on using such a size for my 1st foray. So looking to pick up a couple of 4X5s to practice coating - pre-packaged liquid emulsion for now.
Btw, Denise, enjoyed your article in CIM; and your site is very helpful.

Barry S · Mar 11, 2009

I bought a beautiful half-plate camera and planned to mainly shoot half-plate film, but somewhere along the way I got interested in wet plate, so it will be my "small" wet plate camera. The bookform holders seem perfect for wet plate, although the front standard accepts only small lens boards--not so good for portrait lenses. I still have to adapt my Graflex tripod to fit the Thornton Pickard style tripod ring, but other than that it's ready to go.

Schlapp · Mar 11, 2009

I have an old FKD Russian 18x13 plate camera that is held together with elastic bands and gaffer tape. I use it to shoot x-ray film, paper negs and old glass plates of various sizes of which I have a stack

Anastigmatic · Mar 11, 2009

hmm, i have heaps of formats, but i use the whole and half plate sometimes, i usually make it a day or weekend specifically to go somewhere i think there is a photo i would like (so it doubles as a day out)--i may have already seen it before or taken with a smaller format. also use them set up in a studio situation

i have more 9x12's than you can poke a stick at, and bunches of different lens combinations, i really like these compact cameras and take them with me often--i pretty much use these as anyone would use any camera---i often sit at an outside table at the pub and take street shots with them, picnics and all sorts of general outings--great for portraits or close ups ( macro-ish) with their double extentions etc

mwdake · Mar 11, 2009

I bought a Zeiss Icon Maximar 6x9 a few weeks ago at a photo swap.
It was a bit rough but cheap enough for a display piece.

I got it home and cleaned it up a bit and got the shutter working again.
Trouble is it only came with a film pack adapter back, no ground glass or plate/film hoders.

I'd love to find a film holder or two to give it a try but they seem pretty hard to find.

Anastigmatic · Mar 11, 2009

mwdake said:
I bought a Zeiss Icon Maximar 6x9 a few weeks ago at a photo swap.
It was a bit rough but cheap enough for a display piece.

I got it home and cleaned it up a bit and got the shutter working again.
Trouble is it only came with a film pack adapter back, no ground glass or plate/film hoders.

I'd love to find a film holder or two to give it a try but they seem pretty hard to find.

the holders are out there, i am sure i have seen some recently, not the sheaths though. but for the smaller plate camera the roll film backs are a very good candidate. basicaly the same dimention in negative and the avantage of 8 shots or to be able to place the mask in for 12 6x6 which is good for portrait (105mm lens)

Michael W · Mar 11, 2009

I agree about the social groups. It seems that if you are not a member then you don't see the posts in the 'new posts' index, which is where I start each day. Thus they are not seen by most people, so keep it in the main forum.

I have 2 plate cameras & I shoot with both. I have a Voigtlander Avus 6.5x9 and a Bergheil 9x12. The Avus I use to shoot 120 film with a roll film back as well as glass plates in the plate holders. With the 9x12 I've been shooting some old infrared plates with interesting results. I'd like to get some more plates in this size & also some film sheaths so I can expose some of the 9x12 film I'm sitting on.

mwdake · Mar 11, 2009

Anastigmatic

the holders are out there, i am sure i have seen some recently, not the sheaths though. but for the smaller plate camera the roll film backs are a very good candidate. basicaly the same dimention in negative and the avantage of 8 shots or to be able to place the mask in for 12 6x6 which is good for portrait (105mm lens)

Thanks for that advice.
I didn't know roll film backs would fit my Maximar, I am only familiar with the roll films backs that fit on Graflok backs etc.
I'll keep and eye out for a roll film back. Are there particular models or model numbers I should watch for?

regards

Soeren · Mar 12, 2009

I have an Avus and a Bergheil both in 9X12 though I got a rollfilm back that fits them. The shutter on the Avus is not well, its the same on all speeds, lighterfluid?????? I have now 4 plateholders that fits, one needs some attention due to rust. I have done two shots with the Bergheil but will soon do more. The Packfilm holder that came with the Bergheilmight be turned in to an extra finder/groundglass.
Kind regards

Ole · Mar 12, 2009

Oh yes, I use mine.

6.5x9cm Voigtländer VAG and Bergheil, 9x12cm Avus and Bergheil, and a "Rodenstock". And 13x18cm and 24x30cm German "Reisekameras". And plate holders for "normal" 4x5", 5x7" and 8x10" cameras (plate formats 9x12cm, 10x15cm, 13x18cm and 18x24cm).

I've also got RADA rollfilm olders for both the 6.5x9cm and 9x12cm cameras, which fit Voigtländer and Rodenstock cameras.

I may have some Zeiss-compatible 6.5x9cm plate holders after buying a box of miscellaneous some years ago. Anyone need some 4x10cm stereo plate holders?

Anton Lukoszevieze · Mar 12, 2009

I use wet-plates for all sizes from 1/4 plate up to 12x15. But I also shoot old dry plates and had some success with developing/printing them. I intend to use a 9x12 folder as my travel camera.

vickersdc · Mar 12, 2009

I use my Pony Premo #4 (5x4) plate camera - but at the moment only with photographic paper in a film sheath. However, I've got some glass cut to size and I shall be buying some gelatin and emulsion soon so that I can pour it on the glass and set about trying this form of photography.

Anastigmatic · Mar 12, 2009

Ole, i think i am at the stage now where instead of dreaming about being let loose in toy store or candy store, i want at least 30 minutes for a grab all you can carry and keep, from your place haha (i did say its a dream). you seem to have a bunch of cool stuff. ...we must be talking plate camera, i love these things.

as you probably know, rodenstock didnt make cameras, have you an idea where your rodenstock originated, you can usually tell by the strut shape and also the front standard shape, i have some very nice examples from rodenstock (per say) but, many of them are actually Welta camera, some are from some other makers as well--welta had a close relationship with rodenstock, and rodenstock 'borrowed' from some other makers regularly as well.

such versitile little aperatus these things..as you mentioned Ole, the roll fill backs are very handy, even on the 9x12--with them they can produce some lovely portraits

Ole · Mar 12, 2009

Yes, that's why I put "Rodenstock" in quotation marks. The camera is clearly marked Rodenstock, both in the metal and embossed in the leather. It's a very "generic" type with no or few distinguishing design features. I'll compare it with Weltas when I get home.

Anton Lukoszevieze · Mar 12, 2009

Has anyone posted fotos made using a 9x12 folder on APUG I have only found a few? Or maybe I have missed something?

Ole · Mar 12, 2009

(there was a url link here which no longer exists) was shot with a 18x24cm plate camera, currently residing in Sweden.

Ian Grant · Mar 12, 2009

My negatives are in the UK waiting to be printed on my next return

Ian

Fotoguy20d · Mar 12, 2009

I've picked up a few - a #1 Premo Film/Plate, three 4x5s - Seneca (no markings except for the ones inside the plate holders (came with 3, 2 of which still had plates in them), a 4x5 with no marking but probably a Premo (with 2 holders and a box of plates), and a Cycle Wizard B. I'd like to try them out - the lens/shutter on the Wizard are excellent, the Regno shutter on the Seneca is stuck (are they easy to fix?) but the RR lens is good, and the lens/shutter on the third don't work on T but B/I are okay and the glass is clear. What's the best way to use them? Do I need to make my own dry plates? I was going to try to figure out how far offset the film plane is in a standard holder (if it'll even fit the body) compared to the plate, or I was going to try to get a sheet of film into the plate holder with a backer to get the thickness right. I'm sure someone can tell me what to do to save me the science project and give me more time to shoot.

Dan

dwross · Mar 12, 2009

doughowk said:
Planning on getting into dry plate usage. Had purchased a 7X17 plate holder that needed some repair. Completed it recently, but hesitant on using such a size for my 1st foray. So looking to pick up a couple of 4X5s to practice coating - pre-packaged liquid emulsion for now.
Btw, Denise, enjoyed your article in CIM; and your site is very helpful.

Thanks! David Vickers did a great job of putting that issue together. CiM is a valuable resource. I hope David and Christopher keep at it for many years to come. And, I'm very glad The Light Farm has been helpful.

About your 7x17. There's no need to go full size or buy extra equipment when you're learning the ropes (or any time for that matter.) I always test one or two 4"x5" plates first in whatever size camera I'm using. If you keep your eyes open, you can find format adapters. Whole plate or 5"x7" to 4"x5" are most common. My 6"x15" pano camera has a 5"x12" reducing inset that I mainly use. To test, I set 4x5 spacers on the left and right sides. This leaves exactly the right size space for a 4x5 plate between them, right in the middle of the focusing area. This lets me test the focus and exposure under the same conditions as I'll use for a full-size plate. I use 4x5-to-quarter plate adapters, but either uncoated glass plates or balsa wood cut to size would work as well.

Best of fun to you,
d

Jim Noel · Mar 12, 2009

dwross said:
Hi All,

I know this forum is primarily about equipment, and I love to collect stuff as much (or more) than the next person, but are we using our cameras? I'd love to start talking about what we're doing with our babies, not just what we're collecting for them. I thought about starting a plate camera social group, but that could bury the lead. I'd like for newbies to APUG and old-timers thinking of branching out to know easily where to join in the conversation. This forum seems like the logical clubhouse.

So... I shoot dry plates with 4x5, 5x7, Whole Plate, and a 6"x15" panoramic. I just got an old B&J studio 8x10 that needs lots of TLC with a set of plates holders in great condition (I told you I liked to collect!). The beast is huge and heavy, so it won't be making it out into the field. My pano is a lot lighter and I still have to haul it around in a red Radio Flyer wagon .
DO you have a source for dry plates or are you making your own emulsions?

Anybody else like to tell us what and how they shoot? I know there is wonderful wet collodion work being done.

d

DO you have a source for cry plates, or are you coating your own emulsions?
Jim

Ian Grant · Mar 12, 2009

If you look at her website you'll discover that Denise makes her own emulsions & coats her own plates

She also behind a website devoted to dry plate making & similar processes "The Light Farm" which is well worth visiting.

Ian

vickersdc · Mar 12, 2009

I'll also second the fact that you can spend many happy hours mooching through Denise's website - it's a veritable resource on plate photography!

Soeren · Mar 13, 2009

Ian Grant said:
If you look at her website you'll discover that Denise makes her own emulsions & coats her own plates

She also behind a website devoted to dry plate making & similar processes "The Light Farm" which is well worth visiting.

Ian

Actually the idea of coating glassplates with either homemade or bought emulsion was the reason I got my Bergheil in the first place. I saw some work done that way when in Vrå early last fall. Though I havn't got any 9X12 plates right now that is still my goal. I do however have access to some 9X9 glassplates som maybe I should have a look in "Primitive Photography"
Kind regards

Are we using our plate cameras?

dwross

Ian Grant

doughowk

Barry S

Schlapp

Anastigmatic

mwdake

Anastigmatic

Michael W

mwdake

Soeren

Ole

Moderator

Anton Lukoszevieze

vickersdc

Anastigmatic

Ole

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Anton Lukoszevieze

Ole

Moderator

Ian Grant

Fotoguy20d

dwross

Jim Noel

Ian Grant

vickersdc

Soeren

Are we using our plate cameras?

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