I finally got my Century studio camera and stand all set up and fully rehabilitated. First it was rebuilding the platform on the stand (the original had broken and been repaired enough times that it was beyond salvage). Then it was getting the Packard shutter in the camera to sync with my flash. Then it was trying to repair the Packard shutter (the pin that goes through the pneumatic cylinder broke off the flap in the body of the shutter). After I realized that the lens board for my Kodak 405mm Portrait lens was an exact match for the Century camera, and it had a matching Packard shutter already installed, I got that cleaned up and the flash sync leads attached, and tested out the camera/lens combo. And coincidentally this weekend a friend emailed saying he had an 8x10 back for a studio camera, was I interested? He brought it over and we tried it out and it fit perfectly on my camera, so I got a new 8x10 back for it, so now I have the trifecta- 5x7, 6.5 x 8.5 and 8x10 backs!
As you can see, that 405 Kodak is a beast of a lens. The curly wire coming out of the body of the camera is the modern flash sync (there previously had been a Household flash sync with lamp wire, which was too ratty and unreliable for words.
As you can see, that 405 Kodak is a beast of a lens. The curly wire coming out of the body of the camera is the modern flash sync (there previously had been a Household flash sync with lamp wire, which was too ratty and unreliable for words.
