Inexpensive plate camera

Hello all,

I have searched quite a bit of time for a photographic process that reproduces color for large format photography that is not prohibitively expensive (i. e. fuji velvia sheet film or kodak $3 a sheet is not economical for me) and I have found that in Lippmann photography. I am looking for a plate camera that is inexpensive and decent quality, and I think the Russian Fotokor-1 9x12cm camera is a good price for decent quality. Can anyone recommend that camera or another camera, and tell me if the plate holders are easily available? Thanks.

hi there young he

a few questions for you ...

how much exposure control do you want / need ?
i am thinking of something like a box camera.
ALSO
you can use any camera with glass plates, you just have to adjust the focus a tiny b!t to accommodate
the thickness of the plate, or if you are like me, you just stop down a tiny bit and you are fine.

john

ps lippmann photography includes working with mercury i think, i'd rather shoot 3 panchromatic films filtered R G B
and make trichomes nothing as toxic as mercury is involved ... just registering the films and making your prints
on color paper or if you do it like some modernists you scan and drop the files in the color channels to make color images.
i do the latter sometimes when i am bored, and have made stereoscopic trichomes they are a blast ..

Young He said:

I have found that in Lippmann photography

Click to expand...

Are you aware that holographic plates are required for Lippmann process (unless you are prepared to coat your own colloidal panchromatic emulsion).
http://geola.com/product/pfg-03c-plates/
Inexpensive? 90€ for 30 plates; and each one is 6x6cm.
So, finding an inexpensive folder camera is not your worst problem. And, of course, as mentioned by jnanian, the mercury...

There's plenty of good 9x12 cameras around, the problem is there's quite a number of different fitting plate holders, so getting ones the right fit can be hit and miss.

As you're talking about a pre WWII camera type they all have uncoated lenses, try and avoid a Dialyte lens as these have lower contrast, a Tessar (& type) lens is going to be better.

Ian

Ok thanks for the input. I am planning on coating my own plates which should be much cheaper than commercially available plates, and there is a method that does not use mercury.

Personally I would say a Voigtlander Avus or one of the Zeiss Ikon plate cameras. Reason being the plate holders and roll film backs are fairly easy to find as compared to something not as mass produced. They usually sell for less than $100.
-Brian