Is this real or a reflection?

Erik L · Oct 20, 2007

Hi folks,

Had the chance to try out my new homemade 8x10 field camera today. Please ignore the lousy shot and help me understand if this shot is a fluke reflection or am I really blind and can't see that part of my camera is in the picture I honestly don't think I could have missed such a blatant error or did I?
I'm rather new at this and don't know if this is to be expected sometimes. The lens used was a 210 g claron and I had a large amount of back rise applied. Did I really miss this on the ground glass or is it some sort of reflection? It is translucent and makes me think it is a reflection, if not, can I avoid it?

Again, please don't hurt my ego by acknowledging what a poor shot it was
Any advice is appreciated!
Erik

John Kasaian · Oct 20, 2007

Maybe try focusing using the rear standard

gainer · Oct 20, 2007

Make sure there is not a pinhole somewhere on the camera's front panel. I cannot imagine any other way the bed could be in focus.

Erik L · Oct 20, 2007

Thanks guys,
I never thought about a pinhole being the cause of this error. It did only show up with the 210mm (twice). Shots with the 300mm and 19 inch of the same scene were fine. Maybe my homemade lensboard is faulty. I'll get the flashlight out and check.
Thanks again!
Erik

walter23 · Oct 21, 2007

I also think it looks like a pinhole. It's obviously something like a double exposure because the bed doesn't obscure the scene, and the rail (which is obviously very close) is in reasonable focus.

Was this a relatively long exposure at a small aperture? Other than doing a flashlight test (just take the back off and insert the flashlight through the back in a dark room) I guess you could shoot the same scene at two different apertures and see if it shows up in the longer (smaller aperture) exposure but less so or not at all in the shorter one. 'Course that costs film, better to do a flashlight test.

Erik L · Oct 21, 2007

Guys, you nailed it! My lensboard when not seated properly has a tiny hole on the bottom center where I put a notch in it to fit. I made the notch slightly too big. I am so glad that I don't have to give up on using the 210! I would have never thought about looking for a pinhole.
Thanks so much for the help!

regards
Erik

Shawn Dougherty · Oct 21, 2007

This is a perfect example of what is great about APUG and the power of communication today.

Good luck with the new camera Erik! Best. Shawn

Curt · Oct 21, 2007

The subject matter looks really interesting, I hope you are able to do it again. What kind of camera is it and what have you done to fix it up?

Curt

Erik L · Oct 21, 2007

Shawn, I agree APUG is invaluable to me. I get way more out of it than I contribute. My inexperience doesn't allow me to post answers to peoples questions with authority I am grateful to the people here who take time out to help!

Curt, It's a beautiful canyon here in Colorado called the Black Canyon of the Gunnisson. I have tried to get this shot over the years and the light is never quite right. Where I was standing when I took this shot is actually twice as high as the empire state building is tall! I just wanted to try the new toy out and see what an 8x10 neg would look like of this scene. Below is a pic I took with my 4x5 of the scene as well as a pic of the camera I built in it's early prototype stage. I made it out of aluminum and cherry. It is my first attempt at camera building and it actually functions I would take better pics of the camera but a digital camera isn't handy at the moment and this is the only pic I have available.

Again everyone, Thanks for the help!
Erik

walter23 · Oct 21, 2007

Don't kid yourself, that's a great shot of the canyon. Looks like you've basically scaled up your 4x5 shen hao but with rear extension as well? Nice looking camera.

Erik L · Oct 21, 2007

Walter Thanks! Yea, I basically looked at all the cameras I could find pictures of online and mixed and matched designs according to what my limited skills and lack of a metal mill would allow me to do most easily. It was a fun project, but is 8x10 really big enough

Is this real or a reflection?

Erik L

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