My UL 20 x 59 inch camera build in progress

I appreciate all your comments, keep'em coming.

Transport box is the actual box you see with the bellow inside, all parts except the two folding stands will fit in that box. The lens is separately packed in its own box.

As for focus, have a look at the picture below, on the right is the focus wheel, attached to a long threaded rod, in the center is a captured nut which is attached to what I call the focus train. This focus train is made of heavy duty drawer guides used in furniture. It turns smooth, slow and a bit stiff but has absolutely no backlash (Spiel). In fact that simple mechanism is so good, I do not need to lock it when focus is achieved, it stands rock solid by itself.

There will be some you tube video in the future, setting up the camera by one man and showing the simple features.

Front downward tilt of lens board is not necessary, according to to photographer. We discussed that in detail but because the lens has such an ultra wide angle, only up and down of the lens board is needed. This is a landscape shooting monster.

The two folding stands are also not height adjustable, but I have some leg extensions that can be attached if needed. For time being, we just need to contend with what is allowed to do and make improvements from there. Again, because of the ultra wide angle, minor height adjustments or 'leveling out' will move the subject on the screen quite a bit. We just have to make-do.

It is possible for two people to lift the whole camera around, I guess the weight to be at 60 Kg.


The captured nut is attached to a U-shaped structure attached to two rails with movable drawer guides, which I call the focus train.( or carriage?)
Feel free to correct me on proper terminology where needed.


The U-shaped structure is slotted along each length and secured by toggle screws. The lens board is bolted to the drawer guide rail this will allow the lens to be moved quickly to any position. (loosen toggle-slide board carriage front or back-lock toggles) These toggles also have multiple positions along the rail. Fine tuning can then be made from the wheel below the viewing screen.

Cheers

 

Thanks Rich,

One point I try to make with this camera project is: Don't be afraid to do things you have never done before.
I would not have build this camera if not given circumstances just happened to come my way, and the photographer wanting it would not have it either if not met up with me. In fact the proposal was put forward to others before and didn't evolve.

I have darkroom experience from my teen years, long time ago. Since then I worked mostly with wood, one time had my own factory. Being constantly financially constraint, I learned to build jigs to facilitate my works. Through this experience I learned to match common hardware into some incredible contraptions. Later I graduated to out fit a high precision spindle motor repair facility where 1 mu seemed a lot and the workshop was a clean-tech outfit. A big difference as you might see.

This camera was also not to build a bigger or biggest camera than others. Its film size resembles a standard Chinese Landscape print, and that is exactly the reason for the Ultra wide angle lens matched for it. In fact, the camera turned out to be larger in size than we thought, as we learned to build it up from the film holder.

We are making small progress with darkroom out fit and print tests, but have not yet taken an actual picture with the camera. Exposure is done by: Iris closed--front cap off--iris open--exposure--iris closed--front cap on. The front cap is screwed on and very hard to match to the lens thread. Maybe I should make a simple guillotine shutter or a rubber front cap.

There will be new snags as it evolves but we never give up, a solution is always on the horizon, and posting it all here gives us valuable information as well.

Cheers