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Possible to manufacture a Horseman 970 Rangefinder Cam?

This is one of the manufactured 150mm rangefinder cams. They'll need to be sanded and deburred to work, dimensions are very close but it's a bit past infinity out of the box, and it jumps at those two burr points. They all have those two points.

So I'm going to work on sanding one and see how it goes.

If you're in the US and want one, message me your address. I'll just send it with a standard letter envelope and one stamp. You will have to sand it yourself.

 
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Cool. At $35 for 60 of them you could get 60 of each size and throw the entire Japanese used camera shop economy into recession. They ask like $60 plus $50 shipping each these days. I’d ask for one but I already have the whole set (except the fast 105.) I bought mine before the prices got crazy. Amazingly it felt overpriced buying them for $30 plus $10 shipping back then.
 

Yeah! The 150mm in particular was going for a lot at the time. I actually asked a Japanese seller if he would split his lot of 4 cams and just sell me one and got no response, so this is the result.
 
I have a Ektar 152mm, Fujinon W 150mm, symmar 150mm, symmar s 150mm and a ysarex 150mm to try it with, plus the Horseman 150mm. So I think it has a chance of matching something. I will post back my results.
 
And I'm going to try it with a 1924 150mm f/4.5 Tessar, once the lens board arrives next week.
 
@loccdor Thank you for sending it. Later next week I will try to polish those 2 warts off and try it on all of my 150mm lenses to see how it goes. I will report back. I just may do the same thing and make some for the 105mm 4.5 lens and wreck the market for them. You can place a piece of 1000 grit on a glass plate and grind off some of the 2 feet on the bottom to make it right at infinity.
 
I'm happy to provide photos of any of the others. I have all but 105mm Super (the 4.5) so if you make some of them, I'd love one.

BTW, at B&H you can get a little folding SD card wallet with space for 9 SD card. Its perfect to hold all the cams since they are a simlar size and there are 8 different standard Horseman lenses (at least of the VH/VH-R era): 65ƒ7, 75ƒ5.6, 90ƒ5.6, 105ƒ3.5, 105ƒ4.5, 120ƒ5.6, 150ƒ5.6, and 180ƒ5.6
 
Good ideas!
 
Would someone tell me the process I need to do to copy my 105mm cam and make a file that sendcutsend needs. I do have a scanner but what software do I need? Thank you in advance.
 
@ivan35mm Which program do you use to make the 2d outline?
 
Only tangentially related, I made an STL file for 3d printing that can friction fit inside the cheap 2x3 Graphic Film Pack adapter which can lock to the back of the Horseman and have a ground glass glued in. Outer dimensions of rectangle 71mmx105mm. Circle outer dimensions 30mm. Wall width 2mm. This file is a 5 inch (125mm) length ground glass hood that should work well with +4 diopter reading glasses or circular lens, and maybe +3 or +3.5 too. My vision after lasik can focus between 5-7 inches with +4 diopter reading glasses. The limit of my close vision is 7 inches without glasses.

Anyone who wants the file, PM me your email and I'll send it. I made it with FreeCAD using the Loft tool. This is an alternative to that $300+ Horseman angle finder... but without the mirror.



 
The first two tries on the 150mm cam got oversanded. The third one was a charm at least at the close ranges. Here is what I did that was successful for that one:

1. Sand the top curved surface with 1500 grit until smooth and without burrs and then immediately stop. It's easy to over-sand it. You don't want to alter the curve shape.
2. Set up a tripod with the Horseman and a target, at the distance you'll most often want to use the rangefinder.
3. Sand the bottom feet with 120 grit, first for a minute, then go to 15 second increments.
4. See if the rangefinder (the viewport, not the needle dial) and the ground glass agree after each 15 second sanding.

I chose 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) for my calibration as that is a good portrait distance and what I would end up often using the lens at. I was able to get it perfect at that distance, close to perfect at 1m, and within a few cm error for 3 meters. Above 5 meters I consider zone focusing distance and not that necessary for the rangefinder - there is more error there.

Here is the finished cam:



And with the unfinished cam underneath it so you can see the material that needs to be removed (almost all of this comes from sanding the feet):

 
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The widest spot is infinity, right? And (to be clear) you were not doing this for the Horseman 150, but a different one, right?
 
abruzzi said:
The widest spot is infinity, right? And (to be clear) you were not doing this for the Horseman 150, but a different one, right?
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A 150mm f/4.5 Zeiss Tessar with flange focal distance around 143-144mm. I thought the widest spot would be infinity too, but it's actually a small distance from the widest spot, maybe 3-5 mm, which seems to be the actual infinity. And the 1 meter focus is around 5-8mm from the right side.
 
FYI, putting a marking fluid on a surface you are sanding can be helpful. A Sharpie pen can be used for this. It gives an idea of if you have truly reached new material, and can show unevenness, etc.
 
Dan Daniel said:
FYI, putting a marking fluid on a surface you are sanding can be helpful. A Sharpie pen can be used for this. It gives an idea of if you have truly reached new material, and can show unevenness, etc.
Click to expand...

The sharpie worked well for the top surface, and you can also see if there are any scratches still left in direct light, or any spots that catch your fingernail, or put the cam in the camera and notice if there are any places where the needle dial jumps when you smoothly rotate the focus knobs. I found it easier to over sand the spots on the curve that were higher. Once you have a nice mirror finish and your finger glides along the edge, you know you're done sanding the curve.
 
I've just been out taking a roll of test pictures at 1/150 at various distances focusing with the rangefinder and the 150mm. With the wind gusts we are getting today, it should be a test of my hand holding ability as well. Saw a big willow tree that had been split in half.
 
jayjayevans said:
Would it be possible for you to PM me the file as well? I thought I would have a crack at laser cutting it.
Click to expand...

He'll need your email to send you the file. If you're located in the USA, you sure you don't want me to just send you the physical object for free? It's cheaper than commissioning a laser cutter.
 
loccdor said:
He'll need your email to send you the file. If you're located in the USA, you sure you don't want me to just send you the physical object for free? It's cheaper than commissioning a laser cutter.
Click to expand...

Thanks for offering, but unfortunately I am not in the US.
 
My cam needs a little more sanding, just developed a roll with some wide open shots, it's back-focusing a little. More work to do. Getting closer, love the rendering of this old Tessar!

 
loccdor said:
I made an STL file for 3d printing that can friction fit inside the cheap 2x3 Graphic Film Pack adapter which can lock to the back of the Horseman and have a ground glass glued in.
Click to expand...

And it arrived today and works great. The carbon fiber PETG looks amazing. Ordered a +4 diopter for the viewing port and then it will be set.



 
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