smaller sheet film cameras?

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you can find a Nikkor stainless steel sheet film tank, it's adjustable for all sizes from 4x5" to 2.25x3.25".

 

[Bandicoot]

My Galvin is a monorail and not to be hand-held.

One of my Arca-Swiss 6x9 monorails is designed to be useable handheld, though I don't use them thsat way.

I already had an A-S 6x9 and bought this as my second one mostly because it came in a very nice original Arca fitted case, and had with it some lenses that made the price for the whole 'package' very attractive. The camera is entirely standard except that the rail is engraved with focussing scales for two different lenses. The fitted case includes a large 'S' shaped two handed grip that screws onto the monorail and has provision to hold a cable release so that the button is in the 'trigger' position. There is also an optical finder in the set.

Once it's assembled the thing looks very like an aerial camera, apart from the bellows (not a terribly desirable feature in an open 'plane) - maybe I should refer to it as a balloon camera...

Anyway, that's just an aside to the thread to say that at least one manufacturer did, at least once, think that hand-holding a monorail made sense. I'm not sure that it makes a great deal of sense to me, but the set-up does work and I suppose it is a way to have both a (more or less) hand-holdable camera and all the movements of a monorail in a single package. A curiosity, then.



Peter

 

[rshepard]

Sounds interesting! How does it work?

Ulrich,

I modified what another member of our fine art photography group does. Use 1.5" black plastic plumbing pipe (ABS plastic here) cut into 6" lengths. Load a sheet of film in each one, then stand them on edge in a Jobo tank. I can fit 5 in a 2840 print tank; 10 if I stack them 2 high.

The tank is set in a water bath in which I use an aquarium heater to keep the temperature at 20C or 21C. Pre-soak with water for 3-5 minutes.

Since the film is in a closed Jobo tank, all processing can occur in the light instead of total darkness.

Dump the water, pour in the Pyrocat-HD. My friend recommends 1:1:100 for 20 minutes total development time for enlarging, and 1:1:150 for 30 minutes for contact printing. Minimal agitation is defined as constant agitation the first minute to minute-and-a-half, and agitation every 3 to 5 minutes after that. This is Sandy King's recommendations endorsed by my friend.

Water stop bath, then an alkaline fixer (I use Formulary's TF-4 for both film and paper).

I'll continue to develop my Efke roll film in the Jobo using the Rollo Pyro (ABC+ Pyro), but the sheet film (2.25x3.25 and 4x5) will be done this way. I have no 4x5 enlarger, so those negatives will be contact printed, but I'll continue to enlarge the smaller negatives.

Hope this helps,

Rich

 

[AgX]

A handheld monorail camera... That was new to me.

On the other hand (take it literally), if you think of the weight of the Technika 70...

 

[rshepard]

This is indeed an issue. And finding a glue which will work on the plastic at all too.

Ulrich,

There's an industrial-strength plastics adhesive called E6000 that takes about a week to cure completely, but is chemically stable when cured. The manufacturer also makes an E6100, but I have no idea how that differs.

My photographer/machinist friend uses E6000 to make recessed lens boards and all sorts of plastic goodies. We used it on the 2590n reels when we turned them down on his lathe, and I haven't seen any indication of glue influence on negatives.

Rich

 

[AgX]

I don't know that glue E6000. I intended to use a high strength epoxy cured at at the highest temperature that plastic allows. Could be that one of the solvent based glues would work too.

That migrating issue referred to a German photo engineer who stresses the negative influence of stuff migrating out off reels in case of his very own developer.

 

[Ulrich Drolshagen]

AgX and Rich, thank you for your hints. I'll think it out. Up til now it seems more easy for me to modify the 2509n to fit my needs. But I will have closer look at plumbing tubes too, next time I am at the local home improvement store.

Ulrich