Filmwasters

Which Board? => Main Forum => Topic started by: LT on August 19, 2011, 09:21:37 AM

Title: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: LT on August 19, 2011, 09:21:37 AM
Skip to about the 2 minute mark to see the camera - looks very tasty indeed. I think I'll be saving for one.

PW144 - Harman Direct Positive Paper at Focus On Imaging 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY141C3mQKA#ws)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Miles on August 19, 2011, 10:01:11 AM

Mmmmmm Lovely "Engineered" look to it  ;D
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Heather on August 19, 2011, 10:51:16 AM
Yup. I'm excited about it. So excited I asked their FB page when they'd come out and they said late September hopefully. Woo! :D
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: LT on August 19, 2011, 11:32:20 AM
we've got some details to be announced in our up-and-coming audio podcast - exciting :)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: astrobeck on August 19, 2011, 03:55:35 PM
I'll be watching for the camera as well and saving my cash in the meantime.

Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: sapata on August 19, 2011, 07:10:00 PM
Looks nice, but I wouldn't like to have one of those at the college if I was just starting studying photography.

Back in time when I learned pinhole photography at the college, the whole DIY process involved from chosing the size of the camera and material was all part of the fun and I really enjoyed.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Francois on August 19, 2011, 08:28:21 PM
That is really a nice camera. I love the fact that they kept the bellows shaped plastic on it. They could have just made a straight box or a simple pyramid but chose not to.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Mike (happyforest) on August 19, 2011, 09:31:14 PM
Look good.

I wonder if the £120 price point is just for one focal length or all three?

If\when I have the case I would be interested.

Mike
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Steven. on August 19, 2011, 11:05:30 PM
that looks pretty cool!
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: astrobeck on August 20, 2011, 01:56:32 AM
It reminds me of the old Daylab pinhole cams....
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Diane Peterson on August 20, 2011, 02:26:04 PM
I'm in! Looks great!!
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Urban Hafner on August 23, 2011, 08:24:08 AM
I want one, too! Can't be that hard to develop 4x5 film or paper, can it? :)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: CarlRadford on August 23, 2011, 12:59:37 PM
I spent last Friday with Paul Gallagher.  He was extensively involved in testing the prototypes and was very positive about the camera.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Ed Wenn on August 23, 2011, 02:30:30 PM
Carl, thanks for the feedback. I think the camera looks great, so I'm pleased your friend enjoyed using it.

Is there any news about whether the camera will take an instant film back of any sort?
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Diane Peterson on August 23, 2011, 03:31:16 PM
I am eagerly awaiting news of where and when I can have one of these beauties...they look intriqueing..Urbanhafner..developing paper is a piece of cake..and many times I just put my 4x5 film in my paterson tank around the edge and develope that way..you can get two or perhaps three in with no problem...
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Urban Hafner on August 23, 2011, 03:54:18 PM
Thanks Diane, that's good to know.

Urban
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Francois on August 23, 2011, 04:10:43 PM
Or you can get a color processing drum. They're also incredibly cheap to use taking only 3 ounces of chemistry for an 11x14 print!
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Urban Hafner on August 23, 2011, 04:30:05 PM
Thanks Francois, if (or should I say when? ;)) I get that camera I'll come back to you guys for sure.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: CarlRadford on August 23, 2011, 05:04:32 PM
Carl, thanks for the feedback. I think the camera looks great, so I'm pleased your friend enjoyed using it.

Is there any news about whether the camera will take an instant film back of any sort?

@Ed I have emailed him and will let you know when I get the reply - can't see why not though!
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: CarlRadford on August 23, 2011, 05:26:36 PM
Carl, thanks for the feedback. I think the camera looks great, so I'm pleased your friend enjoyed using it.

Is there any news about whether the camera will take an instant film back of any sort?

@Ed I have emailed him and will let you know when I get the reply - can't see why not though!

@Ed I quote "I suspect it will but will as the question and get back to you." I'll update after Paul has spoken to Mike.  I had a Mike Walker Titan for a while - great camera.  I know Andrew Sanderson loves his Walker 10x8 too.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Ed Wenn on August 23, 2011, 06:36:52 PM
Carl: Many thanks for taking the time to ask. Much appreciated. From what I've heard, the build quality of this camera is very high and I wouldn't want to buy one, just to have to hack it to take an instant back.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: astrobeck on August 23, 2011, 07:06:12 PM
Maybe if enough Filmwasters put in orders they would give us a discount!
 :)

I'm always looking for a bargain!
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Miles on August 23, 2011, 08:46:54 PM
I'm I'm!

A FW special ...
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Chris A Fraser on August 23, 2011, 10:15:26 PM
Your right it does look like a daylab pinhole camera. 



But with 4x5 back. If I remember correctly Daylab also made a 4x5 version. It was with a graflok style back, Which does accept Polaroid backs. 

 
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Thom Stone on August 24, 2011, 11:36:41 AM
this looks awesome, I would love one of these. I have had very limited success with making my own, the whole focal length pinhole size relationship confuses the hell out of me. So does exposure times. I was thinking about getting a Zero image 69 but think I may wait for this now. it might be quite easy to hack an old colourpack camera to accept the plastic bellows. I tried concverting an old colourpack into a pinholearoid but it was pretty pathetic....
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Francois on August 24, 2011, 02:56:56 PM
I tried concverting an old colourpack into a pinholearoid but it was pretty pathetic....
You mean it looked more like a big ball of duct tape than a camera? ;)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Nigel on August 25, 2011, 07:45:19 PM
Quote
I am eagerly awaiting news of where and when I can have one of these beauties...they look intriqueing..Urbanhafner..developing paper is a piece of cake..and many times I just put my 4x5 film in my paterson tank around the edge and develope that way..you can get two or perhaps three in with no problem...

Diane - I'd like to have a go at this. I've got an old 5x4 dark slide, so I could make a quick pinhole camera to shoot with some paper. Is there a particular paper that would be best? Would you know if there's a film developer I can use to develop it, in case I don't do too many? Anyone have any tips to pass on?

Nigel
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: astrobeck on August 25, 2011, 08:01:15 PM
I don't know about Diane, but I use whatever RC photo paper I have on hand to make  4 x 5 sheets for my filmholders.

I use Arista paper developer since it's cheap, but I've read you can use diluted film developer as well, I just haven't tried it.
I develop in trays so I can watch what's going on then snatch it when it looks right.  Not very scientific, I know...

If you are cutting the 4 x 5's out of 8 x 10 sheets just keep in mind that the trimmed sheets need to be a bit smaller than 4 x 5- so make a test sheet our of regular paper to see what size you actually need to trim them down to.  

There's some info at the f295 forum:
http://www.f295.org/Pinholeforum/forum/Blah.pl?m-1167346966/ (http://www.f295.org/Pinholeforum/forum/Blah.pl?m-1167346966/)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Thom Stone on August 25, 2011, 10:32:44 PM
I tried concverting an old colourpack into a pinholearoid but it was pretty pathetic....
You mean it looked more like a big ball of duct tape than a camera? ;)

haha not quite that bad francois but I just couldnt get the damn thing to work. bought the pinhole online and couldnt work out the fstop... maths never was my strong point. I dont think the whole project was aided by the fact I went for a superwide design to start with and on instant film none the less.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Thom Stone on August 25, 2011, 10:33:53 PM
I did get one image that I cant place my hands on right now but it was like a 5 minute exposure of a church at night was still really underexposed
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Francois on August 25, 2011, 10:54:02 PM
I've always found the Pinhole.cz pinhole designer quite handy.
You can calculate the size of the pinhole by scanning it and measuring it with photoshop.

And if you need a program to reverse engineer the focal length according to the pinhole size, I have made such a program years ago... it's butt ugly but works fine.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: CarlRadford on August 26, 2011, 05:43:38 PM
Carl: Many thanks for taking the time to ask. Much appreciated. From what I've heard, the build quality of this camera is very high and I wouldn't want to buy one, just to have to hack it to take an instant back.

Mike has just replied to Paul - the camera will NOT take a Polaroid back :(
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Diane Peterson on August 27, 2011, 06:24:13 PM
I've always found the Pinhole.cz pinhole designer quite handy.
You can calculate the size of the pinhole by scanning it and measuring it with photoshop.

Francois..I wish you would tell me ....I get the concept but am lost when it comes to actually doing it..I have photoshop 7 if that will work..
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Francois on August 27, 2011, 09:21:10 PM
Well, for measuring, you put the pinhole on the scanner in transparency mode and scan it at a good high resolution... lets say 3200 dpi.
Then you take the ruler tool in photoshop and measure the size of the hole. The number of pixels wide divided by 3200 should give you the number of inches (if my brain still works OK)...

From that you can calculate the ideal focal length...

You could probably also measure it using Image J (http://macbiophotonics.ca/downloads.htm (http://macbiophotonics.ca/downloads.htm)) since it's made for microscopic applications (and its free!)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Phil Bebbington on August 28, 2011, 01:16:46 PM
I bought this a few years ago on an the auction site. I haven't used it in a while, but, it works pretty well.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: CarlRadford on August 28, 2011, 04:10:17 PM
I bought this a few years ago on an the auction site. I haven't used it in a while, but, it works pretty well.

You Tease :)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Diane Peterson on August 28, 2011, 05:08:33 PM
Francois....again to my rescue..thank you..
and Phil..what is that dark slide made of?? I have two 5x7 film holders and they both have cracked dark slides....have to replace them...any suggestions anyone?
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Ed Wenn on August 28, 2011, 05:12:51 PM
Carl: Many thanks for taking the time to ask. Much appreciated. From what I've heard, the build quality of this camera is very high and I wouldn't want to buy one, just to have to hack it to take an instant back.
Mike has just replied to Paul - the camera will NOT take a Polaroid back :(
Hmmph. That's too bad. I suppose there's no follow-on business in film sales for Ilford Photo if they were to market and sell a camera which shoots instant film in addition to their sheet film & DPP, but this is still a blow. Bah!

 :( :(
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Diane Peterson on August 28, 2011, 05:26:37 PM
Nigel..I am so sorry I just saw your post..working does get in the way of what I really want to do... :) :)
however..astrobeck pretty much says it all..afterall she is the pinhole queen..
my favoite paper to use is   Freestyle's Arista EDU Ultra
RC Grade 2 - Semi-Matte Photo Paper ...and I have been using Kodak Dektol..not that I think its the best it was just what I started with..I use white vinegar at about 1 to 12 with water for a stop bath....
Dektol can be used for paper or film depending how you dilute it...
I think I will get the devloper that astrobeck has and try it out...

this is some info on other paper I purchased..it is superb..

Oriental Seagull M-3 Premium
8x10 - 20 Sheets - ISO Speed P400
RC Grade 3 - Fine Matte Smooth Paper
This is one of those papers that once you use it, you're hooked. Since it's a grade 3 paper, it makes for some really nice paper negatives. The paper is also relatively fast, so if you're using it for pinhole paper negatives, your exposures aren't super long. Since this is an 8x10 paper, I usually cut this paper down to size I want with an Xacto knife in the darkroom, then store in the black safe bag the paper comes with.
I had to order this directly from the company....
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: DS on August 28, 2011, 06:26:37 PM
You mean it looked more like a big ball of duct tape than a camera? ;)

What's wrong with duct tape?
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3327/4639241032_2d85ab84c3_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davs_piccies/4639241032/)
pinholaroid (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davs_piccies/4639241032/#) by Archaeobobalist (http://www.flickr.com/people/davs_piccies/), on Flickr
It works.... This thread reminds me I should use it more. Need to refine the shutter tho- it's too easy to wobble the camera opening and closing it. Floppy disk shutter seems to be the way to go but I struggle to find any floppies in this day and age since I binned all of mine ages ago.

You can also measure the pinhole with a digicam if you can work out the magnification (explained here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davs_piccies/3354458031/#in/set-72157610020699880/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davs_piccies/3354458031/#in/set-72157610020699880/)). Lately I can't be bothered with this and just use an engineer's rule beside the hole and using that to work out an approximate scale (measure how many pixels are in 1mm- then divide this by the width in pixels of the hole). This seems accurate enough really. I tend to make a whole load of pinholes from a beer can and then measure them to see which is closest to optimal. This is all probably needlessly nerdy but hey, that's the way I roll.

There's also a way of doing it with a slide projector or enlarger and mounting the pinhole in a slide / carrier and measuring the size of the projected hole.

As for the Harman pinhole- given the price I doubt i'll buy one- they are so easy to make and homemade ones are so much more rock 'n roll....
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: DS on August 28, 2011, 07:07:00 PM
You could probably also measure it using Image J (http://macbiophotonics.ca/downloads.htm (http://macbiophotonics.ca/downloads.htm)) since it's made for microscopic applications (and its free!)

Image J is awesome. Use it all the time when I can't face Matlab. (sorry- quite severely OT). You can also measure dimensions in PS and Gimp
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Phil Bebbington on August 28, 2011, 07:42:12 PM
Diane, the slide is stainless steel.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Phil Bebbington on August 28, 2011, 07:48:50 PM
OOooo, I want one of these and the price seems very good. I assume this is  what was being talked about on the podcast?
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Diane Peterson on August 28, 2011, 07:57:15 PM
Thanks Phil..will have to find a piece to use...
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Diane Peterson on August 28, 2011, 08:03:12 PM
BTW..as far as exposure goes..Unlike Astrobeck who is so good at "being the emulsion" I have to try and figure this out with "aids"  I found this great app for my ipod for pinhole photography exposure times..it is incredible..The only reason I have an ipod is to be able to get on the internet when not at home and then I found some great apps like this one..made it all worth while!!
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Francois on August 28, 2011, 08:33:38 PM
It works.... This thread reminds me I should use it more.
Duct tape or the camera  ;)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: DS on August 28, 2011, 09:02:07 PM
It works.... This thread reminds me I should use it more.
Duct tape or the camera  ;)

I need no reminder to use duct tape. It holds my world together  ;D

Further OT- I was roof fixing this weekend. It occurs to me that aluminium flashing tape is the ideal light proofing for pinholes- not only is it totally opaque, it is super super shiny...
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Francois on August 28, 2011, 10:16:30 PM
That aluminum duct tape is also surprisingly strong. I know a guy who used to do body work on his van using the stuff. While it isn't approved for crash resistance, it did look surprisingly good when he painted it to match.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: rkbry on September 20, 2011, 05:19:27 AM
There seems to be a bit of news about the camera here: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Ilford_Photo_launches_5x4in_pinhole_camera_news_309687.html (http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Ilford_Photo_launches_5x4in_pinhole_camera_news_309687.html)

It looks to be more expensive than I was hoping.  :-\

-rob
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Urban Hafner on September 20, 2011, 07:01:56 AM
True. But I don't think I'll be able to resist :)
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Miles on September 20, 2011, 09:02:21 AM

I'm with Urban, thinking Christmas  ;D
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: LT on September 20, 2011, 09:47:14 AM
someone around here has a landmark 40th birthday coming up very soon .... this would make such a nice present for me him.
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Paul Mitchell on September 20, 2011, 01:43:36 PM
I didn't think the price was too bad... my Zero 5x4 cost over £160 (note to Leon: it was a pressie from Mrs M for my big 50th!). I do like the idea of the fully weather proof Walker though, the Mahogany of the Zero looks nice but does suffer a bit in the rain.

Paul
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Late Developer on September 20, 2011, 09:55:12 PM
Is that the guy who set up this company:

http://www.walkercameras.com/index.html (http://www.walkercameras.com/index.html)

If so, I REALLY would like one of his 5x4 "Titan" field cameras............though I'd settle for a Wista...!! ;D
Title: Re: Walker/ Harman Pinhole Camera - looks Nice!
Post by: Karl on September 20, 2011, 10:29:42 PM
very nice indeed. What a fab product and I'm sure filmwasters will help them reach their sales target. With the darkroom up and running I want one!