Topic: a self assembly large format camera??

[This-is-damion]

Over the past few weeks, ive been having a very bad time of it due to flat pack, self assembly wardrobes from ikea.    seemingly to rub salt in my very open wounds, my brother went and bought a flat pack self assembly large format camera called the Bulldog  http://www.camerabellows.com/Bulldog.html
he bought it whilt we were at the focus on imaging show at the NEC in Brum for only £100.  you only get a pinhole plate supplied but it seems a great way to get into the world of large format.
Can i just buy any large format lens and it will fit?  ive never even looked into it but it seems that they are all sort of interchangeable,  is there anything i need to look out for?

any advice appreciated!

[db]

the little phrase "entry level" is the only thing that gives me pause... I'm guessing it could lack some of the subtlety and finesse that makes large format photography exquisite. But hey, I'm sure It would be fun putting your own kit together.

Yes, I'd expect you could collect the lenses you need without any trouble.. just bear in mind that the lenses, panels and film holders will be where all the expense lies.

[This-is-damion]

i remember the comment being made that it seemed the exact opposite of everything large format should be, for a start, you spend £100 on a camera then about the same on a few boxes of film, then double, triple of lenses etc!

it was also only a few stands away from some rather nice linhof & arca stuff.    even the shen hao stuff looked expensive in comparison!

[bobf]

You can pretty much fit any LF lens, however there are a few caveats...

Lens/Shutter.  Not all LF lenses come with a shutter attached.  You will need one that comes with its own shutter.  The standard focal length for 5x4 is 150mm (roughly equivalent to 50mm on a 35mm camera).  They can get expensive for modern glass, but the beauty is, you can chuck pre-war glass on there and still get excellent images.  I have one lens taken off an old Kodak folding postcard camera - I was most annoyed at how good the lens is: I was hoping for some interesting defects...

Lensboards.  The lens needs to be fitted to the correct size lensboard. If I recall, the Camerabellows camera uses a Linhof style board which is a very popular type.  If the lens is not fitted to that type of board already, you will need to get one to fit.  Do not buy a Linhof brand board - they cost a fortune and are over-kill for your purposes - buy a cheaper no-name one. 

A Second point about lensboards is the size of the hole to take the lens.  The size of the hole is dictated by the shutter size and are numbered: #0, #1 and #3 are the most common.  You just need to order the lens panel with the correct size number for the shutter, or you can make your own out of thin plywood.

Coverage: Some lenses that look like LF lenses are in fact only intended for MF and will not cover the whole 5x4 inch negative, or will do so with little to spare (like my postcard camera lens).  Because of the movements available with a view camera, the lenses used normally have a much wider coverage than the size of the negative.

It really is a big subject and a book or two is probably the best next investment...

Have fun, Bob.

[david b]

There was quite a detailed review of the Bulldog in the April 2006 issue of Black & White Photography - might be worth getting hold of a copy.  It was quite positive overall about it.

[Francois]

It says on the page that they take Linhof style boards... You can sometimes find old lenses pre-mounted for cheap. The cool thing with large format is that the newest glass is not much better than the old ones. The thing to check when buying lenses is that the shutter works smoothly. The rest is secondary. Also, if you buy an unmounted lens, make sure the retaining nut is attached. I know this sounds stupid but someone once gave me a very nice lens without a nut... I'll probably have to send it off to the states to get it fitted. As for coverage, it all depends. But if you start with a basic 150mm (they are the cheapest and best quality), you won't run into any problems. The problems are usually with short focal lenghts. They compress the bellows so much that you lose the tilt-shift features of the camera. For these, recessed boards are recommended.

As for the included pinhole, it might be harder to use than a lens since the exposure will depend largely on the stretch of the bellows. You will have to choose different "focal lenghts" and make some exposure compensations for each. The closer the pinhole to the film, the shorter the exposure (inverse square law).

Hope you have fun putting it together (I too just finished assembling an Ikea wardrobe... not too hard to assemble contrary to popular belief ) and hope the camera will please you.

[This-is-damion]

cheers for all the info people,    will let you know how we get on with it.