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Making a camera with a focusing ground glass and full movements has a few challenges but if you know what to look for and which parts need to be the most precise you can make a fully functioning 120 camera from scratch. The great thing about 120 roll film is that it doesn't require a completely dark room for loading like other view camera films that use sheet film holders. The super wide panoramic feel to this format is what inspired me to make this camera in the first place.
The only item in this project that is not made by hand is the large format lens with a built-in shutter and aperture. In this case I built the camera suited for a 90mm or longer lens that covers a 6x17cm frame. However, This camera can be made to almost any width. Some 120 cameras go up to or even over 24cm. The maximum width really depends on the coverage of the lenses you want to use. Yes, that's right, you can change out the lens on this bad boy too. To find out that coverage of a lens you have or are thinking of buying, there are two pretty easy methods. One is to look up the information on line. Schneider optics has the information on all vintage lenses right on their website, for example. If you already have a mountable large format lens, you can simply tape a ruler to a wall adjacent to a window in a dim room. Move the lens in and out from the wall to focus the projected image and then note the measurement of what's called the "image circle". This will be the maximum diagonal width of your film frame. It is a good idea to make the maximum frame fit well within this image circle since you have a camera with lens movements.
The basic tools that I use are a router table, drill press, jig saw and band saw. The band saw is not 100% necessary but will really cut down on the amount of time this will take to complete.
To design the camera and all the parts, I used Sketchup. Although there were some parts I changed on the fly without redrawing them in Sketchup. The program is most useful to see how the overall project will fit together.
The only item in this project that is not made by hand is the large format lens with a built-in shutter and aperture. In this case I built the camera suited for a 90mm or longer lens that covers a 6x17cm frame. However, This camera can be made to almost any width. Some 120 cameras go up to or even over 24cm. The maximum width really depends on the coverage of the lenses you want to use. Yes, that's right, you can change out the lens on this bad boy too. To find out that coverage of a lens you have or are thinking of buying, there are two pretty easy methods. One is to look up the information on line. Schneider optics has the information on all vintage lenses right on their website, for example. If you already have a mountable large format lens, you can simply tape a ruler to a wall adjacent to a window in a dim room. Move the lens in and out from the wall to focus the projected image and then note the measurement of what's called the "image circle". This will be the maximum diagonal width of your film frame. It is a good idea to make the maximum frame fit well within this image circle since you have a camera with lens movements.
The basic tools that I use are a router table, drill press, jig saw and band saw. The band saw is not 100% necessary but will really cut down on the amount of time this will take to complete.
To design the camera and all the parts, I used Sketchup. Although there were some parts I changed on the fly without redrawing them in Sketchup. The program is most useful to see how the overall project will fit together.
IMG_0418.MOV4 MB
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Signing UpStep 1Make the focus device.
The focus device is simply a threaded rod and a threaded furniture lug attached to a block that moves along the threaded rod when turned. The focusing board lays on top of two aluminum jig tracks cut to length. I just bought a 24" one with four mounting holes and cut it so that I didn't even have to tap new holes.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryancollier/sets/72157627038231166/detail/
I've read spray-on glass frosting and other similar techniques work quite well and, in a pinch, Scotch tape on a piece of glass sourced at a frame shop or wherever's handy works (just make sure to cover all the way to the edges and not overlap the strips lest you run in to some focus problems).
I scan my negatives. They are too long for the negative carrier though. I have to make two scans and merge them using the panorama tool in PS.