10x8" Plate Camera Build

I love to build things, especially when it comes to my passion - Photography!
I have long been a devotee of plate cameras and techniques, such as wet plate, dry plate and large format film. Having built several pinhole cameras in the past, I turned my attention to a large format plate camera. This camera is designed specifically for portraiture, so has none of the 'movements’, generally associated with type of apparatus. The build took several months, but I didn’t work on it continuously and modified the design slightly as the build went on.
I intend to make my plans available online at some point, so you can build one for yourselves (if you feel as masochistic as me). Right now, I’m just pleased to have got the camera finished ready for a full road test in the coming weeks.

[@Gtbahna]

I have no idea what caused me to save this video to my watch later folder but I’m glad I did. That was truly masterful.

[@russellspear4911]

With the addition of a microcontroller and a few servos it would be an interesting piece of equipment.

[@blogonphotos]

Excellent piece of work, Carpentry to a high level, very well done, producing a wonderful piece of equipment, a piece of art, to capture art with.

[@dennisk5818]

Large format photography is such a wonderful thing to do. I still have my Sinar 4x5, but I did some shooting with a Calumet 8x10. Working with these cameras is a slow, deliberate process. This is photography in which art and technical come together. You've a beautiful camera with character from some of the earliest. Nice bellows, too.

[@TomLeePhoto]

Many thanks - I’ve been shooting a lot of alternative and Wet/dry plate for many years alongside the digital stuff, but using these cameras are so much more fulfilling!

[@chiragpradhan]

Impressive!

[@robdevenish1560]

Look forward to seeing the results Tom

[@martinagiusstreetphotography]

Nice one

[@user-qv9oo2co7t]

Would like to see an example of loading, exposing and removing the film. This very important step (and parts) seems to have been left out and is the croix of this project.

[@TomLeePhoto]

Have a little faith - it’s coming!

[@robertyoung1777]

Also - is it okay to use paraffin on old wood plate and film holders to help them slide in and out if the camera back more easily?
Thank you !

[@TomLeePhoto]

@@robertyoung1777 not too sure about using paraffin on wooden holders…..I only Zebra plate holders for my dry plates. I have modified a standard film holder to take glass plates for my ambrotype plates in the past and this works equally well. I may have to do another video!

[@robertyoung1777]

Thank you for the reply. I’m using old wooden dry plate holders from 1900-1920. They are light tight but sticky going in and out of my century wood 5X7 camera.

[@robertyoung1777]

A question - I’ve made several Zebra glass plate negatives with my old Century camera. All is good except I get water spots on the glass plates after final wash and dry. I’ve tried a final rinse with distilled water but still get spots. Any suggestions?
Your videos are very well presented and detailed. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and techniques.

[@TomLeePhoto]

Hi Robert, thanks for your support….It’s unusual to have water spots consistently on every plate (it is of course inevitable on the odd one or two)! My own method is to soak the plates in clean water tray for about an hour rather than run under water. Then I leave them to dry in a rack (vertically) overnight. If you still have issues try gently wiping them with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud. The isopropyl will evaporate quickly and shouldn’t affect your emulsion.

[@wombat1957]

Hi Tom, beautiful work. I have been a photographer for over 50 years so I can appreciate your passion. Can I ask where you were able to obtain the bellows and lens?

[@TomLeePhoto]

Thank you my friend! The bellows were made for me by www.custombellows.co.uk/products.html - give them a call they are very helpful. The lens is a 300mm fujinon from Japan. Found on eBay at a reasonable price but had to pay import duty. A bit hard to swallow but I’ve found lenses from japan like these are exactly as described and good value.

[@hopeaajavaloa]

Do you have any source for parts you were using

[@TomLeePhoto]

The timber I used was Sapele hardwood sourced from a local timber merchant. All hardware was available using a general search on Amazon! Even the running gear was from Amazon - I used the generic carriage (worm gear) from a 3D printer.