Ultralight 4x5 point and shoot

A couple years back I was excited to hear about the new Travelwide 4x5 camera project.  I loved the concept just as much as I loved how it was making its way to the market. Unfortunately, the wait for it to materialize in my mailbox was excruciating! So I did what any half crazy camera builder does, I headed down to my workbench and started looking around. 

The lightweight plastic and composite construction of the Harman Titan pinhole camera (made by Walker Cameras) looked like it would be the perfect candidate for a donor camera. Upon closer examination, I found the distance from the end of the cone to the film plane was a perfect match for a 65mm f/8 Super Angulon. While there are sharper and faster options out there, the old school, single coated f/8 SA has a unique look that makes the extra effort of shooting sheet film again totally worth it. The perfect balance of sharpness and falloff, at f/22 this lightweight lens is gorgeous lens for a 4x5 wide angle point and shoot.

Since the camera would be primarily be shot hand held, I made a grip from some aluminum tubing that I covered with adhesive shrink tube for added grip. Two bolts secure the grip through the cone of the camera.  I added some black adhesive caulk to ensure a tight fit with the zero wobbling and finished it with a Canon hand strap. Since you load the film holders and operate the lens with your right hand the hand grip and strap on the left side is nice. 

Not planning on using a any of the interchangeable lens cones that are available for this camera, I used the black adhesive caulk to secure and strengthen its mount to the camera. Lastly, the entire inside of the lens cone was covered with the same paper backed flocking that I use on almost every camera I build. It helps keep the camera light tight but more importantly reduces internal reflections. 

To keep the camera from noseing over an 100mm Arca Swiss plate was mounted perpendicular to the camera.  

I found a beautifuly clean black late model single coated Super Angulon set in a 0 shutter. The only drawback to the larger 0 shutter (a double aught is a near perfect fit) is you will need to carve out the front of the lens cone for it to fit.  I was a little worried that it would weaken the front of the camera but it turned out to be quite rigid. The lens was finished with a Canon W-50 shade from the Canon 35mm f/1.5 LTM, that needed a good amount of work with the Dremel and a hand file to cut pedals into the sides but It's compact size is a good match for the camera.  

For my tests I used an older Russian 20mm finder but ultimately wanted a brighter and more contrasty finder. After some late night scouring of the web, I found a Zeiss finder from the Contax 21mm f/2.8 at Used Photo Pro, the fantastic used camera arm of Roberts Camera at an equally fantastic price. It had some scratches on its titanium finish but the glass was clean, after a bit of steel wool and a couple coats of satin black paint it looked like it was made for the camera.  As I've done on other cameras, I used a dab or two of the black adhesive caulk on the accessory shoe to make sure the finder stays affixed to the camera while it being stuffed in and out of bags and backpacks.  

To finish off the camera, an older wooden film holder was cut out and the center was replaced with a piece of ground glass to serve as a proper focusing screen. Mostly for times you were on sticks and wanted to compose your images more deliberately but to be 100% honest, the camera feels so good handheld, the ground glass adapter rarely gets used. It is nice to have the option if need be.

The entire conversion is pretty straightforward and you end up with a compact little camera that yields gorgeous 4x5s. So far I've mostly been using Provia but I'm super excited to get 25 sheets of CineStill 800T later this summer. If you wanna build one and have any questions feel free to reach out, I'll try to help however I can.  

I have a super lightweight 4x5 field camera with moments in the works, but it might be a while till its done and posted. With my new position with (the greatest camera company in the world) Canon USA this will be most likely be my last camera and my last post for a while. Canon is getting most of my attention these days.

Thanks for looking!

Dirk

Finally, the perfect Leica Handgrip / M-Grip for the Leica

super compact and more functional version of the Leica Handgrip M or GMP M-Grip

Maybe it's that I'm getting older, I'd like to think that I'm getting wiser but recently (that's the last two years or so in my world) I've been working to make my gear (and my stuff) smaller and lighter while doing more.  I pulled the large battery grips off my full frame Canons in favor of smaller Arca Swiss mounts, I just finished a beautiful composite 4x5 point and shoot camera (I'll be posting it soon) and I'm working on what I hope will be the lightest full feature 4x5 camera out there.

Less is more. More slows you down, when you carry less you think more and shoot less too. If everything aligns properly you'll emerge with better, more compelling and more interesting images.  A group of fellow photographer/friends are doing a picture a day project throughout 2016 and someone who couldn't commit to the project said something that stuck with my, 'if your goal is to create interesting images...'  forget the rest, that statement really stuck with me and I suspect the others in the group.  Days have passed where I haven't shot a frame, then all at once, creativity flows through my veins and I'll shoot several images on my theme in a single day.  If I was carrying a large camera or a ton of gear, I this wouldn't be practical or even possible.  But downsizing everything has payed off big time.  Because I've stuck with an M6, I can carry it over my shoulder or in my backpack just about everywhere I go and it's at the ready when the situation presents itself.

even my backup 'trunk-tripod' has an Arca-Swiss clamp

Nice, I've downsized everything except my words, sorry...lets talk about the Leica grip.  A while back I bought into the Arca Swiss Quick release system, super fast, crazy solid and easier on my gear then wrenching it on and off the sticks all the time.

Which brings me the grip. I've always had a Leica or at least it seems that way, first got an M2 as a student at University of Missouri St. Louis, upgraded to an M4-2 when I was at Brooks, added an Abrahamsson Rapidwinder and used that combo for years before upgrading to a gorgeous M6 Panda, the same camera I'm using for my 2016 picture-a-day project.

Shooting film today is completely different then it was ten or fifteen years ago before digital was the norm. You shoot film slower, more methodically, it's precious...it's expensive! Motor drives really aren't as critical as they used to be, if you need to shoot quick, digital is better or more economical for sure. I still have a winder on my original F1, the electronic shutter release is smoother then the manual shutter release, I feel my images are sharper with the winder. While its nice to always have then next frame advanced, the added size and weight of the winder and 4 AA's is a downside, but sharper images makes it worthwhile.

I don't need the fast advance or added weight of the Rapidwinder so I picked up the Leica Handgrip #14405 (pictured above on the overpass) which is designed for most all Leica M film cameras except for the smaller CL or larger M5. Its a nice addition to the camera and ironically it will work with the Arca-Swiss system but not fantastically. The width is perfect allowing it to fit into the Arca clamp. It holds tight for horizontal shots and while I've used it for verticals, I'm constantly worried it will slip. Looking for a compact solution with both an Arca dove tail and handgrip, I was coming up dry. I found the original M-Grip from GMP products on eBay which I thought could be machined down but after a trip to the machine shop it wouldn't work.

the completed grip, Leica Handgrip M and the Really Right Stuff plate

My next idea was to remove the hand grip portion from the GMP grip and tap a Really Right Stuff B30 grip to accept the upright. The placement of the screws were off and in all honestly, I was surprised how big the B30 plate is. Being close to giving up, I thought I'd opt for a small Arca Plate and after some trolling I found beautiful and compact Acratech plate which additionally was less then $40.00!  The plate fits the bottom of the camera with half liner the protrusion of the Really Right Stuff and less height of the original M-Grip. Super small and rock solid on the tripod. I wish the 1/4-20 slot was not recessed but its the best plate out there by far.

it probably wont win a beauty contest but its a perfect match for the camera

Talking with friend, I noticed a grip for the Sony RX100 called a WAG-RX100 that's available on Amazon or eBay. It finally arrived a couple days ago and between my Dremel and a couple files, my M6 is FINALLY sitting pretty. I wish it looked more 'Leica' and less 'MacGyver', but it does exactly what I wanted, a grip that's smaller and lighter then anything commercially the is compatible with my Arca Swiss clamps. 

screws holding the handgrip between the plate and the Acratech plate 

You will need a couple cuts of sheet aluminum (available at the hobby store), stainless steel M2-4 (ironic right?) machine screws which are now available at Home Depot and you are in business.  
If you wanna build one and have specific questions just drop me a line.  In the meantime, I'll be emailing Scott Dordick, photographer, machinist and CEO of Acratech to see if can make a prettier version, you should too, here is the company email, I can't find a direct one for Scott: info@acratech.net