A few Newbie questions

[lensworx]

Hi all

I have been going through and giving all the camera and accessories a good clean and noticed a few things that im not sure on.

Some of my film holders look like they could do with some tlc. the hinge tape is starting to come away and stiff to open.
Does the Hinge tape provide any kind of light seal or is it there for just that reason, a hinge?
I have read that book binding tape will work however I have load of cotton mounting tape here that would do the job but its not black.

Secondly all but one of my holders are MPP holders (the last one is a lisco holder). All the MPP holders are made of wood and two of them have solid inserts.
Now the other holders I believe are actually plate holders with film inserts in them, should I be worried about using these with the cambo?
I presume that they all got used together as it came as a package but I am now starting to wonder if I should get some newer film holders.
Having done some research (which Im starting to wish I had not) I have read that these MPP holders may have a different register and not be 100% compatible with my cambo?

Can these "Plate" holders be used with glass plates still?

Lastly, can anyone tell me how to go about fitting a fresnel screen to the cambo? is there anything I should looking for?
Its my understanding that they can be fitted and go on the rear side of the ground glass so to not shift the ground glass registration but any help and advise would be great.

thanks in advance and sorry about all the questions

 

[Ian Grant]

I have a few of the MPP plate holders and the film inserts, yes they can be used with plates,

Yes early MPP holders have a register of 0.2" / 0.508mm. The new ISO/BS Standard is 0.500mm /0.197", but that's +/- 0.018mm / 0.007" so in practice they are within tolerance. I've never had an issue with them.

I had to re-tape all my MPP holders.

My Cambo Cadet came with a very thin plastic fresnel, I'd assumed it was standard, apparently not.



Here it is fitted on the rear, it was a really bright screen.

Ian

 

[David M]

The tape doesn’t actually form the light seal, although obviously, it helps. If you open the flap fully, you will see little ridges and grooves or little matching rebates, which are designed so that there is no straight light path into the interior. The tape is there to hold everything accurately in place, so if it’s failing, the flap might not close perfectly, thus allowing light to penetrate.
Book tape seems to be the most frequently recommended replacement. There is another kind of tape that’s used for binding the handles of sports equipment. It might be much the same sort of stuff, but I don’t really know.

 

[Monsta]

When I re did the tape on some holders I found some vintage car loom tape which worked well.

 

[lensworx]

I have a few of the MPP plate holders and the film inserts, yes they can be used with plates,

Yes early MPP holders have a register of 0.2" / 0.508mm. The new ISO/BS Standard is 0.500mm /0.197", but that's +/- 0.018mm / 0.007" so in practice they are within tolerance. I've never had an issue with them.

I had to re-tape all my MPP holders.

My Cambo Cadet came with a very thin plastic fresnel, I'd assumed it was standard, apparently not.

View attachment 4786

Here it is fitted on the rear, it was a really bright screen.

Ian

Thats good to know in regards the tolerances, I had started to wonder if my bargain was not so much so...
I have a feeling I will end up re-taping all of mine as well, may as well do them all in one go.

My Cambo does not have one fitted so I presume it may well have been an optional extra, I will look into an aftermarket one and try to figure out fitting as I am finding it difficult at present in some situations trying to see and focus. I am sure this is however something I will get used to.

Thanks again

 

[lensworx]

The tape doesn’t actually form the light seal, although obviously, it helps. If you open the flap fully, you will see little ridges and grooves or little matching rebates, which are designed so that there is no straight light path into the interior. The tape is there to hold everything accurately in place, so if it’s failing, the flap might not close perfectly, thus allowing light to penetrate.
Book tape seems to be the most frequently recommended replacement. There is another kind of tape that’s used for binding the handles of sports equipment. It might be much the same sort of stuff, but I don’t really know.

Thankyou I did notice those ridges which is what made me think that the tape did not provide the light tightness.
I will into getting some tape over the next few days as I have noticed some of them are a little stiff to open as well which does not aid film loading.

 

[lensworx]

When I re did the tape on some holders I found some vintage car loom tape which worked well.

Thanks for the information. My brother actually works for a car main dealers, I may just have a chat with him and see if he can source anything.

 

[Ian Grant]

Thats good to know in regards the tolerances, I had started to wonder if my bargain was not so much so...
I have a feeling I will end up re-taping all of mine as well, may as well do them all in one go.

My Cambo does not have one fitted so I presume it may well have been an optional extra, I will look into an aftermarket one and try to figure out fitting as I am finding it difficult at present in some situations trying to see and focus. I am sure this is however something I will get used to.

Thanks again

I've just bought a Chinese fresnel for one of my MPP cameras, just under £30 inc postage.

Ian

 

[David M]

I wonder if you're usng a darkcloth. It does help. If you are, do you allow your eyes to adjust for a little while?
Eyes seem to differ greatly. Some can see the screen easily in any light, some need all the help they can get. All part of life's rich pageant.

 

[lensworx]

I wonder if you're usng a darkcloth. It does help. If you are, do you allow your eyes to adjust for a little while?
Eyes seem to differ greatly. Some can see the screen easily in any light, some need all the help they can get. All part of life's rich pageant.

Hi yes I am using a darkcloth, It seems pretty dull if I am honest even wide open and almost vignetted.
without the darkcloth I can barely see anything. I do think I am going to need a helping hand however as some of places it will be used are in forest etc... and can get pretty dim at times.

Maybe I need to allow my eyes to adjust a little more and just get used to it. the cloth is a drape over type however and not fully enclosed. I may see if it helps to put some elastic in it so that its fully surrounds the gg.
One of the reasons I went LF was due to not being able to focus smaller screen manually now because of eyesight issues and a large ground glass and loupe should solve that issue .

 

[Ian Grant]

I have a few older Wide Angle lenses, typically the widest apertures are around f16. You do have to wonder how Edwardian photographers managed to focus with them, particularly with the dimmer ground glass screens of the time.

Ian

 

[Paul Kay]

Wooden film holders can warp over time. Easy enough to check by placing them on a sheet of glass (or even a window) though. But worth doing.

 

[lensworx]

I have a few older Wide Angle lenses, typically the widest apertures are around f16. You do have to wonder how Edwardian photographers managed to focus with them, particularly with the dimmer ground glass screens of the time.

Ian

Indeed, I tried stopping the my xenar 150mm down the other day to double check dof and it was pretty much impossible for me.

 

[lensworx]

Wooden film holders can warp over time. Easy enough to check by placing them on a sheet of glass (or even a window) though. But worth doing.

Thanks for the tip, I have some cut sheets of mirror that I use for 3D printing so will check them again those.

The more and more I hear about these mpp holders, the more I am considering getting some others for daily use.

 

[lensworx]

Thought I would just post a quick update in case this helps anyone else out in the future as well.

After a quick email to intrepid I have just ordered one of their Fresnel screen, It turns out that its the exact match for the cambo in regards size etc...

I have also managed to source some Toyo holders in good condition for what I think is a very good price indeed, these will be here over the coming days. I also have book binding tape to repair the others.