24x24 base camera project finished

I'm ready with the base version of 24x24in camera project. It has 125mm rise and 120mm fall at the front and 244mm lens-board. It will hold without worries, a 5kg lens and I can make a contraption which will help it holding heavier if necessary. Rear standard is swinging 15deg both directions an is tilting at the base 15deg forward and backwards. In this configuration it has a 1.15m of bellows. It  will be possible to be used with a tripod in the middle and additional mono-pod support at the front and maybe at the back when used on full extension. The project shows 14.6kg of weight without bellows and holder, which itself weights 4.5kg including 610x610mm  2mm glass plate. I understand that it is not as light as others, but I guarantee its stability with heavier lenses.
 Tomorrow, I'll be doing the longer variation and will add some more movements at he front. On the pictures you can see I added a dummy lens only to simulate its weight (5.326kg in the case) and put the central support as close as possible to the centre of the gravity of the camera. This base version will be delivered with plateholder and two lens-boards. I'm a bit intimidated to say the following, but I'll do it. I can supply silver bath tanks in wooden box  for it too! All the pictures are here.

Our last cration, Stefan Dieterich's 15x15

This is the last camera we have finished just before I had to interrupt. It was build for Stefan Dieterich, a Berlin based photographer. It is 15x15" with maximum of 1300mm bellows  extension with large platform tripod and sensitizing silver nitrate box . It is made out of cherry, weights 13kg without the extension and the auxiliary standard. The tripods is made out of ash and weights 10.5kg. It was build especially to be used with the Dallmeyer 5A. It has rise and fall and left/right shift in front and tilt in the back. You can see many more photos of the camera and the accessories here.


"They built a fantastic camera that works perfectly. I have made the first wet plates and everything turned out great. The camera is very solidly built specially the front standard that holds a 6kg lens. All movements are smooth and everything is at the right place. The ground glass is bright and the plate holder fits very well. On top of that the camera looks very nice. Best wishes from Berlin. Stefan Dieterich"

Some plans for the future

Hi, I would like to inform everyone  interested that I'm feeling better now and am about to finish very soon with the jobs I started just before the accident. I have very serious inquiries about a 20x24" lightweight wet plate field camera and plan to build two or three together, in order to cut their build cost and respectively their price.  The project is almost ready and I will send it for reviewing to everybody who shows interest along with all the particularities regarding pricing, options and terms. I plan to start the actual work on them not later then 15th of January. I'm also collecting inquiries for collective build of smaller 10x12" or 8x10" cameras which I plan to start making  right after finishing the large ones. Thank you very much for your patience and your  support during my recovery.

A few words of personal information

As some of you may well know on September the 8th I had a  stroke which led to partial paralysis of the left half of my body. After a week in Hospital and two full months of physiotherapy I was able to restart my work on the jobs I have begun after the accident. In the moment  the held up cameras are almost finished and I'm preparing the next job. I'm very thankful to all the people who have supported me in this hard time and especially to Arold van der AA and Veneta Zaharieva which cameras where delayed.