using a handmade camera

Has anyone in the room used a homemade camera? I'm looking at buying

one for $150 that shoots 5x7. It comes with a barrel lens, some

limited rise & fall and tilt. Lensboards for it would have to be

handmade, and the movements aren't exactly precision. The bellows are

cardboard and black tape, appearing pretty sturdy and seemingly

light-tight.

 

What problems have you had using a homemade? What joys have you had?

Any hidden problems that one might not expect?

 

I'm cross-posting this to Alternative Process and Classic Cameras,

just in case there might be some further insight there.

Sorry about that...I cross posted to Classic Cameras and Large format...

Handmade sounds like an Alt. camera to me.

Cross posting is pretty strongly discouraged on photo.net, but this is probably as correct a place as Large Format, more so than Classic unless you know the camera was made before 1970...

 

The things to watch for with the construction you describe are problems getting the front and rear standards parallel to zero movements, light leaks in the super-simple bellows (depending what tape was used; black masking tape will get brittle in a few years, but good gaffer tape will hold up pretty well), and light leaks around the film holder if the back isn't precisely made to fit the ANSI holders you'll presumably use. OTOH, a bellows is relatively easy to replace and you can make a better one than that first time out if you're so inclined.

 

Making lens boards is no big deal if it uses wood -- hobby plywood, a Zona saw, and perhaps some good glue, followed by a Forstner bit or a hole saw for the hole (there are even hole saws with finely adjustable outside diameters for exactly matching a hole). And if you can make your own lens boards, you'll be able to install a lens in shutter (a barrel lens can be a big issue with modern films, unless you like Efke 25 a lot -- exposures can easily be too short to black-hat with confidence).

Thanks everyone for the advice and support. I think I'll not be buying this camera. I'm more interested in making pictures than in futzing with cameras that have "character," not that there's anything wrong with that.