Kodak Premo No. 8 circa 1913-1917

[monochrome11]

sorry about the dust... the image below is just a test shot of my kitchen area...

 

test shot using J&C100 @ 200 (f8 @ approximately 1 second) souped in Diafine...

 

i used a premo film holder that wasn't designed for this camera (hold 3.25x5.5

film - custom cut in my laundry room from 4x5) and as expected the focus plane

isn't correct... however, the lens doesn't exhibit much falloff in the corners,

can't tell whether or not the lens is accurate however, I suspect that with a

wider DOF when stopping down to f32 or f45, my focus might not need to be too

accurate depending on how far off my film plane is... i'm guessing between 3-5mm

... then again maybe that's too much for the DOF at even f45 to matter... might

be worth wasting another piece of film to find out...

 

on the positive side, the bellows seem to be light tight despite their age and

although the back doesn't fit properly, i didn't see any leaks from the film

holder (which itself is over 90 years old and made almost entirely of wood (some

felt/velvet for the light seals)... amazing when you consider the age and the

fact that neither has probably been used in my lifetime...

 

Any suggestions on how to accommodate the film plane issue are welcome... if

anyone has the correct film holder for the Premo No. 8 that they want to sell

please let me know... i tried J&C but their website indicates that they are

closed for at least 6 months? i hope they open soon!!!!

 

 

<a href=" title="Photo

Sharing"><img

src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/406390318_b6dc4621e0_b.jpg" width="1024"

height="685" alt="Kodak Premo No. 8 (circa 1913)" /></a>

[monochrome11]

for got to mention, on the groundglass the white vase and plastic container near the centre of the image were in focus... so the film plane is obviously quite far off as nothing in front or behind the vase are even remote close to being in focus... if anything i suspect it's front focusing since the film place has been moved further back than the groundglass...

[www.antiquecameras.net]

You need a 4x5 wooden plate holder which are actually VERY common on ebay. Seek one marked Rochester Optical or PREMO 4x5 plate holder....<p>

see <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-4x5-PLATE-HOLDERS-FOR-FOLDING-BOX-CAMERAS_W0QQitemZ200083326554QQihZ010QQcategoryZ4702QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">this auction....( dont know seller )</p>

</p>

<p>

Dan<p>

<a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/">www.antiquecameras.net</a>

[monochrome11]

it isn't 4x5, it takes 3.25x5.5 size film... do you know that those wooden holders fit into the back of the Premo No. 8 camera because the plastic fidelity 4x5s don't... they are too wide...

[www.antiquecameras.net]

sorry, then you need the same plate holder, but for that size. These are glass plate holders no cut film holders - thats why its so far off. Even when you find the correct holder, you are going to have to shim the paper in the holder ( to place it where the 1/8 inch thick plate was held. Again, search ebay....most premo holders had Premo markings on the darkslide. Good luck

Dan

[monochrome11]

Hi Dan - thanks for that, i have a premo holder that will hold the film (albeit not a perfect fit on the back of the camera)... i'll probably fill in the holder to approximate the thickness of a glass plate and hope for the best... it's probably about 3mm thick, so some cardboard might fill it out well - i'll just tape the cut film to the cardboard to ensure it doesn't fall out when i remove the darkslide...

 

thanks again for your help... as much fun as it has been to use this premo, i'm probably better off looking for an older 4x5 with movements... any suggestions on a body that will accept barrel lenses and a packard shutter or has a built in focal plane shutter? the only camera i know of with a focal plane shutter is the speed graphic..

 

anything else i should look into? TIA, Ken

[john_shriver]

What you may need is film sheaths. They are folded sheets of metal, that fit in an old plate holder like a glass plate, and have grooves to hold sheet film. They show up on eBay periodically, often in old plate holders.

 

Or, you can just use a bit of 2-sided tape to hold the sheet film to a 2-1/4 by 3-1/4 inch piece of glass. You probably would need single sheet glass -- thin.

 

Basically, in any film or plate holder, the emulsion of the film should be pushing against the inside edge of the opening.

[monochrome11]

thanks john - most helpful, i'll look into it.

[dwane1]

Try removing the groundglass focusing screen and putting it back with the matte side facing out. This should help with the focusing problem.

 

The thinking behind this - The groundglass focusing screen has the matte side closest to the lens in the camera. When you slide in a plate holder, the focusing screen is moved back, and the emulsion on the plate holder will be the same distance from the lens as was the matte side of the groundglass. With the matte side out, the film plane will be closer to the focusing plane of the groundglass when you insert the plate holder that now is loaded with film.

[glenn_thoreson]

The holders you need are known as "post card" size. They show up on ebay occasionally. Pacific Rim Camera or Midwest Photo Exchange may be able to help you, also.

[monochrome11]

Dwane - very interesting idea... should have thought of it myself... results should be interesting...