Back to Pack - My Adventures in Packfilm Part 3

This is not a proper scan.

For Christmas I was given two packs of b&w packfilm.

Since winter has been extremely dull photography-wise I have not given it much thought until the recent days. The last week has been a hiatus from our normal work weeks since it's been the winter holiday for our daughter who goes to first grade. I set up some of her toys for a photo session when she was away at her grandmother's place.

What's ignited my interest in photography again is a little project to do with my Polaroid 230 camera.

To be able to expose the packfilm on my own terms I decided to add an exciting lens and a shutter.

First I removed the shutter mechanism and the original lens - all housed in the lens housing/board/compartment on the front of the camera.

Secondly I tested out the placement of the lens. It is a really old Dallmeyer Popular 4' (~100 mm) f/4,5 Anastigmat Enlarger Lens that I got for 14 Euros. Lucky me - the focusing seemed spot on when I placed the lens in the rear hole of the original lens board. It only needed some sanding of the plastic casing to fit snugly.

I then loosened the bellows to add my Polaroid MP-4 shutter, which originally comes from a large format camera. I fastened the shutter to the back of the lens board/casing, then fastened the bellows to that. I used a combination of a spare metal ring from an SLR lens, superglue, Sugru rubber clay and textile reinforced tape. Very professional, I know.

So, now it works. I've made four exposures with the new combo. The photo at the top of the post isn't a scan, so does not do it justice. But what it shows is that an aperture of 5,6 is way too small to keep anything but a thin slice in focus.

When the present pack runs out I will attach my rollfilm back to the camera, via an adapter I made from an old film pack. Of course the rangefinder will not work but I've got a darkslide for the rollfilm back and a ground glass finder.

Before I try that out, I've got to add a proper tripod mount solution.

The rollfilm back was originally made for 8,5 cm wide rollfilm - not sure of the name of the type - so I've added spacers to be able to use 120 film. The first roll is a Lomochrome Metropolis.

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