Terrific video! The camera looks really beautiful and truly function. Congrats on the publicity!
Forum: General Discussion

Btw, the fl is about 9.5" and it will cover whole plate at portrait distances. The max aperture is about f/4.5.
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

OK, I hate to do this and know that I will regret it, but my wife and I are trying to buy a house and we need to raise some funds. My loss is your gain. Up for grabs is this incredibly rare CCH "fat focus" lens, circa 1863. This model is one of the most rare and sought-after of all NY radial drive lenses. For only a few hundred or so models, Harrison tried out a new drive design, sort of a na
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

Better pic. Also, I can take $1,100 for this. Ho hum...
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

This is still available and, as I need to raise some funds quickly, I am open to all reasonable offers. Just let me know what you think it's worth and can afford and I am sure that we can work out a deal.
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Sean was such a inspiration to us all so generous with his knowledge. He will certainly be missed by many.
Forum: General Discussion

I think that medium format would be better. 35 mm is a bit small, but then again, I have never tried it. Anyway, certainly you can enlarger with a regular enlarger, or by scanning into the computer.
Forum: General Discussion

Well, here's a very rare one for the collectors out there... a Palmer & Longking quater plate (7 and 1/2" f/3.6) portrait lens. There were only about 1,400 of these made and they are extremely scarce, especially so complete. CCH and HBH both made around 11,000 just to put this in perspective. This one has its original flange and hood, radial drive works fine, and the glass is very good, although
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

CCH was Henry Fitz's shop foreman before he split to do his own thing, around 1849 IIRC.
Forum: General Discussion

Chapman seems to have made lenses for a few ny companies as well. Palmer & Longking and a supplier named E.A. Perry both sold what seems to be rebranded Chapmans. Other companies such as Willard, Fitz, Usner, and others seem to have such similar brass work that you have to wonder if they weren't all getting the barrels done by the same person/company. As far as glass goes, they are pretty compara
Forum: General Discussion

Really amazing!
Forum: General Discussion

I think I remember seeing a 24" CCH at some point. As you have correctly noted, most dags were quite small so 1/4 plate lenses are probably the easiest upon which to stumble. Early lenses are bit unpredictable so their IQ's can differ between examples. I would say that a 6" lens would cover a 4 x 5 plate at most distances, but not much more than that.
Forum: General Discussion

Amazing! Absolutely beautiful!
Forum: General Discussion

Looks like a nice one. They are really getting expensive, say 600 to 1000 dollars depending. Early serial numbers that are engraved, instead of stamped (they started around the #3,000 mark) bring more money. eBay is weird these days, so sometimes the prices are all over the place. CCH had a few different style radial drives: square based, round, fat focus, etc. but yours in definitely a replac
Forum: General Discussion

I would also say right around 52/53, too. Just curious, does it have a round base on the radial drive or a square one?
Forum: General Discussion

I will be printing some salt/albumen prints soon and need to get some more paper soon. What papers can be recommended today? I have used Crane's 90 lb. Cover sheet, which worked well for me, and when I gave a piece to John Coffer to try out, he approved of it...but it is said to have been changed recently so I don't know if it can be trusted (I heard the same about the Strathmore 500). I was hopi
Forum: General Discussion

Good eye, Joboo! You are, of course, entirely correct. Nonetheless, it still LOOKS incredibly sexy!
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

It is a bit different. The whole shebang is just amazing, really!
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

I would buy this right now: Anthony Camera
Forum: Collodion Classifieds

Milan has done some research on the numbers for Darlot. Nothing from company records like Voigtlander or Dallmeyer. What's your serial number? Sometimes dates are written on the rear lens elements.
Forum: General Discussion

If I had to venture a guess, I would say it's an RR. Still, you can divide the FL by the clear lens opening and then you will have the maximum f/stop, which is a clue to the lens design.
Forum: General Discussion

Wow, that's amazing. The first one is just perfect. How long were the exposures and where did you find that cool column?!
Forum: General Discussion

Please keep it!
Forum: General Discussion

Love it!
Forum: General Discussion

Awesome! That is just beautiful! Thanks so much for posting it - really inspiring
Forum: General Discussion

Sorry if I was unclear...I was wondering what kind of exposures one could expect from gelatin dry plates. I know that there is some reference on TLF page, but not really in comparison to a collodion positive or negative.
Forum: General Discussion

Kevin, what kind of exposures do you get with dry plate? I mean, in relation to wet plate... like twice as fast, three times, etc. as a collodion positive?
Forum: General Discussion

Ray, are you referring to collodion dry plates? I believe that the above comments are specifically referring gelatin dry plates, which seem to be a whole different animal.
Forum: General Discussion

Collodion is sticky, so it's a bit different than anything else you might use. I practiced with gum Arabic, but that wasn't even close. Collodion is pretty easy to pour. Varnish, however, can be tricky
Forum: General Discussion

The best advice would be to get a good manual, such as John Coffer's. In the meanwhile....silver can be poured back into the same bottle (filtered, of course, as all the chems should be) and then occasionally replenished. This is all outlined in John's manual in detail. Sunning the bath should also be done periodically, but that's another discussion... Developer (ferrous sulfate based, anyway)
Forum: General Discussion