Build a Civil War era camera: A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera...

Quinn 4

A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera, how far the lens is from the glass plate. and other tech questions. My friend want to use glass plates, I would like to use film size like 8X10. At is time it just getting information. Any information would be helpful. Quinn4

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I faintly recall coming across a book detailing construction and specs of pre-20th century cameras at a university library. It was a long time ago and I don't remember the title or the author of the book.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Quinn 4 wrote:

A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera, how far the lens is from the glass plate. and other tech questions. My friend want to use glass plates, I would like to use film size like 8X10. At is time it just getting information. Any information would be helpful. Quinn4

Civil war era cameras used glass or metal plates, film hadn't been invented yet.

I googled "Plans for a glass plate camera and got this page:
https://www.google.com/search?ei=ECK9W666K9Sy0PEP7IKBYA&q=Plans+for+a+glass+plate+camera.&oq=Plans+for+a+glass+plate+camera.&gs_l=psy-ab.12...30531.34386..37365...0.0..0.95.1245.17......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j35i304i39.0RoLeIWi6Cs

looks like one guy has a series of YouTube videos on how to do it, part two has a link to part one - he uses a high tech cnc setup but the same things can be done with hand tools - after all in the mid 19th century they built theirs with hand tools.

Designdweeb Loc: Metro NYC & East Stroudsburg, PA

Look up the work of Matthew Brady. I don’t know a lot about it, a little bit. The glass plates were wet egg emulsions, loaded and developed in a darkroom wagon that traveled with the photographer. The lenses back then I believe often had Waterhouse stops, a set of metal slides with the different apertures, slid into the barrel lens.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Quinn 4 wrote:

A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera, how far the lens is from the glass plate. and other tech questions. My friend want to use glass plates, I would like to use film size like 8X10. At is time it just getting information. Any information would be helpful. Quinn4

Contact James_R (A UHH user). If anyone can help with hands on experience, it is him.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Quinn 4 wrote:

A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera, how far the lens is from the glass plate. and other tech questions. My friend want to use glass plates, I would like to use film size like 8X10. At is time it just getting information. Any information would be helpful. Quinn4

It’s simple enough to use both glass plates and sheet film on the same camera. If I remember right, a British photographer in the Franco-Prussian war used a 20" achromat lens on an 8x10 camera. The rear element-to-focal plane distance would be about the same. Some information here on early lenses:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photographic_lens_design

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Quinn 4 wrote:

A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera, how far the lens is from the glass plate. and other tech questions. My friend want to use glass plates, I would like to use film size like 8X10. At is time it just getting information. Any information would be helpful. Quinn4

Contact rmalarz (Bob) on this site. He makes view cameras I believe and is quite skilled in their use.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Quinn 4 wrote:

A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera, how far the lens is from the glass plate. and other tech questions. My friend want to use glass plates, I would like to use film size like 8X10. At is time it just getting information. Any information would be helpful. Quinn4

Here you go.

https://www.google.com/search?q=diy+camera+from+the+1800s&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS716US717&oq=diy+camera+from+the+1800s&aqs=chrome..69i57.5535j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Quinn 4 wrote:

A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a camera, how far the lens is from the glass plate. and other tech questions. My friend want to use glass plates, I would like to use film size like 8X10. At is time it just getting information. Any information would be helpful. Quinn4

I have a Kodak 1 century 8X10 camera and base. If your interested, private message me. I has two big brass lenses.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If you truly go the route of making glass plates, your exposures will be very long. In fact, they'll be so long you won't need a shutter.... just a lens cap that will block the light. Remove it to make your exposure, replace it when done. As a result, you can use any "barrel" lens. Some later barrel lens have an adjustable aperture. If they offered a means of adjustment, older ones tended to use Waterhouse Stops, which are simple, easy to use and even to make... Some might even come with a lens. Google "waterhouse stops" for more info.

For an 8x10 size image, approx. 270 to 300mm focal length will be a "normal"... less than that will be wide angle and longer than that will be telephoto. A lot of older lenses from that era were measured in centimeters or inches. Of course, 27 to 30cm would be the same as 270 to 300mm. The conversion to inches is a little more complicated... If I recall correctly, there are 25.4mm per inch.... If so, then approx. 10.5 inch to 12 inch lens would be a "normal", too.

scg3

Cameras of that era used the wet plate collodion process with a Petzvel portrait lens. Quality was great in that large format but, of course, a darkroom wagon had to be close by to allow sensitizing the plates in the field. When dry plates came along in the 1880s, many of these cameras were retrofitted.

There was a 19th Century British photographer who traveled the Middle East with his wet plate camera and darkroom wagon. The natives, of course, had never seen a camera and had no idea what "photography" was. They endlessly asked the purpose of the wagon and having gotten tired of explaining something they'd never understand, the Brit had the bright idea of saying he kept his harem in the wagon! The locals finally understood -- they could relate to that! I wonder if they ever looked inside...what a disappointment.

Can you imagine being a darkroom spreading collodion over a big glass plate under the 120-degree desert sun? That's real professionalism.

Photocraig

scg3 wrote:

Cameras of that era used the wet plate collodion p... (show quote)

Whatever it takes to get the shot. A little more than f8 and BE there WAY back in the day.

rfmaude41 Loc: Lancaster, Texas (DFW area)

amfoto1 wrote:

If you truly go the route of making glass plates, ... (show quote)

Actually an 8X10 "normal" lens is about 320mm (actually 317 1/2 mm).

aellman Loc: Boston MA

[quote=Quinn 4]A friend and I were talking about build a camera from the Civil War era. I have no idea of what kind of lens to get. Get into the tech end of a

**Since everything in the world is on the Internet, I have to assume this information is too. Google with a number of different phrases. For example try: "civil war camera," "historic camera," "antique camera," "bellows camera" "1800s camera," "glass plate camera" etc. AND vintage (antique) camera lenses.
It is probable that you will find some of these lenses on ebay. >Alan