: Sample Photos
These were all from the first roll of film. Fourteen of eighteen shots came out. The night (time lapse) shot was 15 seconds, all the rest were between 1/3 of a second and 2 seconds.
On the last step I will explain in detail the importance of getting the distance from the lens to the film place accurate and how to do it, and how you can figure out what your shutter speed capabilities are.
Step 7: Important Notes
If you're a Pro Photographer or have a really deep understanding of how a camera works, you can probably skip these notes. I am a novice (at best) so I learned a lot. I truly think I'm a better photographer as a result of making this camera.
Notes on the distance of the lens to the film plane:
I mentioned earlier that the distance from the lens to the film plane has to be accurate, stating that the lens has to be an exact distance from the film plan in order for three things to happen...
1) The camera to be able to focus close up.
2) The camera to be able to focus to infinity.
3) And the most important of all, the distance meter on the lens to be accurate.
If you want your camera to be able to use the entire range of focus the attached lens is capable of, especially the camera's ability to focus infinity, then this step is critical. I measured this distance two ways, one with a hand held test by holding the lens an inch or two away from a white piece of paper and then moved it back and forth until the upside down image was in focus on the paper, then I measured the distance from the lens plate to the paper, the distance was a little over 1 3/4". Then I took my already broken film body (not knowing if the distance is exactly the same for all types (brands) of 35mm cameras and lenses) and measured the distance from the front of the lens mounting plate to the film plane, and again, it was just a little over 1 3/4 inches. I was pretty sure at this point that using a distance of 1 3/4 inches for my camera would was a safe bet.
I ended up having to make a few adjustments to get it just right, I had to use a router to counter sink the mount into the wood a little bit in order to fine tune the distance from the lens to the film plane, one pass (very tiny shave cut) at a time, and then re-test the focus in between each pass, until the depth was perfect. Testing was easy at this point, I taped a piece of white paper to the film plane, held the lens to the front of the camera, held the camera an exact distance from a subject, set the distance meter on the lens to match the distance to the subject, and looked to see if the image was focused on the film plane. By the way, the "exact distance from the subject" is measured from the aperture ring (blades) of the lens, not the front of the glass or the film plane of the camera.
When I got mine right, the distance meter on the lens was incredibly accurate, accurate to within an inch at 15 feet, and a half inch at 2 feet. And since I will be shooting at f/16 most of the time, there will be enough depth of field that I will only have to use a tape measure for close ups, anything more than 10-15 feet away and I can ball park it. You have to remember, there is no "through the lens" view finder, no fancy prisms, and and no trap-door mirrors that can flip out of the way in fractions of a second. This is old school, you measure (or guess) the distance to the subject you want in focus, and you use the distance meter on the lens to focus. You don't get to "see" that your shot is in focus, you just know that it is because you can trust the distance meter. Now all you have to worry about is exposure, as in shutter speed. On that note...
Notes on Shutter Speeds:
If you know anything about cameras at all, you probably looked at the shutter design and asked yourself something along the lines of "How on earth can anyone open and close that shutter curtain fast enough with their hand to take a picture?" Well, that's a darn good question actually, and I'll be honest, it's not possible with the current design to take a shot in full sunlight unless you're going to add a filter as dark