Do I need fancy tools and skills?
The most exotic item on the tool list is C-Clamps, which is not terribly exotic! The rest is stuff like a pencil, ruler, screwdriver, hand drill, glue, sandpaper, etc. (See tools and supplies for the complete listing.) The kits are designed to be built by the average person without extensive woodworking skills. The instruction booklet takes you by the hand through the steps that will help you build a beautiful and functional camera. The qualities you need are (1) an interest in building your own camera (it's not enough to just want a camera for cheap); (2) a willingness to actually read and follow the instruction booklet provided with the kit (the folks who look at the cover and "wing it" are the ones who get into trouble); (3) patience (give yourself time to be able to take your time. It will be more enjoyable and your camera will be much more beautiful. The rushed building job still yields a working camera, it just doesn't bring the satisfaction that one built with care brings.)
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How long does it take to build a Bender View Camera Kit?
About 25 - 30 hours. Of course, this time varies from person to person, but this will give you a rough idea how much is involved. It is not terribly difficult, but it is time consuming. Most of the construction is done by gluing and clamping pieces of pre-cut, kiln dried cherry together. This means you will have some time waiting for glue to dry. The more C-Clamps you can borrow from friends, the faster things can go. There is also a fair amount of sanding to do, depending on how fine a finish you want to go for.
Most people have other full time obligations and can work on their camera only in the evenings and on weekends. It can be a pleasant diversion if you don't rush things. The cameras generally come out much nicer if you are willing to take your time and put some TLC into it.
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What kind of lens does it take, and where can I get one?
Large format cameras take large format lenses which simply means lenses that create an image circle large enough to cover the film size. A lens from a 35mm camera creates an image circle about 2" in diameter, large enough to easily cover a tiny 35mm negative, but not nearly big enough to cover 4x5.
Large format lenses are usually mounted in a shutter (Copal #0, #1, etc.), but may also be barrel only, which means just the glass elements mounted in a barrel - perhaps with an aperture ring, but without any kind of shutter. These lenses can be used by using the lens cap for a shutter (lens cap off... lens cap on). Obviously one would only be able to take pictures that required fairly long exposures, on the order of 1 - 2 seconds or more. Barrel lenses are much less expensive, though. When shopping for a lens, be sure to ask if it is mounted in a shutter, what the shutter speeds are, and whether it has a flash sync post (if that's important to you).
Coverage is also an issue with large format lenses. Some lens designs barely cover the film size while some cover with lots of room to spare. If you plan to do only scenics, which usually means you will probably only use a little front tilt or swing movements, you may be able to get by with one of the cheaper "barely covers" type of lenses. If you want to do architectural or product photography, which requires more extensive use of view camera movements, you will need a lens that covers the film format with some room to spare. When you use the movements you are moving that 4" x 5" rectangle around to different areas of the image circle. A common beginner's mistake is to go off the edge of the image circle, producing a "vignette" effect at one or more corners of the picture. Generally speaking, a longer focal length lens will create a larger image circle than a shorter lens.
150mm is "Normal" on a 4x5; 300mm is "Normal" on an 8x10 camera. Anything shorter than that is "Wide angle" and anything longer is "Telephoto". A 90mm lens on a 4x5 is like a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera. A 210mm or 215mm lens (slightly longer than normal) is considered a good portrait focal length for 4x5. You will eventually want to own several lenses for your view camera, just as you do for your 35. Each lens will get mounted on it's own lensboard and, thus, will be interchangeable. Extra lensboards are inexpensive and available from Bender Photographic.
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Where can I find a large format camera lens?
The best place to start the hunt for a view camera lens is Shutterbug Magazine, available at most larger photo stores, or you can visit their web site at http://www.shutterbug.net You can also read the newsgroup posts at rec.photo.equipment, and check the auction sites like Ebay. We do not sell lenses, as that is an entirely separate and distinct business from the manufacture of wooden view cameras. You will find that most view camera manufacturers do not sell lenses. Any lens that will work on any 4x5 (ie: creates an image large enough to cover the film size) will work on any other 4x5 camera. The lens simply gets mounted on a lensboard (ours takes the standard 4" x 4" size) which allows you to have several lenses, all mounted on their own lensboards. This way you can interchange lenses easily.
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What kind of film holders to they take, and where can I buy one?
All view cameras take standard film holders for the size. A 4x5 camera takes standard 4x5 film holders. An 8x10 takes standard 8x10 film holders. This is true of ALL view cameras, including the Bender. There are no manufacturer's of view cameras who are foolish enough to deviate from this standard as their cameras would not take the standard holders or use commonly available film. Anyone making this mistake would soon go out of business so, of course, no one has. Our cameras take standard film holders.... Lisco Regal and Fidelity Elite are two brands, essentially identical and made by the same company. About 20 years ago Calumet bought all the companies who make film holders. Overnight, the prices doubled. Imagine that. Can you say "Monopoly"? Over the years the price has continued to rise, with no real reason other than greed. For this reason, Bender Photographic no longer sells film holders. We can not buy them any cheaper than you can at places like B&H Photo (New York).
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Can I use a roll film back with my Bender View?
The short answer is yes, but there is a very large "but" to the story.....
None of the lightweight "field" type cameras take roll film backs, unfortunately. This is because the roll film backs are much thicker than standard film holders and would overstretch the springs on a lightweight 4x5 back. Heavy, metal, studio type cameras have larger, heavier backs with spring configurations that will allow insertion of these thick roll film backs. Many of our customers have made modifications to their cameras in order to accept their particular brand of roll film back. This involves removing the ground glass frame from the springs after focusing, and also devising a way of holding the roll film back up against the camera back for exposure (since it will not be under spring tension as a normal film holder would be).
Another option is to use the Calumet roll film back that was introduced recently. It has the "works" out on one end so the part that slips into the camera back is thinner... more like a standard 4x5 film holder. This does not require the modification mentioned above. The only hitch is that it is an expensive item, nearly $400 last time we looked!
We understand why someone would want to use roll film with their view camera, but it is important to realize that one product can not be all things to all people. Make your camera fit your own needs by making any modifications you think will serve your purposes. That is one of the beauties of building your own camera. Your options are limited only by your own imagination.
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Can I buy spare parts for my camera if I build something wrong or break something?
Yes! Every kit that ships out of here comes with a spare parts price list and lists every single part that comes in your kit. Every part is available to you at very reasonable prices, individually. We offer this service as a sort of "product support". We want to see kitbuilders finish their cameras to their satisfaction. You can also call us during the building process if you have a question or find an instruction unclear to you.
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Can one shoot Vertical or Horizontal shots... do the backs rotate?
Yes! Both the 4x5 and 8x10 backs are repositionable, either vertical or horizontal. This is easy to do and takes all of 15-30 seconds. There are some brass catches that turn out of the way so you can remove the back, turn it 90 degrees, replace it, and turn the catches back in..... simple! The backs do not "rotate" through 360 degrees (this would make the camera unnecessarily heavy) so you would need to tilt the camera on the tripod if you wished to shoot diagonal shots (not done very commonly, we think you'd agree). Sometimes certain questions, and this is one of them, lead us to believe that you are nervous about the camera. "There must be something wrong, something missing, for it to cost so little", we hear you saying to yourself. The fact is that any self respecting camera would certainly be able to do both vertical and horizontal shots. If this is a question in your mind, please rest assured.... this is a real camera! The reason it costs so little is because it is a kit, we don't spend a fortune on advertising, and the materials simply don't add up to thousands of dollars. If you have other fears about the camera, why not give us a call (800-776-3199) and chat with us about any aspects of the cameras that have you wondering. Whether you buy or not, we'd be happy to talk with you.
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Do you make a 5x7 or 4x5 reducing back for the 8x10?
No, unfortunately the demand for these items will not support them as a product. Some of our 8x10 customers have purchased parts from the 4x5 kit (around $75 for everything one would need) and built themselves a 4x5 reducing back. The only thing you would need to come up with on your own would be some pieces of wood around the outside edges of the 4x5 back to make it large enough to mate with the back of the 8x10 camera. Once you have built the camera and the 8x10 back, it is really a fairly simple matter to make yourself a 4x5 back that will fit your 8x10. You gain some building skills during the whole process that will allow you to make this type of accessory, and others, if you like.
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Do the cameras take Polaroid Backs?
Yes! The 4x5 takes the standard 545 or 545i backs, and the 8x10 takes the 8x10 Polaroid Back. You should get one of the Polaroid backs that you intend to use while you are building your camera for best results. The 4x5 Polaroid backs have a small metal tab that sticks out more on some units than it does on others, so it is wise to have it in hand when you are building. This way you can make sure that it fits into the back comfortably. 8x10 shooters should also be aware that the 8x10 Polaroid back, and its accompanying processor are quite expensive..... more than twice what you will spend on our 8x10 kit!
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Do I need a special tripod to use your cameras?
No! The Bender View Cameras have a standard 1/4" x 20 threaded tripod mount, just as virtually all cameras do. There are a few larger, heavier cameras that use a 3/8" tripod mount but, by far, most use the standard 1/4" mount. This is the same size you would find on the bottom of any 35mm camera. And, because the Bender cameras are so light, you do not need a behemoth of a tripod. Any good, sturdy tripod should work fine. Stay away from the ultra-light, backpacking type of tripod as many of these will wobble and wiggle too much.
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Does Bender Photographic sell 35mm gear?
No! Bender Photographic makes large format camera equipment and does not sell anything related to 35mm. We are a small company and not a supermarket type camera store.
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Do you give out customer names?
No, sorry. We understand that you would like to talk to owners of Bender cameras to get their impressions, but the way to do it is by reading the independent reviews at the web site. If you had purchased one of our cameras you would not want us giving our your name and address to strangers..... and we won't. We do not sell them or share them with advertisers either, whether collected via sales or from catalog requests.
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Can I have a look at the instruction booklet before I buy?
If you just want to have a look at the instruction booklet to see what is involved before you buy the camera, it is available for $25 (+ $2.50 mailing). The $25 is then applicable to the purchase price of the camera. Surely you can see why we would need to charge this "up-front" fee. If you buy the camera, though, it has cost you nothing (well, only the $2.50 for mailing costs). Please note: mailing costs to other countries is higher.
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Can I put a fresnel lens on a Bender camera?
Yes, but you may want to do some research on this first. I have read many discussions in the newsgroups where people talk about the problems they have focusing because the concentric circles of the fresnel lens confuse the image sufficiently to adversely affect their ability to focus accurately. Also, a fresnel lens really is not necessary in order to see the image on the ground glass if you have a good, light-tight focusing cloth. If you have a truly light-tight focusing cloth (like we sell) you should easily be able to see the image on the ground glass.
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How "accurate" are the cameras?
If you have used a view camera before you know that both the lens plane and film plane are moveable. Either the front, or the back, or both at once, can be moved up, down, left, or right. You can employ tilts, or swings, or both tilts and swings to either the front or rear standards... or to both. In other words, the front and rear of the camera can be moved into any position by the user. It is the accuracy of the user's placement of the front and rear of the camera that determines where it will be when the photograph is taken, not some inherent "accuracy" of the camera. We could machine every part to .00001" and the user will still put the front and rear of the camera where he puts it. That .00001" would play no role in the "accuracy" of the shot. But, where does some attention to accuracy play a role? The only place, really, is how the ground glass matches the position of film in a film holder. The frosted side of the glass must coincide exactly with the emulsion side of film in a film holder when it is inserted in the back of the camera. When you build your camera you will perform a test to insure this fact. It is not difficult to do and kitbuilders have been doing it successfully for 20 years, now.
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Can I focus it accurately?
Bender View Cameras use what is called friction focusing. One moves the "monorail rider" along the brass anodized aluminum rail by pushing it away, or pulling it toward you. This is usually done with one hand using the thumb to push and two fingers to pull. While there is a perception that this action must be accomplished with a rack and a gear in order to focus accurately, it is not true. Although you may naturally think otherwise, friction focusing has been proven over more than 20 years of use, and the Bender Cameras are not the first to employ it. The key to being able to focus accurately lies in how smoothly the monorail riders slide along the rail. If they slide smoothly it is very easy to focus accurately, and some would argue easier. Many of the gear drive mechanisms bump and rattle along, making it harder to watch the focus point move fore and aft through the scene. Also, if the locking knob is on the same shaft as the gear it can turn the gear ever so slightly as you lock it down.... shifting your focus slightly (we've seen a very expensive camera that did just this!). Sometimes "simpler" really can be "better". Besides being a "gismo" that we realize some photographers with too much money think is "neat", all the rack & gear really add are weight and expense. Building your camera according to the instructions will insure that your monorail riders slide smoothly and you will have no trouble focusing just as accurately as anyone with a heavier, much more expensive camera that uses a rack and gear. It just isn't necessary and, once again, kitbuilders have been proving it with 20 years of professional shooting, book production, posters, and the like. We could not still be in business after 20 years if our cameras could not be focused accurately.
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Do you make a 5x7 kit?
No, sorry, there is not sufficient demand for this format size to support it as a product. This is not to say that the 5x7 format is not a beautiful format, or that we don't like it. It is, and we do. The sad reality is that there are too few who would buy one for it to make sense to do all of the product development, tooling, etc. to bring it to market in kit form. 4x5 films have gotten very good over the years, and it is much cheaper and easier to find than 5x7 film, so why not consider shooting 4x5? You can even crop to get the aspect ratio of 5x7 if you want that.
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Does Bender Photographic sell medium format gear?
No! Bender Photographic makes large format camera equipment and does not sell anything related to medium format. We are a small company, and our business is LARGE FORMAT.
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Do you make an 11x4 kit?
No, sorry, not at this time.
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Can I buy just the plans for your camera?
No, sorry, we do not sell "just plans". If you were to try to go your own way from a set of plans you would find that buying all the little parts and bellows individually would cost you more than the price of the kit. By buying all of this stuff in large quantities, and passing these savings on, you can build a high quality view camera for much less.
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Do you offer the cameras in other wood choices?
No. We firmly believe that cherry is the correct choice for our camera. There is a reason that cameras have, historically, been made from cherry. It is strong, light, dimensionally stable, beautiful, and easily worked. These qualities make it an ideal choice. We hear from woodworkers occassionally that they want to build their camera from walnut, or bubinga, or some exotic wood. Our suggestion is to add various embellishments to your camera from these woods, but just as embellishments here and there. Your camera will be lighter and a whole lot less work to build, but will still be just as beautiful.
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Can I buy just the hardware and bellows, without the wood?
You could buy just the hardware and bellows from us, but you would be foolhardy to do so. For one thing, our wooden parts are cut to precise size from beautiful, kiln dried stock (most of it quarter sawn). You would give yourself many MANY hours of cutting, planing, routing, etc. for very little savings. If you are really bent on building the camera from scratch, or on going your own way, design wise, we would still recommend getting the whole kit and using what you need from it. If you insist, though, we will sell you just the hardware and bellows. The 4x5 Hardware Only Kit is $249.50, a sizeable chunk of that in the bellows. The 8x10 Hardware Only Kit is $349.50 Far be it from us to make you do the smart thing. (hint: get the whole kit for $50 more)
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It's so inexpensive. How can the quality of it be any good?
This will be a long winded answer. There are a lot of things that go into the price of a product these days. There is the actual cost of materials, labor, advertising, development costs, office overhead, and profit margins. When you buy another brand of camera for, say $1800.00, you are paying a lot for advertising, labor, and profit margins. Our camera is a kit, which means you provide most of the labor. That is one very expensive component taken out of the equation. We spend very little on advertising (perhaps you've seen our microscopic ads in Shutterbug and Photo Techniques?). Full page magazine ads cost as much as $25,000 each, so just recognize that the product featured there has that cost built into its price. Our cameras use essentially the same parts and materials as the more expensive cameras so there is no reason to think you are getting an inferior product just because your are paying less. What you are getting is a better deal!
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I want to write an article about your cameras. Will you send me a "review" kit?
This one is funny, but true. We get about one request like this a month. 99% come from enterprising folks who've never written an article in their life. Occasionally we hear from someone who actually does write for a major publication. In most cases the magazine has authorized the writer to spend X amount on the product and review it. The writer generally wants to keep the camera himself anyway, especially since he is going to spend 30 hours of his time building it. We have never, in the 20 years we've been in business, given a writer a free camera. If we did, we would have to charge you more for your camera to cover those costs.... something we don't really agree with. We did, once, send a Pop Photo writer a camera that we built to review, but that was just on loan. Sorry to burst your bubble, all you aspiring writers......
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I'm a Photo Dealer. Can I get your cameras at "Dealer Cost"?
Yes. You may be disappointed though, because so can everyone else. We have one price for our products and they are listed on the Product Prices page. We sell our products direct to the public, which eliminates the middle man and makes the end-user price lower. If we did offer a different price for dealers that would simply raise the "retail" price. There is no point to this, in our view, particularly with the advent of the web and any company's ability to give their customers information and support electronically and by phone. We agree that for some products it is essential that a dealer be involved to aid in the marketing and support of a product. We do not feel that our product fits this description and feel that the consumer is, in this case, more interested in the lowest possible price.
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