Alt View WA 4x10 camera
Australian lace wood, made by the late Patrick Alt (1950- 2013), a superb woodworker and mammoth plate (20x24) photographer. I believe Patrick delivered this to me in 1999; it has been in use ever since. The two most used lenses are this one, the Computar f/9 210mm, and the Nikkor f/9 300 M.
In 2003. he described it on a forum: " I made parts for 26 4 X 10 cameras. I also made 5 8 X 10s, which have all been sold. The camera is made from Australian lacewood and African wenge fabricated from 48 individual pieces of wood. The finish is 10-12 coats of hand rubbed furniture lacquer, the finest finish on any camera ever built. It weighs 4 pounds and will take 90mm to 300mm lenses (360mm with an accessory lens box extension). It has front tilt and front rise with a side mounted tripod mount for vertical images. It has a bellows, leather handle, with black metal fittings with brass knobs and screws. I designed this to be one of the most physically beautiful cameras ever made with the added feature of extreme rigidity and ease of use... The camera was reviewed in View Camera Magazine [Sep/Oct 1997] which has a picture. However, this was from the first prototype. The final version was completely re-engineered in black with vastly improved movements."
There was also a detailed review in the April, 1998, issue of PANORAMA, The Magazine of Panoramic Imaging. digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2273617/
His obituary is here: www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?pid=16579....
Alt View WA 4x10 camera
Australian lace wood, made by the late Patrick Alt (1950- 2013), a superb woodworker and mammoth plate (20x24) photographer. I believe Patrick delivered this to me in 1999; it has been in use ever since. The two most used lenses are this one, the Computar f/9 210mm, and the Nikkor f/9 300 M.
In 2003. he described it on a forum: " I made parts for 26 4 X 10 cameras. I also made 5 8 X 10s, which have all been sold. The camera is made from Australian lacewood and African wenge fabricated from 48 individual pieces of wood. The finish is 10-12 coats of hand rubbed furniture lacquer, the finest finish on any camera ever built. It weighs 4 pounds and will take 90mm to 300mm lenses (360mm with an accessory lens box extension). It has front tilt and front rise with a side mounted tripod mount for vertical images. It has a bellows, leather handle, with black metal fittings with brass knobs and screws. I designed this to be one of the most physically beautiful cameras ever made with the added feature of extreme rigidity and ease of use... The camera was reviewed in View Camera Magazine [Sep/Oct 1997] which has a picture. However, this was from the first prototype. The final version was completely re-engineered in black with vastly improved movements."
There was also a detailed review in the April, 1998, issue of PANORAMA, The Magazine of Panoramic Imaging. digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2273617/
His obituary is here: www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?pid=16579....