Cameo 55 Test Photos

[MarkB]

Here are some test photos from the Cameo 55 (more at: http://www.f295.org/main/forumdispla...-and-Modifying ).
Note the strong vignetting... too much in my opinion. These were shot on Tri-X 400, developed in HC110 at dilution H, scanned and then cropped and adjusted (levels, curves) in the computer. With the current pinhole it is around f90. These outdoor shots were in the range of 1/4 to 1 second. The indoor shot, in a pretty dim room, was 4 minutes.
Test R2 F10.jpgTest R3 F3.jpgTest R3 F11.jpgTest R3 F12.jpg

Yes, that's me in the 3rd photo... looking a bit rough for some reason. Never a makeup artist around when you need one!

[dasBlute]

a well engineered machine, very nice build; looks very functional and about as small as I could image using roll film... and I've seen worse vignetting

[Marv]

Everything seems about right; fstop, sharpness, etc. Nifty little camera. The wide angle and just a touch of softness make it the perfect amount of pinholey for my taste. I like the design of the camera; not overly complicated but sturdy.

[Barry Kirsten]

I agree with the above comments; produces very nice images. One question: how do you work out the amount to wind on for good frame spacing?

[MarkB]

how do you work out the amount to wind on for good frame spacing?

Thanks for the comments.
Barry, I worked this out some years ago by sacrificing a roll of film. It is a function of the diameter of the take-up spool. Assuming you are using a standard 120 roll film spool, a roughly 6x6 image requires about 1.25 turns for the first frame on the roll, and about 1 turn for the last frame. The difference is because the diameter of the take-up spool increases as you wind on the film. I think these numbers -- 1.25 decreasing to 1.00 -- are about the minimum. I never put "frame counter windows" (a peephole to see the numbers on the backing paper) in my cameras because I always make notes in a little notebook when I photograph, so I always know what frame I'm currently on in the camera.
Hope this helps.

[Barry Kirsten]

Thanks Mark. As I thought, the changing circumference reduces the needed turn as film count increases. Not needing a film-count window eliminates the problem of finding a suitable material for the peephole. Nice camera.

[DocNelson]

Nice results. Personally, I like the vignetting.

[MartinS]

I like both the results and the camera. And the vignetting, too. Well done!