Venus Transit Vintage Camera Help

[Vishnu]

Hello Everyone

I am a graduate student at the Space Studies program at University of
North Dakota, Grand Forks. I am doing a project on historical Venus
Transit
photographic techniques. Venus Transit is an event where Venus comes
in
between the sun and the earth where you see the black dot of venus
moving
across the sun's disk over a period of 6 hours.
This even is very rare and the last one happened in 1882. That time
photography was just developing and images very obtained with plate
cameras. The same event takes place again this June and photography
has
undergone a radical change since 1882. I am planning to repeat some of
the
historical obseravtions done with Silver Gelatin Dry Plate Process
cameras in 1882 and compare them with current high speed digital
imagers.
I dont have much funding to do this project so I am looking for any
advice
from you as to how I can go about finding a camera from the 1880s for
this
project...is there any place where I can get them at a low price or
get
them on loan.
Any words of wisodm will be appreciated.
clear skies
Vishnu

[RWatson767]

Vishnu
> Venus Transit Vintage Camera Help

Any words of wisodm will be appreciated.

What did a google search show up?

Bob AZ

[Nick Zentena]

Vishnu > wrote:

> I dont have much funding to do this project so I am looking for any
> advice
> from you as to how I can go about finding a camera from the 1880s for
> this
> project...is there any place where I can get them at a low price or
> get
> them on loan.


Why do you need an 1880's camera? A modern view camera isn't very
different then one from 1880. Somebody can correct me but the main
difference will be the change to standard backs. The bigger issue is the
glass plates. Are you going to coat your own? Or do you have a source? I
think Kodak has stopped making them. Even if they did make them the current
ones would be much faster and have a different colour response then anything
used in 1880.

The Soviet view cameras that are often sold on Ebay might actually be
setup for glass plates. I know they don't use standard backs. They often
sell for not much money and when you're done you can likely resell it for most
of the cost. The cameras usually come with a lens. It's a Tessar I think so
it's more modern then 1880.

I'd suggest asking over in rec.photo.equipment.large-format.


Nick