The Branco Ottico team in Italy has showcased 'Bertha,' a giant large format camera that can be used to capture 1.1 x 1.1m (3.6ft) slides. A report about the camera's creation, as well as some images of the assembly process, were recently shared over at DIY Photography. The team explains that Berta is designed to 'create unique works' using the ROBA APPOSTA inversion kit chemical process created by Branco Ottico.
Bertha features a modular aluminum frame, a bellows draft measuring around 4m (13.12ft) in length and a 1000mm F6.3 lens. The camera can be used to capture portraits in macro mode, according to the team, which says they also have a mobile darkroom for capturing portraits outdoors. The team will tune the camera in early 2020, then take it and the mobile darkroom on a tour to capture portraits of people on the road.
When I first clicked on here I though it was a digital camera with a new "UHF" sensor the size of a ping-pong table. I checked the comments first to see if a miracle had occurred and anyone affiliated with DPR or any non-MF FF shooter would concede that "UHF" has more discernable res than FF. 😎
No one called large format color positives slides. They are called color transparencies and only 35mm and medium format transparencies are called slides.
The link describes the intent of the project is to directly produce photographic paper positives , aka large prints, not transparencies. I'm guessing you could produce a very large transparency and backlight it like a duratrans, but for artistic purposes the direct to print approach seems more compelling. There have been a handful of studios in the U.S. that over the years have used an analog direct to print process , and years ago I recall a lab in Tampa that did this using a tweaked Cibachrome process.
It should be named Gorda, not Bertha :) I like the "DIY" in the title. Anyone can build it in their garage, in their spare time. A piece of cake ... :)
It's been quite a few years since I saw (or gave) a slide presentation, but I remember fondly that satisfying "kerchunk" sound every time you advanced to a new slide.
I would imagine that the slide projector for these 1.1m x 1.1m slides wouldn't so much "kerchunk" as they would make a rumble that would set off seismograph needles a few zip codes away!
An extreme case of the fallacy of thinking of IQ capabilities only in terms of the film or sensor, ignoring the limitations imposed by the lenses. Even if used with film that resolves 100 lp/mm or more, what is the MTF of the lens at that level?
Jochenis, what would be the point of using about 1000 times as much film to get only about the same "resolution" in the sense **line pairs per picture height** and so a similar final result? The implied promise of using a far large format is getting a far more detailed image; that is, getting similar resolution in the sense of **line pairs per mm** on the film to what one gets with a smaller format.
Well lets assume they have a mediocre lens which resolves only a third of a fullframe lens. It would produce an image with ten times the resolution. Btw i don't think this project is about resolution.
“One third” is unfortunately very optimistic when lens designs are scaled up. As far as aberrations are concerned (as opposed to diffraction) one cannot expect much change in angular resolution compared to a lens for a smaller format with the same angular FOV, which in this case would be a moderate wide like 24mm in 36x24mm format to match this 1000/5.6 in 1100x1100mm format. And same angular resolution would mean same output resolution in lines per picture height and equal detail in same-sized print. So it has to be a darned good lens to get significantly better than today’s high end lenses and sensors give.
Even in 10”x8” format, lens resolution is below modern film resolution due to the optical limits.
Also, to get more than about 1mm of DOF, the lens would need to be stopped way down; f/5.6 would give DOF comparable to about f/0.2 with that 24mm “equivalent” lens. The diffraction becomes a major limit on resolution
Diffraction should work comparable to digital fullframe if we use equivalent aperture. Maybe film even has the benefit of no bayer array here. I believe the diffraction limit for a 50mp/100mp digital sensor is about f5.6/f4 so there is plenty of room to stop down from f/0.2.
@jocjenls 1) The reason for stopping way down is DOF, as I said: to repeat, the DOF from this camera at f/5.6 would be as shallow as for an imaginary 24mm lens in 35mm format at f/0.2. Check out the aperture ratios used with 10"x8" view cameras to get an idea of how high they have to be as formats get large: f/16 is considered to give quite shallow DOF. Do not judge by the wide-open apertures of LF lenses; those are only used for focusing, not taking.
@jocjenls 2) The DOF vs diffraction trade-offs are the same for any format: equal as seen on equal sized prints when one uses equal effective aperture diameter, got by scaling f-stop in direct proportion to linear format size and focal length.
In this case, the aperture ratio giving equal DOF (as seen on equal sized prints) is about 40X larger for the 40X larger format (e.g f/0.14 vs f/5.6, or f/1.4 vs f/56) so the diffraction spots at the focal plane of the larger camera would be 40X larger, and then when enlarging to equal size prints (40X more from the smaller format) they would be the same size on the print. (Ditto for the circles of confusion from OOF effects).
Meanwhile, the 40X larger format needs to use 1600 times longer exposure time with film of equal ISO speed, or 1600 times higher ISO speed for equal exposure time. The former would be very tough for portraits of live humans, and the latter would be very tough with a film camera like this one.
I would think stopping down to f/47 which is about f/1.4-equivalent would result in a diffraction limit of about 400mp. In terms of exposure they will probably use some sort lighting setup to compensate for the 5 extra stops of light needed to expose the huge film.
True; or you could get that same “400MP” equivalent far more easily and with far less lighting required by using an 8x10” or even 4x5” view camera (at f/11 or f/5.6 respectively). I see no point in pushing to the point where the diffraction limits resolution to far below what the film is capable of, at the cost of far higher film and processing costs (and the risk of dazzling portrait subjects with massive lighting!)
To repeat, these monster formats used to have a place in the 19th century, but only before enlarging was invented. This is a cute marketing stunt for their negative-to-positive processing technology, nothing more.
Where do they get such large film from? Or is it using paper, which they process in reversal with the chemistry they make, Roba Apposta B&W reversal kit?
I wish you could get the jokes contained in the names :D those people are hilarious as much as they are competent, as you can see from the video. Banco ottico = view camera. Branco = herd Branco ottico = kinda "optical herd" "Roba apposta" = "stuff just made for it" (very informal slang, may refer to anything, if you know Italian you can't avoid smiling seeing a product with that name)
Can you say: "Out of touch with reality?" Many here seem to think that this a real camera—instead of a PROP in-an-advertising-campaign.
Today many people take things too literally. They think that the absurd is true—they don't get-the-joke. This advertorial would sell ROBA APPOSTA on Japan Camera Hunter. Bellamy's readers are Film Fans, they would appreciate the humor of the chipmunk-voices—and maybe buy some ROBA APPOSTA, to convert negative film to slides.
Large format is alive and well, but this camera makes my old 4x5 Graflex look mighty small. For everyone here that believes large format film cameras are dead, B&H sells 23 different 4x5 cameras, 5- 5x7 and 7- 8x10, but they only stock 2, both 4x5's. These cameras start at $2099. and sell for up to $12,929. without lens. The large format lenses B&H sells start at $585. and up to $10,000, though there is a f/256 with a 52° angle of view Pinhole camera for $90.
I think there was one producing something like 90x180 cm or so. Lab technicians wearing infrared goggles developed the giant polaroid sheet inside the camera housing. It was used to copy paintings, but also take giant "stitched" macro portraits of people's faces about 2x4 meters in size.
DPR posted info on this large film camera a few years ago. Gigantic 35-foot camera takes negatives larger than most people Negatives from the camera measure in at an astounding 6 x 4.5 feet, but also holds the electronic controls for things such as the camera's focus, scale, and lights. https://newatlas.com/35-foot-camera-vanishing-cultures/21178/
What’s wrong with chasing rainbows, probably having fun and even earning a buck or two on the way? While upsetting a few billion “weirdos” wasting part of their boring lives chasing likes on Facebook. That effect alone makes it a commendable venture in my eyes ;-)
Now they’ve crated Bertha, I’m beginning to wonder about “Big Bertha” ;-)
Depends a lot on the emulsion quality and the resolution of the lens.
It's pretty easy to find mega-size images made with outdated film technologies like tintype or wet collodion, but the image quality will pale in comparison to modern negative or slide film shot with good 6x6 or 6x7 cm medium format cameras and lenses, let alone those same filmstocks shot on large format 4x5" or 8x10" sheet.
Bigger isn't always better unless you are able to scale up the the same ultra-high quality medium that you're using on the smaller scales.
Same way a modern smartphone camera will outresolve 35mm film, even though the digital sensor is 30x smaller.
it would be interesting to see. i've seen some 4x5 drum scanned files at about 300mp, nothing in a digital world can't come close. the photos looks almost magical and 3d, green is much better than any digital cam output... 8x10 camera loaded with velvia 50 and kodak ektar is my goal for 2020 regards
Is this relevant? Absolutely. Stories like this are meant to nudge you out of your rut, dare you to dream about what you could do with a tool like this. This camera has a distinguished heritage, it follows in the footsteps of Carlton Watkins and his custom-built view camera that shot 18x22 glass plate negatives and the 20x24 Polaroid camera.
There maybe a market for this. There is a photographer in Nashville TN that has been successful using an old process and somewhat smaller format 16x20 inch Ambrotype photos: https://gilesclement.com/people
Full Frame,Yeah,maybe. But I'm sure it will be a Frame Full of any kind of photography any other camera can do..so nothing to write home about. Fake News is the trend nowadays (which is not the case here) but I would stamp it as Fart News..
No real explanation what is "special" about this camera besides strange? size is big? why? just because? What can it do that others can't? What is the rationale for bothering with this? Just because? People built a camera out of a potato, there is an article about it on DPReview, out of lego's, etc. Without an explanation seems similar to me, we did it because we had time and money?
Read the words: "The team explains that Berta is designed to 'create unique works' using the ROBA APPOSTA inversion kit chemical process created by Branco Ottico."
The Leica M11 brings a 60MP BSI CMOS sensor, USB charging and auto-magnifying, stabilized live view to the classic rangefinder form. We dig into the detail...
The Nikon Z 24-70mm F2.8 S is an all-rounder fast zoom for Nikon's mirrorless system. With a versatile focal length range and a fast aperture for low light photography and blurry backgrounds, this lens promises sharp imagery and smooth bokeh with minimal aberrations. How does it actually perform? Find out in our full review.
If you're looking to speed up your editing workflow, few pieces of hardware can make complex masking, brushing and cloning jobs easier than a digital pen. We look at Xencelabs' latest offering, the Pen Tablet Small.
The Great Joy 60mm T2.9 offers full-frame users an affordable option for 1.33x anamorphic shooting, while the 1.35x adapter can squeeze that to 1.8x, or turn your regular spherical lenses anamorphic for an even more budget-friendly solution.
Apple's flagship M1 Max MacBook Pro offers a combination of performance, efficiency, build quality, and screen quality that you cannot find in any PC on the market, full stop.
What's the best camera for shooting landscapes? High resolution, weather-sealed bodies and wide dynamic range are all important. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting landscapes, and recommended the best.
What’s the best camera for around $2000? These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both speed and focus for capturing fast action and offer professional-level image quality. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing around $2000 and recommended the best.
Most modern cameras will shoot video to one degree or another, but these are the ones we’d look at if you plan to shoot some video alongside your photos. We’ve chosen cameras that can take great photos and make it easy to get great looking video, rather than being the ones you’d choose as a committed videographer.
Although a lot of people only upload images to Instagram from their smartphones, the app is much more than just a mobile photography platform. In this guide we've chosen a selection of cameras that make it easy to shoot compelling lifestyle images, ideal for sharing on social media.
Sunshine, showers, fog and a civil rights march - it must be January in Seattle. Since it was launched last week we've been out and about with the Leica M11, and we've prepared a gallery of samples from our pre-production camera. Click through to check them out.
Capture One has announced that it is no longer selling brand-specific versions of Capture One. The company has also revealed plans to offer existing customers the latest version of Capture One Pro.
Sony and the World Photography Organization have announced the shortlist for their Student & Youth awards. We've rounded up some of the shortlisted photos into a gallery.
Japanese photo site Digital Camera Life (DC Life) has discovered the sensor inside Sony's flagship a1 camera is the IMX610, a full-frame backside-illuminated sensor that appears to be exclusive to Sony.
What took 12 hours of training two years ago can now be achieved using a single off-the-shelf NVIDIA RTX GPU in roughly five seconds. NVIDIA researchers have demonstrated near-instant training of neural graphics primitives using an adaptable multiresolution hash encoding method.
Director and photographer Simon Meyer has taken to TikTok to show off how he creates his unusual collection of DIY 'lenses' made from various household objects, including potatoes, toilet paper rolls, shoes and even an Elmo stuffed animal.
Etsy seller CameraTins' is selling a full-sized Nikon F replica made entirely from wood. The kit includes the camera body as well as a replica Nikkor 55mm F1.2 lens.
The Leica M11 is a great platform for M-mount lenses, but arguably, its modern capabilities bring into question the future of a camera that builds so much on heritage.
The M11 is the latest in the Leica's series of rangefinder cameras, which date back to the early years of the 20th century. While it may look like Leicas of the past, it offers technology that 20th Century film photographers could never have imagined.
Can you get a great lens for $125? We tested the 7Artisans 55mm F1.4 to find out. How does this budget friendly lens compare to the medium- and high-end lenses we usually review?
This week our team at DPReview TV tested the 7Artisans 55mm F1.4 Mark II, a budget APS-C lens. Check out their sample gallery to see how how it performs.
The Canon Tsuzuri Project, started in 2007, uses Canon's products and technology to create highly-detailed, accurate facsimiles of important Japanese masterpieces.
Let's be honest—these aren't going to have the best image quality. But for only $75 for the 10mm F8 fisheye and $60 for the 27mm F2.8 prime lens, Rockstar is driving a hard bargain for both of the compact prime lenses.
In this video we are joined by Atola Visuals to get an in depth look at the DJI OM5 - a powerful 3-axis gimbal for smartphone videographers and vloggers.
An eagle-eyed Redditor has pointed out that Fujifilm's 'new' Fujicolor 200 film stock has very similar color characteristics as Kodak's Gold 200 color negative film, suggesting the recent release might well be white-labeled Kodak film.
A macro film shot by Russian filmmaker Vadim Sherbakov on a DJI Pocket 2 is inspiration for creating during cold winter months and lockdowns in some parts of the world.
Security researchers at ZecOps have developed a trojan proof of concept tool that can inject code into three crucial iOS daemons. The tool simulates a shutdown, keeping the phone powered on in a simulated 'off' state, leaving the device vulnerable to infiltration and monitoring.
The Leica M11 brings a 60MP BSI CMOS sensor, USB charging and auto-magnifying, stabilized live view to the classic rangefinder form. We dig into the detail...
The Leica M11 may look like the other M-series cameras that came before it, but it has some notable upgrades and changes. Find out why Chris thinks it's the most enjoyable 'M' camera he's used.
The Leica M11 includes numerous updates, but for many the headline feature will be the camera's 60MP BSI CMOS sensor. How do those beautiful Leica lenses hold up to high resolution? Check out our sample gallery from DPReview TV to find out.
Leica has announced the M11, the newest member of its M-series rangefinder line of cameras. It's headline spec is a new 60MP BSI CMOS sensor, but it also includes useful features like a larger battery, internal storage, a redesigned baseplate and more.
The Associated Press will launch a non-fungible token (NFT) photography marketplace, built by white-label blockchain marketplace makers Xooa, on January 31st.
The new 21mm T1.5 lens rounds out Irix's T1.5 lineup, which also includes 30mm and 45mm lenses. The new 21mm lens is available for Arri PL, Canon EF, Canon RF, L, MFT, Nikon Z and Sony E mount camera systems.
Between short days, long nights, and a lot of bad weather here in Seattle, we've been working on a Canon EOS R3 sample gallery. So when the sun finally came out we hung out with climbers, ran around with dogs, and captured some high ISO nighttime shots in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood.
NVIDIA has been busy. Last year, the company unveiled some fascinating AI-powered research projects, including technology for converting text into images and 2D images into 3D models. At CES last week, NVIDIA updated one of its most interesting AI tools and showed off a lot of new, powerful hardware.
Canon USA has taken to social media to tease the release of a new Cinema EOS camera system. The announcement is set to take place at 7am (EST) on January 19, 2022.
PWRBOARD is the first product from a company of the same name that hopes to simplify charging through a modular peg-style board that can be mounted to your wall or tossed in a bag for on-the-go.
Chris and Jordan from DPReview TV recently published their full review of the Nikon Z fc. Check out their sample gallery, shot in sub-zero Canadian temperatures, to judge image quality from this retro-inspired camera yourself.
Canon Europe has issued a statement explaining that due to the global chip shortage, some consumables (ink and toner) are shipping without onboard chips that tell a Canon printer that it's genuine Canon ink/toner. Canon is now telling customers that it's okay to ignore the warning messages that encourage the use of genuine ink.
Comments