Author Topic: Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter  (Read 8473 times)

sapata

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Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter
« on: April 17, 2012, 01:46:02 AM »
Some of the Kodak Cresta are great to modify into pinhole cameras, they're solid and well built, light-leak proof, have a tripod socket and it takes 120 film.



Perhaps, the most interesting feature on these cameras are the two built-in filters set behind the lens, one close-up and one yellow. I'm going to make this feature useful for pinhole pictures by taking the close-up filter off and adding an extra red colour filter... here's how:

Start by taking the mask out of the slot. There are no screws so you just need to pull it out.



To take the shutter out you'll need to unscrew these as shown in the two pictures below:





Now... these two screws are the tricky ones to take out, they hold the lens, the front panel and the filters. They're not easy to take because they're inside the camera .  You'll need a very small screwdriver to do this, in my case it was a good opportunity to use my Swiss Army knife I bought many years ago for the first time!





Once they're out everything comes off easily and you should end up with this...



Now it's time to modify the filter set, with a small screwdriver pry open carefully the little catches and the filters will come off.



You don't necessarily need to take the yellow filter as it's going to stay anyway, mine was really dirty so I decided to take it off to give a good clean.



I had some gel lying around and I found one pretty close to the red filter I have for my slr, I then replaced the close-up lens with a small piece of red gel I cut from the sampler. ( I saved the close-up just in case I want to bring back the camera to it's original features)





I got rid off the lens from the barrel….





Back to the shutter, they're very simple rotary system with one single speed. I wanted to create a B setting so in the future I can add a cable release.

To do this this you'll need to stop the blade half-way through so I glued a tiny piece of metal ring where shown with the arrow.



The picture below shows the shutter fully opened when activated, note that the silver ring I glued before prevents the blade to travel further, allowing the shutter to be opened as long as it needed.



The way the pinhole it's done and size is entirely up to you, I did mine with a piece of cardboard.  A great source for all calculations is this website: http://www.mrpinhole.com/index.php



I suggest NOT to glue the cardboard or whatever other material you may use on the back of the mask as I did at first, the blade runs really close to the mask and by placing something on the back will prevent the shutter to run freely.



Cut a square piece enough to cover the mask hole and place it by the FRONT of the mask with some glue but don't use permanent in case you want to change the size of the pinhole, make sure stays flat. Use some black paint to cover any possible light-leak.



Check the viewfinder for any sign of dust or haze, if needed they can be easily cleaned by taking two screws to gain access to both front and back glass.



The front one is hold with a piece of metal and can be removed, the back one won't come off.



My Cresta have a locking mechanism missing and no tripod socket, I glued a nut for the tripod on it's place and covered the hole inside the camera with gaffer tape.



The last part is to make a lens cap (explained here http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=4941.0 sometime ago) since I haven't developed the cable release mod yet. The fact that the shutter stays closed all the time makes the camera more secure to carry inside the bag, when shooting all I have to do is to put the cap on and place a gaffer tape on the shutter release to keep it pressed down, take the cap and expose.





I've also added some colour on the filter pull out tab so it makes easy to identify what filter I'm using...





And finally, a small ring to attach a neck strap in case you need to carry on places with difficult access...



« Last Edit: April 17, 2012, 01:55:03 AM by sapata »

Diane Peterson

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Re: Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2012, 04:17:10 PM »
Great informational ...I will have to try this..Do you have any images from this camera now that it is a pinhole?

Urban Hafner

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Re: Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2012, 04:29:31 PM »
Great idea sapata! I might convert my Kodak Brownie 127 into a pinhole camera.

Urban

Sandeha Lynch

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Re: Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2012, 05:51:06 PM »
Aah, nice.

sapata

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Re: Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2012, 06:39:22 PM »
Great informational ...I will have to try this..Do you have any images from this camera now that it is a pinhole?

Thanks guys :)

Diane... I have a few pitures taken with one I gave away years ago. The difference was that instead of red filter, I had a black piece of cardboard that would act as a shutter, that was before I knew how to do the lens cap.

jojonas~

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Re: Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2012, 06:52:51 AM »
thorough walkthrough! many thanks, sapata. if I see one of these cameras, I might just make myself another pinhole :)
/jonas

Urban Hafner

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Re: Kodak Cresta Pinhole mod/using the existing filter
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2012, 08:22:22 PM »
I've now taken apart my Kodak Brownie 127 as per your instructions. They're quite similar after all. The shutter is the same so I've used the same trick to convert it. The front plate however is fixed with two rivets so you have to use minor force to remove it. The "lens mount" looks kinda nice underneath!

That's it for now as I've gone completely over board with the rest :) I've order a pinhole, a tripod mount, a cable release (it's easy to remove the shutter button on the camera) and a double bubble level. Let's see if I can build a great pinhole camera for next years WPPD ;)