Big Wide Files: https://www.printables.com/model/435598-big-wide-camera-big-shot-style-instax-wide
Diffuser Set Files: https://www.printables.com/model/435627-diffuser-set-for-big-wide-big-roid-and-big-large-c
- Total print time: 48-60+ hours across 6-7 print jobs depending on printer and settings (longest job is 16-30hrs, the Rear part)
- Total filament: approx 775 grams or 275 meters
PHOTO GEAR NEEDED
1 – Large Format view lens, 210mm ideal though you can experiment with 180 to 240mm. The Fujinon 210mm f5.6 was used to develop this build as it is the cheapest and most widely available, but it is heavy. The Rodenstock Sironar-N would be the other budget big lens. A front handle version was suggested by Forrest Bourke to make these easier to handle. For a better experience use the lighter lenses like G-Claron, Geronar, Xenar, Congo, Caltar all in 210mm. My personal go-to is the Geronar, or if you can find a G-Claron for a good price. Check KEH often.
1 – Lomograflok Instax Wide back
1 – Ground glass of some type that matches the offset, I used the Cameradactyl Integrated Shim
1 – Tripod for calibration
1 – Small flash, Vivitar 252 is preferred. Next up would be a “Nissin 30 flash” (EF-30, MC-30, etc) of which a Sears 003 is a clone. Omit the diffuser frame to use a better flash trigger and strobe setup.
PARTS LIST
2 – Cold shoes – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071H4934L
1 – Tripod bushings – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BJW3082
2 – M2x6 screws
11 – M2x12 screws
7 – M2x16 screws
4 – M3x25 screws
20 – M2 nuts
4 – M3 nuts
3 – Biz card fresnels – https://www.amazon.com/Hestya-Fresnel-Magnifier-Reading-Starter/dp/B07CPSXPP4
2 – 2-way mirror (cut pieces down to 23.5 x 37mm – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SZ51VB1)
1/2 – 1.5mm Foam sheet – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014YUWF4, if the 1.5 is unavailable then try the 1.0mm
PRINTED PARTS FILES
(Open the .3MF files for print orientation)
A. Big Wide Front.3mf
- 1a. Big Wide Front.stl
- 1b. Big Wide Front wGrip.stl – recommended for heavy lenses
- 2a. BW_front_lensboard_C1_674.stl – Copal 1. this board has a 6.74mm offset, ideal for tighter portraits. Decorative spacer is built in.
- 2b. BW_front_lensboard_C1_000.stl – Copal 1. the 000 means 0.00 offset, ideal for portraits with more body or couples/group shots.
- 3. BW_front_spacer_C1_200.stl – Copal 1. decorative spacer for use with 000 lens board only. The 674 one has it built in already.
- 4. BW_diffuser_frame.stl
B. Big Wide Rear.3mf
- 5. Big Wide Rear.stl
C. Big Wide Parts.3mf
- 6. BW_top.stl
- 7. BW_toplockbar.stl X 2
- 8. LG_griptop.stl – same as LigeroLG
- 9. BW_botlock.stl
D. BigWide_RF.3mf
- 10. BW_RF_mount.stl
- 11. BW_RF_top.stl
- 12. BW_RF_tube.stl X 2
- 13. BW_RF_body.stl
- 14. BW_RF_bottom.stl
- 15. BW_RF_tool.stl – for adjusting mirrors, this idea needs work.
E. BigWide_RF_parts.3mf – I prefer printing these in TPU to make life easier, but it’s not a must.
- 16. BW_RF_pivot.stl X 4
- 17. BW_RF_mask.stl
- 18. BW_RF_maskbottom.stl
- 19. BW_RF_eyepiece.stl
- 20. BW_RF_patch.stl
F. BW_griplock.3mf
- 21. BW_griplock.stl
GENERAL NOTES
- Files are optimized for Atomic Carbon Fiber PETG or Priline CFPC, so you may experience looser or tighter areas than my builds. Included are also .3mf files for those with PrusaSlicer.
- Recommended 3 walls minimum, gyroid or grid infill, 15-25% infill depending on your material. With CF materials you can probably go down to 10-15%. Sometimes I’ll add modifiers for 15-25% infill around holes and slots for reinforcement. It’s important for you to go with your own trusted and tested settings vs mine.
- The M2 holes are designed on the tighter side so drill them out as needed (1/8 drill bit), clear out any debris, and test fit the nuts/screws before screwing on any parts. The cheaper amazon hardware tends to strip/slip easily. Do not overtighten anything, it’s not needed.
- For the glue/cement/epoxy usage make sure it doesn’t give off too much cloudy white residue, especially around the mirrors.
- My standard diffuser “recipe” right now is a 3 fresnel stack with no diffuser. I add colored cellophane for creative “gel” effects.
- Ideal shooting settings will be somewhere in the f22-f34 and 1/15-1/60 ranges.
MIRROR CUTTING
I use a wire cutter for foam to cut the acrylic mirror material (link to the device is in the video). It works ok but a powerful one would be best. Here’s what that process looks like: https://youtu.be/48rwQJWm6EM
ASSEMBLY STEPS
(this assumes no other surface finishes are being done after this point. Read these steps and decide your own process if you’re going to paint/stain parts)
1. Attach diffuser frame to the Front part of the body. – 2x M2x12 screws + 2x M2 nuts
2. Build the Body by attaching the Front to the Rear. – 4x M2x12 screws + 4x M2 nuts
3. Glue the toplockbars to the bottom of the top piece (similar to illustration in LGinfo_Lockbars.png). Once dry, attach the top (2x M2x16 + 2x M2 nus), cold shoe (2x M2x12 screws + 2x M2 nuts), botlock (2x M2x12 screws + 2x M2 nuts), and tripod insert onto the body (recommend to add some glue to this insert).
4. Attach griptop to griplock (M2x12 screw + M2 nut) and install that onto the body (2x M3x25 screws + 2x M3 nuts). It shouldn’t be too loose, but more on the tight side.. just loose enough that it can move/unlock with some force.
5. Apply light seal foam onto as much of the back as you’d like. At minimum a rectangular perimeter around the frame opening.
6. Attach RF mount and RF body (2x M3x25 screws + 2x M3 nuts), use glue or other strong bonding material to ensure a strong bond with the grip. This is important as it should not budge once calibrated or it will be off slightly. Insert RF patch inside of the RF body, with the arrow pointing forward toward the subject. You can glue on some yellow cellophane to this piece for better focusing.
7. Install mirrors into the RF top and bottom using the pivot disks, with the rectangle slots facing upward. Push the mirrors all the way in till they stop then rotate them as close to 45 degrees as possible, with the bottom angled toward the subject. You’ll fine tune it later.
8. Glue the RF tubes securely to the RF top and bottom pieces. Make sure it has a solid bond. Orientation of the lip on the tube doesn’t matter but the sloped side toward the RF body is the safest.
9. Attach lens to lensboard with its own retainer ring, then attach lensboard to the front. – 4x M2x16 screws + 4x M2 nuts
10. Install RF top and bottom into the RF body, and gently hold them in place with the set screws (2x M2x6 screws + 2x M2 nuts). Don’t fully tighten just yet, only enough to allow slight rotation.
11. Install RF masks and eyepiece during the calibration steps below. These can be modified as needed for proper crop/framing/composition.
Before you attach anything in the next steps, here is how you install a Lomograflok back onto a Big Wide camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSCq9Ck4ehc
CALIBRATION
In video form: https://youtu.be/pRnWQ1L3syo
SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: During calibration the camera is aimed directly at the target. So during composition of an actual photo, the subject should be aligned and centered directly in front of the camera, not your body as one would instinctively do. If you don’t think you can get used to that then you have to remember to slightly aim the camera to the right of the subject after focusing.
1. Print out the BigWide_target.pdf on 8.5×11 paper (or 11×17 if possible), and tape it upside-down to a wall with the center bullseye at about mouth level.
2. Place the Big Wide on a tripod, and using your ground glass or focusing screen position the camera so that the target is centered and in focus. Pro tip: use a friend/model to really be exact. At this point you might look at the proportions of the model and determine if you prefer a different lensboard offset to reach your ideal focus distance and composition. Do this first before proceeding.
3. Optional: Increase lensboard offset from the 0.00 version to focus closer and enlarge the subject, and reprint. Decrease the lensboard offset from the 6.74 version to move further back and shrink the subject, and reprint. There is a slim Mk2 version of the Front part that I decided to throw in here as that one works best for the Geronars and G-clarons.
4. Install the top mask and rotate the RF top section left-to-right to match the overall image to your ground glass image. Once the image is centered, tighten the set screw to lock it in place. If the cropping doesn’t match, you’ll need to modify and reprint the RF masks and eyepiece as needed.
5. Within the RF top section, move the mirror up and down slightly so that the bright square patch is centered. The mask can be temporarily removed to make this step easier.
6. Rotate the RF bottom from left-to-right to align the double image horizontally in the viewfinder, and lock in place.
7. Within the RF bottom section, move the mirror up and down slightly so that the double image aligns vertically. RF bottom mask can be installed at this point. You should now have a viewfinder image that matches the ground glass.
8. Make marks to note the positions of the RF Top and Bottom, and then un-install them to add glue. This step is tricky so use a slower drying glue vs a faster one as you may need to perform more slight adjustments as the glue dries.
9. As a final step, add some glue to the pivot disks for the mirrors to prevent them from rotating.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- The double image is slightly smaller because there are no optics within the RF to enlarge the image coming up from the bottom (it’s technically a longer distance from your eye). Since most shooting settings are between f/16 and f/32 there is little concern for missing focus if not aligned perfectly.
- For composition just try to focus on shapes where you can center the double image with your subject. I try to aim at the mouth, teeth, or upper lip at the highest. Focusing on the eyes will add a lot of space above the head.
- SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember that during calibration the camera is aimed directly at the target. So during composition of an actual photo, the subject should be aligned and centered directly in front of the camera, not your body as one would instinctively do. If you don’t think you can get used to that then you have to remember to slightly aim the camera to the right of the subject after focusing.
Enjoy!!