Looking for darkroom equipment, this is what I found

[lrrp77]

Cool...!

Seems very well built... wonder if it is Nuclear proof

[Mr_Flibble]

When I opened the topic I was expecting one of those smaller WW2 style Darkroom-in-a-Box kits....but this is darn impressive! Congratulations, I hope it brings you many good prints

[planetjoe]

I am...in awe. That is the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Excellent purchase. Really. More of the grand tour, please!


Cheers,
--joe.

[bean_counter]

I have nearly 3 acres, but no real space inside the house for a darkroom, and I'm on a septic system... this would be PERFECT!

Congrats on an awesome find!

[gm13]

OK, a few more pics... one of the D2v's rereplaced w/ Focomat 1C and it's freshly CLA'd focotar. The film drying cabinet, film obviously dried on the reels or MF in frames. And an exterior shot showing air intake filter(a piece of foam) and fuel can for heater/ dryer hooked up. I've developed some film in here and all necessary systems are go (though music is still via iTunes on the laptop, will have to remedy that, sepiareverb) After phoning our "local" photo store, to check stock of printing supplies and being told all requested supplies are in, I drove the hour to pick them up so as to be printing this weekend.
Upon arrival I'm told they never even stocked Ilford and have no alternative. no printing this weekend. supplies have been ordered elsewhere. Will post results if I succeed.

[IMG]file:///Users/admin/Pictures/Poss%20submt/CRW_7303.jpg[/IMG]

[Kevin]

Your new mint green pod is incredible!

[Jonas]

I envy you! That is pretty damn cool.

[popstar]

That is just too cool! And much less expensive than I would've thought even including the shipping. Let's just say this: If the time comes when you have to off-load the pod I'm sure you have a ready made audience here. Enjoy this find!

[Max Power]

That is cool beyond words!
Amazing find!

[ddutchison]

I think you could have the road trip of a lifetime (Or a lifetime road trip) with one of those.

[L. M. Tu]

I just found this post. Unbelievable. Matthew Brady would have loved this.

[Florian1234]

What a great find! How much was it?

edito: We used to operate such containers at army, but equipped with beam radio stuff and a large antenna near the container.
So, you can actually stand in there or do you have to sit unless being smaller than 1,60m ?

[Ronald M]

Check your building code. I would camafloge around it if illegal. Where I live they do aerial photos and compare year to year so they can spot new stuff.

A neighbor might also complain so the more pretty you make it, the bettr off you are . Understand only a photog would appreciate a green box in the yard.

[gm13]

Florian1234,
Plenty of headroom for the average six footer.

Ronald M,
When I built our house 12 years ago the only permit I needed was for the septic system, which involved talking to the inspector about his cat for 20 min. and then "where do you want me to sign." No building codes here! We're about 1/2 mile off the main road with enough land that we can't see the nieghbors--we're safe from those who don't know beauty when they see it.

I need to scan some prints and get them in the gallery, it's been a lot of fun
out there.

Gene

[Al Kaplan]

Lucky you! I spent about a dozen years on the North Miami Planning Commission making those types of rules, and more recently close to that on the city's Board of Adjustment where we decide which rules somebody can break...LOL. After Hurricane Andrew came through it was really easy to tell who had not "built to code", and inspections are a lot more stringent now. Nobody really wants to wake up and find your "darkroom" sitting at a crazy angle halfway through their living room ceiling.

[batterytypehah!]

I'm glad someone mentioned building codes. That finally stopped my drooling I couldn't put one of these anywhere on my lot without generating attention.

And to think it was less than what a lot of people happily pay for a dSLR kit. Astonishing. You are truly a lucky man.

Next time I'm down in Maine, I'll keep my eyes peeled for a guy with a Canon RF round his neck who can't seem to shake his grin.

[crawdiddy]

My wife would really be pi$$ed off if I got one of those.

[gm13]

Al
Maine doesn't really have an issue with hurricanes, not like you all down south deal with. The water here is too cold to sustain them, this, I imagine is one reason we have no code ( other than shorefront setback) the other I gather is a space issue, in our part of Maine we don't really have subdivisions so things aren't likely to make it off one's property even if we had a hurricane.

[Al Kaplan]

I'm familiar with the Maine coast. I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusettes and did some venturing up into Maine. As a kid in the forties I remember seeing the destruction caused by the 1938 "no name hurricane".

Most of the severe damage isn't caused by "sustained hurricane force winds" but rather by tornados imbedded inside of the hurricane. They're relatively small, follow erratic paths within the hurricane, feeding off of small sources of heat. They can produce winds in excess of 250 kph, but because of their small footprint they can blast you with high winds from one direction, but as the storm passes suddenly the wind direction shifts to the opposite direction.

[Pompiere]

In the township where I live, that wouldn't need a permit, since it is not built on a foundation and thus not consdered a "permanent" structure. A lot of backyard sheds are built on skids for that reason.

[Tom A]

That is the slickest set-up I have seen for a long time!!! Just mount it on a truck chassi and drive around the world - printing as you go.
Just the cost of parts is staggering and the technology for heating/cooling and melting snow - a perfect shooters survival "pod".
I am the same color green with envy as the outside! Wouldn't be able to fit it into pur condo - but something like this on the common deck upstairs would be OK - or simply use the second parking space downstairs! Oh well, you are a lucky man - and enjoy the printing - and the hammock too.

[jonmanjiro]

Waaaaaay cool!

My apartment is only about twice the size of your dark room

Ok, just kidding Its probably about three times the size

[Tom A]

Of course, I have the perfect match for your "pod". It is an Elcan 121, point source developer, made by Leica Canada in the early 70's. It has 5-6 hand ground aspherical condensors, a built in shutter and will -barely- cover a 35mm negative. It has 6 times the resolution of a conventional enlarger system - something in the neighborhood of 275 lines/mm on the easel!!!!
It comes with a huge controller, dials and buttons to push etc - but being 1970's technology - it has now died! The Navy ordered 12-14 of these @ $40 000 each! Mine is #4 and to my knowledge the only one complete, except for the lenses. Most of the other ones were dismantled and used to mount regular Focomat IIc heads one. Unfortunately, it weighs in at close to 100 lbs and is on the other side of the continent!
Using it is amazing - you fine focus on a layer of grain in the film. Sharpness is astounding, even with conventional paper - not pretty - the term "True Grit" comes to mind.
Printing times are short - really short. Ilford Multigrade, fiber based full frame 11x14 with a #3 filter (built in filter wheel) is about 0.9 to 1.1 seconds!
I have some plans to refit it with a LED light-source as that would eliminate the need for the shutter, which was there to compensate for warm-up and cool down times of the 50 watt "peanut" bulb.
The Navy evidently used it to print huge transparencies on SO 115 (technical pan) and look for enemy gun emplacements.
Leica did make a 25f4, a 50f2 and a 75f2 for it. Neither the 25 nor the 75 supposedly made it into production. The 50 mm was a reworked DR Summicron in an "off the shelf" adapter.

[kuzano]

Originally Posted by nikon_sam

Okay...I want one!!!
If I could get this past my wife there would be one in our backyard...

Get yours before Iran and N Korea have the bomb!!

[Mael]

This is a great find ! Congratulations. Some years ago I hesitated buying a french army Renault Goelette Truck from the sixties that had a built in darkroom, but with just one enlarger and a table for printing. Not such a luxury equipment ! (but it had an engine and 4WD !)