Hunter Penrose 2:1 or more?

Had a bit of time spare this afternoon after varnishing a digitype job.

Decided to see what the magnification/focal distance was on the Hunter Penrose camera with the Ross 17″ f4 lens.

2to1

Full bellows draw lets me have the subject 60cm from the front element. Depth of field is very very shallow but results in a 2:1 magnification. These little bottles are about 2 inches tall.

2to1a

Usual lighting set up was 20 seconds at f4. I’d imagine head shots at this size are going to be quite something. I wonder who can be my first victim. Time to get that head brace sorted methinks.

And this is what all that crud in the bottom of the dev bottle does to a plate!
2to1b

Whole plate ambrotype.