3 ms·

A database of analog cameras that can be 3D printed

167 points by thomasjb 6mo ago

CarVac 6mo ago
I have an abomination that I printed years ago that adapts an Instax SQ1 to Hasselblad lenses (and has an RB67 focusing screen on a viewfinder next to the Instax for composing and focusing). It's sooooo impractical but the results are so fun. The process is to compose, focus, put ND filter on, swap from finder to film body, half-fire the shutter, pull out the dark slide, fully fire the shutter, push in the dark slide, eject the film, rewind the shutter, and go back to the finder.
- hilsdev 6mo ago
  I’ve been wanting to build one of these for awhile. Did you follow a plan/blog or design your own? I already have donor instax and Polaroid bodies not sure what to put it as a back on
- zimpenfish 6mo ago
  Watching Kyle McDougall[0] take his medium format photos is a soothing experience (but I know full well I would not have the patience for medium format.) [0] https://www.youtube.com/@KyleMcDougall/videos https://www.youtube.com/@KyleMcDougall/videos
skyberrys 6mo ago
I had no ideas this was a thing and now I can almost endlessly scroll through possibilities. Another reason for a 3d printer.
zx8080 6mo ago
Film cameras should require metal parts and high precision shutter mechanism. How about those? I doubt it can be printed.
- hilsdev 6mo ago
  Pinhole cameras can be nothing but a soda can and a hole in it. Large format and some medium format folding camera shutter lens units just need a round hole to slip into and all the controls are external and built in
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- razorbeamz 6mo ago
  Ever heard of a Holga? The only metal parts in one of those are a single spring and some clips to hold it together.
- kennywinker 6mo ago
  > should require Thats just like, your opinion, man.
- armadsen 6mo ago
  Many of the film cameras that people 3D print essentially outsource that stuff to off-the-shelf focusing helicoids which are readily available, along with medium or large format lenses which are traditionally mounted in a leaf shutter anyway. So the hard parts (lens, aperture, focusing mechanism, shutter) are not part of the 3D print itself. You're right that 3D printing a serious shutter mechanism for anything other than a pinhole camera isn't really feasible (yet?). It's the light tight box and the film transport that are completely reasonable to print.
- prmoustache 6mo ago
  Only if you want a fairly compact camera supporting various shutter speed including some very fast ones, high speed films and lenses, and the kind of subjects that you want to take picture of. Once you are going much slower things can be less precise. You can make a camera out of a cardboard box really. That won't do for a wildlife or olympic games professional photographer obviously.
- dgxyz 6mo ago
  Ignoring the other comments, if you want to make a film camera that isn’t a pain in the ass, yes. Otherwise you can get away with quite a bit. You’re not going to get 1/1000+ shutters and all that though.
- alistairSH 6mo ago
  RTFA. It clearly shows typical camera lenses in use on most of the cameras. The lens from a large format "press camera" (1) is often used because they'er available for reasonable money and usually have full manual controls, including the shutter release. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_camera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_camera
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
GJim 6mo ago
"analog" cameras? One brings to mind the common misconception of the young that all physical media (including dad's CDs) is analogue, and that 'digital' refers only to 'computer' data.
- nom 6mo ago
  Yes, these are all analog cameras, are they not?
  - afandian 6mo ago
    I learned the word 'analogue' as meaning something like 'there is a change in the medium in proportion to the signal being recorded'. And digital as 'the signal being recorded is transformed into a numerical value which is stored on the medium'. The consequence being that changes to the medium in the analogue domain (tape wear, attenuation etc) directly affects the signal, whereas in the digital domain the signal can potentially be re-created with no loss of fidelity. I think chemical film process fits with that description.
  - jagged-chisel 6mo ago
    What’s at the focal point? Film? Analog camera. CCD? Digital camera.
  - GJim 6mo ago
    No. They are film cameras.
- afandian 6mo ago
  I don't know if "the youth" are doing this, but if they are, the generation before probably bears a lot of the blame! Digital Tax! Digital camera! Digital marketing! Digital distribution! Digital radio! Digital TV! Digital download! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex/Digital https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex/Digital All of these had previously had a digital component to them. It was just the proximal user-facing part being digitised (or the introduction of a computer) that gave the marketing department license to use the word 'digital'. Maybe it was over-cooked a bit.
0xmrpeter 6mo ago
[dead]
alistairSH 6mo ago
Have any of you printed/used an Infidex or other 35mm panoramic camera? How was final assembly? Were you able to lock in the focus mechanism correctly? I shoot a fair bit of 35mm and a few rolls of 120 every year, but so far, it's all on vintage mid-range cameras (Super Ikonta IV, assorted 1960s-70s fixed lens rangefinders).

167 points by thomasjb 6mo ago

I have an abomination that I printed years ago that adapts an Instax SQ1 to Hasselblad lenses (and has an RB67 focusing screen on a viewfinder next to the Instax for composing and focusing). It's sooooo impractical but the results are so fun. The process is to compose, focus, put ND filter on, swap from finder to film body, half-fire the shutter, pull out the dark slide, fully fire the shutter, push in the dark slide, eject the film, rewind the shutter, and go back to the finder.

hilsdev 6mo ago
I’ve been wanting to build one of these for awhile. Did you follow a plan/blog or design your own? I already have donor instax and Polaroid bodies not sure what to put it as a back on
zimpenfish 6mo ago
Watching Kyle McDougall[0] take his medium format photos is a soothing experience (but I know full well I would not have the patience for medium format.) [0] https://www.youtube.com/@KyleMcDougall/videos https://www.youtube.com/@KyleMcDougall/videos

skyberrys 6mo ago

I had no ideas this was a thing and now I can almost endlessly scroll through possibilities. Another reason for a 3d printer.

zx8080 6mo ago

Film cameras should require metal parts and high precision shutter mechanism. How about those? I doubt it can be printed.

hilsdev 6mo ago
Pinhole cameras can be nothing but a soda can and a hole in it. Large format and some medium format folding camera shutter lens units just need a round hole to slip into and all the controls are external and built in
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
razorbeamz 6mo ago
Ever heard of a Holga? The only metal parts in one of those are a single spring and some clips to hold it together.
kennywinker 6mo ago
> should require Thats just like, your opinion, man.
armadsen 6mo ago
Many of the film cameras that people 3D print essentially outsource that stuff to off-the-shelf focusing helicoids which are readily available, along with medium or large format lenses which are traditionally mounted in a leaf shutter anyway. So the hard parts (lens, aperture, focusing mechanism, shutter) are not part of the 3D print itself. You're right that 3D printing a serious shutter mechanism for anything other than a pinhole camera isn't really feasible (yet?). It's the light tight box and the film transport that are completely reasonable to print.
prmoustache 6mo ago
Only if you want a fairly compact camera supporting various shutter speed including some very fast ones, high speed films and lenses, and the kind of subjects that you want to take picture of. Once you are going much slower things can be less precise. You can make a camera out of a cardboard box really. That won't do for a wildlife or olympic games professional photographer obviously.
dgxyz 6mo ago
Ignoring the other comments, if you want to make a film camera that isn’t a pain in the ass, yes. Otherwise you can get away with quite a bit. You’re not going to get 1/1000+ shutters and all that though.
alistairSH 6mo ago
RTFA. It clearly shows typical camera lenses in use on most of the cameras. The lens from a large format "press camera" (1) is often used because they'er available for reasonable money and usually have full manual controls, including the shutter release. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_camera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_camera

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

GJim 6mo ago

"analog" cameras? One brings to mind the common misconception of the young that all physical media (including dad's CDs) is analogue, and that 'digital' refers only to 'computer' data.

nom 6mo ago
Yes, these are all analog cameras, are they not?
- afandian 6mo ago
  I learned the word 'analogue' as meaning something like 'there is a change in the medium in proportion to the signal being recorded'. And digital as 'the signal being recorded is transformed into a numerical value which is stored on the medium'. The consequence being that changes to the medium in the analogue domain (tape wear, attenuation etc) directly affects the signal, whereas in the digital domain the signal can potentially be re-created with no loss of fidelity. I think chemical film process fits with that description.
- jagged-chisel 6mo ago
  What’s at the focal point? Film? Analog camera. CCD? Digital camera.
- GJim 6mo ago
  No. They are film cameras.
afandian 6mo ago
I don't know if "the youth" are doing this, but if they are, the generation before probably bears a lot of the blame! Digital Tax! Digital camera! Digital marketing! Digital distribution! Digital radio! Digital TV! Digital download! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex/Digital https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex/Digital All of these had previously had a digital component to them. It was just the proximal user-facing part being digitised (or the introduction of a computer) that gave the marketing department license to use the word 'digital'. Maybe it was over-cooked a bit.

0xmrpeter 6mo ago

[dead]

alistairSH 6mo ago

Have any of you printed/used an Infidex or other 35mm panoramic camera? How was final assembly? Were you able to lock in the focus mechanism correctly? I shoot a fair bit of 35mm and a few rolls of 120 every year, but so far, it's all on vintage mid-range cameras (Super Ikonta IV, assorted 1960s-70s fixed lens rangefinders).