Topic: I want to design a new camera.

[Flippy]

The idea has been kicking around in the back of my mind for a couple years now. I've got an idea for a simple panoramic camera, essentially a box camera. The basic premise is to make a camera that shoots 24 exposures on a roll of 120, so a nominal 3x6 cm frame.With the camera body being so compact, it would not be too expensive to simply 3D print it. Wide angle lens, if possible, 50 to 60mm being ideal. The big problem of course is where to find a lens that'd work and is in supply.

Would anybody else be interested in such a camera? Anybody have ideas for lenses? I kind of wonder if I can find suitable generic meniscus lenses somewhere.

[astrobeck]

Surplus Shed is your friend for lenses.
I have bought a few simple meniscus lenses for them to "doctor up" a couple of my Holgas.

They have quite the assortment.
Don't blame me for the money hole it may cause once you start browsing.... 

[Kai-san]

You would also need a advance mechanism for the film, the numbers printed on the backing paper will be useless for 24 frames.

[Francois]

You will need 67mm or wider. And a shutter.
With simple lenses, the film to optical center will be the focal length, so a wide angle will need to be pretty close to the film.
For the film advance, you will need two windows using the center numbers.

Having designed a camera before, most of your time will be spent making the film advance and film path work. Be prepared to make a lot of changes, so choose a CAD program that is fully parametric like FreeCAD. And be prepared for unusable prints. I usually have to make a minimum of two prototypes before I get one working. And for my camera design, it took way more than that; though I must admit that I was designing a full blown 35mm film advance with a sprocket wheel and frame position indicator.