I heard
an interesting interview with
Todd Schlemmer about printing cameras.
I've been ogling the design of the
ALPA 12 FPS, dreaming of it with a film back, even though it would be stuck at 6x4.5 on a 6x6 spacing.
One of the interesting things ALPA notes is the use of their camera with
wide Canon EOS-mount lenses, which seems like it wouldn't have the coverage area, but they do. This led me to wonder just how many lenses for 35mm cameras have either adequate coverage for 6x4.5 or have a pleasing vignetting at that size.
So, full-circle, Todd's printable pinhole cameras and his design process are interesting. I was wondering what it would take to print a medium-format camera with a focal plane shutter, even if you had to hand-roll a cloth shutter with a single shutter speed.
That led me to think about a "Halpa" -- something like the ALPA 12 FPS in plastic with a single shutter speed and a 2x3 Graflok back. It would be easy to source a compatible, used 6x4.5 or 6x6 back, and with an EOS mount any of the identified Canon lenses or an off-the-shelf adapter for a half-dozen other mount types could be used with the same body. Heck, you could even use the
EOS-mount Holga lens if you wanted a really expensive Holga.
I'm hoping someone will chime in and either say I'm completely crazy or I'm not entirely crazy and here are three viable shutters you could probably poach cheaply from a dead camera.
