Topic: Kickstarter: Panorama camera för 120

[jojonas~]

Yo! anyone put money into this? another sleek 4x5 lens on 120 film story 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulhausen/k-pan-the-3d-printed-panoramic-camera

[Francois]

Holy cow! that is expensive!
It reminds me of the fotoman cameras... they were using the same principle, only they weren't 3D printed.
What I find a bit sad is that they went the easy way and charge quite a hefty price for it when you consider that the bulk of the work is done by the optics block.
Also, there is no way to focus this model, so everything relies on adequate depth of field...

[jharr]

Is the idea that a pano camera just doesn't need a finder? I find that an odd omission.

[Francois]

I did notice that too.

For me, this project is just half baked and not ready for prime time.

He should get inspiration from Alpa... granted these are superlative in every way but their basic design is simple enough to imitate.

[charles binns]

Rip off.

[irv_b]

I like the concept but that is a hefty price for what you get out of it

[cs1]

Compared to what this camera doesn't feature (viewfinder, focusing mechanism, lens etc.) the only reason for such a hefty price tag would be the build quality. However, most 3D printed components that I've encountered so far never struck me as being very durable. Maybe this product is different, but manufacturing such an expensive camera with rapid prototyping methods strikes me as odd. Or has 3D printing evolved so much? The idea is nice, though, weren't it for the price.

[zapsnaps]

My favorite feature of this camera is the colour - I don't own a yellow camera. But I then read a) the price and b) that it is delivered in a natural 'stone' colour. I was so blinded by the yellow it took a while to realise that it didn't have a finder. I find it difficult enough to use a pinhole without a finder, but a pano? Not for me.

ps - it turns out I do own a yellow camera - I have an underwater camera in yellow. Might have too much kit if I can forget owning such a dynamic camera. But why do cameras always have to be black or chrome?

[Late Developer]

But why do cameras always have to be black or chrome?

They don't.  I suspect that they're two (lack of) colours that are most associated with something as utilitarian as a camera.  Mind you - then there's "stealth" - but something as big as this that will be tripod-mounted, by necessity, is never going to be stealthy.

[Francois]

Hasselblad did make a series of Smarties colored cameras in the 90s. I think it was Pentax who did a series of 645 pro in candy colors too.
Sekonic also made a series of exposure meters in red green and blue....

[Bryan]

Hasselblad did make a series of Smarties colored cameras in the 90s. I think it was Pentax who did a series of 645 pro in candy colors too.
Sekonic also made a series of exposure meters in red green and blue....

Kodak also made some colored folders and box cameras.

[Francois]

There were the girl and boy scout models.
They also made some for women that came with matching lipstick... I don't think that would work nowadays 

[chris667]

I wouldn't spend that. You could buy a quality camera for that price.

[Francois]

I was thinking about this and have come to the weirdest of conclusions.
For that price, you can buy a decent 3D printer and make the camera of your dreams...
An Anet A2 printer isn't so expensive and with a little tweaking can produce some very decent prints.

[Jeff Warden]

In my experience SLS nylon has proven inferior to both injection molded plastic and metal, and is suitable mostly for prototyping parts that will eventually be made with other materials and processes.  The Kickstarter doesn't specify exactly which nylon he's using but I would need to know that before backing, especially since he's using embedded metal fasteners but doesn't specify if they're heat set or tapped in.  Applying too much torque while assembling this DIY would ruin the parts by pulling out the inserts, destroying the nylon or both.  And I see small SLS parts with screw threads, which from my experience is always a bad idea other than for prototyping a part that will eventually be made of a more robust material.  And there are SLS to SLS interfaces where friction will wear out parts.

There are red flags here.  It's an excellent student project without a doubt, but he's a student, and it's a project, so it should have a low price to match.  I would probe with a few questions on his kickstarter but it appears he's not answering the questions that are there already in a timely manner. Beware, Filmwasting friends.