From printing toys to mechanical parts, 3D printing has a wide range of applications and has opened a lot of doors for a lot of industries. Analog photography is, much to my delight, one such industry that's been reaping the benefits.
There are files out there for lens caps, replacement parts, and even 35mm film adaptors for medium format cameras. Some files are free and some can be purchased for less than $10, which is great for those of us with tight budgets. But in my opinion the most exciting projects that have been put up for free to the public are the large format camera projects.
Large format photography is... expensive to say the least. Not just the cost of film and paper, but the cost of getting a somewhat functional large format camera can run upwards of $800. So imagine my delight when I found out there were a few large format camera projects out there.
Printing your own camera body, if you have a printer with the capacity, would only run you the price of the filament (a little over one roll with some of the more intricate/larger models) and the price of hardware. For the camera I am building this has cost me maybe $200-$300 (not counting the lens and bellows) so far. If you're willing to do the work, you can even make your own bellows and ground glass which really cuts down on non printed part costs. The only thing you couldn't feasibly make is the lens, barring a pinhole set up.
Free Projects:
Kevin Valverde's 4x5 Camera: A sturdy model that has a two rail system and has back and front standard movements. The back can be removed and rotated between landscape and Portrait. Files also include an instructional on what hardware is needed and a step by step instruction guide on putting it together. Probably my favorite 4x5 model to date.
Edgar Kech's Scalable Field Camera: This one is very cool. It was the model that prompted me to finally commit and print one. It currently comes in 4x5 and 5x7 models, with the capacity to be scaled to 8x10 as well. I will say that it's a little more complicated if you don't have a good head for hardware (It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me.) and they don't have a step by step guide. However the directions for printing and list of parts needed are very comprehensible. This model does not have rear standard movements, but you can swap between portrait and landscape fairly easily.
Vega 4x5 Monorail View Camera by Kaishou: A classic View Camera design. The files come pre scaled, precut for printing for various filaments, and also individually for people with smaller printers. This one also comes with bellows you can 3d print with flexible filament (Which is a process that people have reported mixed results with). Check the comments for helpful information on this one.
Grepstad 4x5 Camera by Jacobson: This Model allows you to print your monorail along with the camera body. Handy if you want to cut costs on hardware and non printed parts.
MP120TC: This project isn't a large format camera, however I'm including it because it's an exciting project. This camera uses 120 film but has the capabilities of a large format photography. For people who are interested in the effects of large format without the large film cost, this is worth looking into! I highly suggest donating to the creator when you dowload the files.
Paid projects:
Dora Goodman: Most models are available behind a registration paywall or one time purchase of the camera already made. They're quality and give the option for you to join community projects and modify their designs and improve upon them. They have pinhole, technical cameras, and medium format projects. There is also an opensource project available not behind the paywall.
Kits and Cameras:
Not everyone has the capacity to 3d Print, and printing services can be just as expensive as just purchasing a camera body in the first place. Luckily there are projects that offer kits or fully constructed camera's for a reasonable price.
Standard Cameras: Offers kits, models, and parts and pieces for their cameras. Fairly affordable.
Cameradactyl: A lot of printed accessories and a few hand held large format cameras are available on their store. They had been working on a very adorable view camera via Kickstarter which was last active 3 years ago sadly.
Intrepid Cameras: Made in the UK, this model is light weight and versatile. A little hefty in price but the rave reviews lead me to believe it's worth it.
Ground Glass
Ground glass is legitimately just a sanded glass pane. It'll take you a little elbow grease but cost you maybe 20 dollars total for the supplies needed to make it. You can usually get a pane of glass cut at hardware stores for fairly cheap (ACE hardware is my go to), and they usually also carry the sandpaper, or sometimes the powder, you need. You can use either of the following products to sand your glass down.
Silicone Carbide Sandpaper (400 and 600 grit)
Silicone Carbide Powder (400 and 600 grit)
The first method I tried, was the sandpaper method. I sanded first with the 400 grit sandpaper, then with 600 once I felt the finish was even enough. After a few hours worth of work and more than a few sheets of sandpaper, the finish was still a little rough and scratchy.
The second method is more messy, but has largely better results in half the time. Using loose grit, I wet two panes of glass and rolled the grit between them. This method took maybe 45 minutes, a tablespoon of each kind of loose grit, and I got two ground glass out of the deal. The finish is smooth and consistent and despite the mess I think this method is way more successful than using sandpaper.
You can find a very nice walk through on the process here.
Bellows
Slightly more intensive and material specific are the bellows. You can, of course, get them on etsy, ebay or other sites for decent prices. But if you're hellbent on making your own, the easiest way to get your own personalized bellows template is to plug your measurements in here and pay them the small fee to provide you with the PDF pattern for your project. They have a detailed blog that also links to a video walking you through the process of making your bellows.
There are projects aiming to print functioning bellows using TPU filament, a flexible rubber like material that would allow for large format movement. So far these attempts have met varying levels of success. The most daunting thing about this project is that TPU is largely reflective. You can sand down the inside to make it matte or even paint it with flexible paints. but the trick is making this last as long as the labor intensive cloth and paper counterparts.
All in all, 3D printing has really given us options to delve into analog photography in exciting and affordable ways. As 3d printing becomes more accessible to the public I suspect we will see a lot of new adaptations of old technology.
Thanks for reading!
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