Chroma - Lasercut Acrylic 4x5 Field Camera

stevelmx5 said:
Thanks bud. While I get the feeling these cameras are going to kill me, I’ll go out smiling ;0)
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Please make sure you’ve finished mine before they finish you off
 
redhed17 said:
Well done, it's a lovely looking thing. :clap: You must be so proud of what you have achieved. [emoji4]

It's been a great read following its development.

Just wish I was of a film mind to get one. [emoji20] [emoji38]
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Thanks. It’s been 2 years and lots of acrylic to get here but I’m glad I stuck it out. Seeing the finished cameras is an awesome feeling and I can’t wait to see them out in the wild.

The only problem now is that Kickstarter Campaigns for new cameras are addictive and I’ve got my eye on a mirrored 6x12 walkabout design. I reckon that will be Chroma ‘19 but I’ve got a lot of 2018 Chroma 4x5’s to concentrate on before then [emoji3]

IMG_1279.JPG

(obviously this is a rough sketch!)
 
stevelmx5 said:
Thanks. It’s been 2 years and lots of acrylic to get here but I’m glad I stuck it out. Seeing the finished cameras is an awesome feeling and I can’t wait to see them out in the wild.

The only problem now is that Kickstarter Campaigns for new cameras are addictive and I’ve got my eye on a mirrored 6x12 walkabout design. I reckon that will be Chroma ‘19 but I’ve got a lot of 2018 Chroma 4x5’s to concentrate on before then [emoji3]

View attachment 131474

(obviously this is a rough sketch!)
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Not that rough. ;)
 
stevelmx5 said:
Thanks. It’s been 2 years and lots of acrylic to get here but I’m glad I stuck it out. Seeing the finished cameras is an awesome feeling and I can’t wait to see them out in the wild.

The only problem now is that Kickstarter Campaigns for new cameras are addictive and I’ve got my eye on a mirrored 6x12 walkabout design. I reckon that will be Chroma ‘19 but I’ve got a lot of 2018 Chroma 4x5’s to concentrate on before then [emoji3]

View attachment 131474

(obviously this is a rough sketch!)
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I would be first in the queue for that.(y):)
 
This is obviously just between you, me, and the rest of the Internet [emoji23]

As I say, my priority for the rest of this year is building/delivering 148 Chroma 4x5’s. Anything else is my mind being way too active but looking ahead to next year. I’m going to Florida next March/April so would love to be able to shoot some 6x12 there if possible.

First things first, I’ve got to run the first print of the 6x12 Chroma back that will work with any Graflok compatible camera [emoji1303]. I got the design for that around 90% finished today so should hopefully be able to get a test print running next week sometime.
 
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^^^^^^^^^

Understand , I have a great deal of patience. :)
 
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stevelmx5 said:
This is obviously just between you, me, and the rest of the Internet [emoji23]

As I say, my priority for the rest of this year is building/delivering 148 Chroma 4x5’s. Anything else is my mind being way too active but looking ahead to next year. I’m going to Florida next March/April so would love to be able to shoot some 6x12 there if possible.

First things first, I’ve got to run the first print of the 6x12 Chroma back that will work with any Graflok compatible camera [emoji1303]. I got the design for that around 90% finished today so should hopefully be able to get a test print running next week sometime.
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Hmmmm...PanF landscapes. Are you going to kickstarter the add-ons or will they be direct purchases?
 
thedarkshed said:
Hmmmm...PanF landscapes. Are you going to kickstarter the add-ons or will they be direct purchases?
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I'm not sure yet to be honest. I need to work out the print cost for the main body (for the 612 back) first to get an idea on actual price. The print quality will need to be very good which will obviously impact the price.
 
stevelmx5 said:
Thanks. It’s been 2 years and lots of acrylic to get here but I’m glad I stuck it out. Seeing the finished cameras is an awesome feeling and I can’t wait to see them out in the wild.

The only problem now is that Kickstarter Campaigns for new cameras are addictive and I’ve got my eye on a mirrored 6x12 walkabout design. I reckon that will be Chroma ‘19 but I’ve got a lot of 2018 Chroma 4x5’s to concentrate on before then [emoji3]

View attachment 131474

(obviously this is a rough sketch!)
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Steve, you must stop this. For my bank balance's sake, if nothing else.
 
ChrisR said:
My first sight of a Chroma in the wild, at Leamington Arts Fair with John Whitmore @thedarkshed :

View attachment 131704

(Apologies for an iPhone image...)

It really does look the business!
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That’s awesome Chris, thanks for the photo although it’s true that the camera takes 10 (ish) years off you. Oh, hang on, that’s John [emoji6]
 
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The big question is: was it released or did it escape (at my first ever job, Honeywell software updates were referred to as "escapes" rather than "releases" as they shouldn't have been allowed out...).
 
StephenM said:
The big question is: was it released or did it escape (at my first ever job, Honeywell software updates were referred to as "escapes" rather than "releases" as they shouldn't have been allowed out...).
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No, it was definitely a planned release :0)

I've got 0,1 and 3 ready to ship here so will be getting on with, "The Destroyer" asap ;)
 
I've been re-working the C-Pan 6x12 camera after speaking to Connor Hutson who designed it, so that I can embed it into a new back for the Chroma. I've flipped the body around so that the film is closer to the front of the Chroma as this then mounts the 120 film plane in line with the standard ground glass. I need to print a body/lid/locking knobs etc to make sure the updated design works ok, before bonding it to an acrylic plate with integrated dark slide/magnets.

612Base.jpg 612RearInPlace.jpg 612RearInPlace2.jpg 612RearInPlaceLandscape.jpg 612Rrear.jpg
 
ChrisR said:
My first sight of a Chroma in the wild, at Leamington Arts Fair with John Whitmore @thedarkshed :

View attachment 131704

(Apologies for an iPhone image...)

It really does look the business!
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I can't believe you haven't posted the Instax photo! ;):)


stevelmx5 said:
As weird as it sounds, it’s nuts that I was assembling that camera last week and now it’s out in the wild!
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VERY impressed with it, as were the crowds. There was an antique dealer that has experience with old, wooden, large format cameras that was astounded by it! Another photographer that took about 30 photos of it from every angle...
I've got a feeling going out shooting with it is going to be fun! ;)
Thank you so much for sending it through, hopefully I'll have time to actually use later this week.. :)
 
thedarkshed said:
VERY impressed with it, as were the crowds. There was an antique dealer that has experience with old, wooden, large format cameras that was astounded by it! Another photographer that took about 30 photos of it from every angle...
I've got a feeling going out shooting with it is going to be fun! ;)
Thank you so much for sending it through, hopefully I'll have time to actually use later this week.. :)
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Thanks a lot John, I really appreciate the feedback. When you spend 2 years building a camera and keep getting told by people to stop d1ck*ng around with it and get it launched, it gets really nerve-wracking waiting for feedback from people actually using it so it's great to see that it's gone down well! I can't wait to see your results from it too :clap:
 
stevelmx5 said:
stop d1ck*ng around with it and get mine launched
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I really wish I'd not d!cked around and gone for the earlybird one now.....:banghead::D
 
Andysnap said:
I really wish I'd not d!cked around and gone for the earlybird one now.....:banghead::D
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You're not the only one, I'm off to Cornwall this week and I'm gutted I won't have mine to take.

Although I'm hoping there will be a plethora of Chromas on display when we all meet up in Scotland.
 
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Oh! Another holiday then :whistle:
 
RaglanSurf said:
You're not the only one, I'm off to Cornwall this week and I'm gutted I won't have mine to take.

Although I'm hoping there will be a plethora of Chromas on display when we all meet up in Scotland.
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I'm gutted that I'm probably not going to be able to get up there to see that, but am looking forward to seeing the pictures of and from them :)
 
stevelmx5 said:
I've been re-working the C-Pan 6x12 camera after speaking to Connor Hutson who designed it, so that I can embed it into a new back for the Chroma. I've flipped the body around so that the film is closer to the front of the Chroma as this then mounts the 120 film plane in line with the standard ground glass. I need to print a body/lid/locking knobs etc to make sure the updated design works ok, before bonding it to an acrylic plate with integrated dark slide/magnets.

View attachment 131720 View attachment 131721 View attachment 131722 View attachment 131723 View attachment 131724
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Oh dear! A Chroma with an "easy" roll film option...
 
120 is slightly easier to find than 4x5 rolls! I take it that an assortment of masks and advance systems to suit 6x4.5/6/7/9 will be available... :P
 
Nod said:
120 is slightly easier to find than 4x5 rolls! I take it that an assortment of masks and advance systems to suit 6x4.5/6/7/9 will be available... :p
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Standard rollfilm backs automatically manage the advance and framing but I have drawn up templates that can be printed onto an acetate sheet and overlaid over the ground glass to help framing.
 
stevelmx5 said:
...6x12 Chroma back that will work with any Graflok compatible camera...
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shut-up-and-take-my-money-32608030.png
 
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