Photographer Builds His Own Camera with a 3D Printer

3D printer news | The camera combines features from several cameras: the medium format of the Mamiya 7, which costs over 5,000 USD, the image ratio of the Hasselblad XPan, and the film-advance style of the Leica M line, also priced at over 5,000 USD.

Photographer builds his own camera with a 3D printer

British photographer Paul Kohlhaussen had a list of favorite cameras, but he didn’t have the money to buy them all. So he took a less common route: he combined all the features he liked from those cameras and packed them into a camera of his own, built by 3D printing. The surprising part is that Kohlhaussen drew the design for his own 6×14 medium format camera (larger than full frame) with no prior CAD experience. He taught himself what he needed, designed it himself, and ended up with a complete drawing of a camera made of 8 main parts.

2D concept sketch

3D concept model

3D concept model (2)

3D printing the many parts that make up the camera

The finished, assembled camera

He named his camera the “Yellow One-Eyed Monster,” model number PK-6142016.

The camera combines features from several cameras: the medium format of the Mamiya 7, which costs over 5,000 USD, the image ratio of the Hasselblad XPan, and the film-advance style of the Leica M line, also priced at over 5,000 USD. The “face” of the PK-6142016 is a Schneider Kreuznach 90mm Super Angulon lens made for large format cameras. Every part of the camera body was SLS 3D printed. “I couldn’t make a lens myself, so I bought this one and designed the body to fit it as well as possible,” Kohlhaussen said. His camera does not use a digital sensor, of course. It uses medium format film. With a 6×14 ratio, it gives a larger image than the traditional 6×6 or 6×7 medium format, which is exactly what he wanted. The camera also has no focusing system, so the lens is always set to infinity. Below are some photos taken with this camera, and the results are very impressive.

Kohlhaussen also plans to bring his camera designs to market in the future, so photographers around the world can get into film photography with the camera they want without spending too much money.

Source: Petapixel/Genk

Tags: 3d printer, cheap 3d printer, production 3d printer.

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Frequently asked questions

Can you 3D print a film camera body yourself?

Yes. A film camera body is basically a light-tight box that holds the film and lens at the right distance, so it can be 3D printed. The hard parts are making it light-tight, keeping the film plane flat and getting the lens-to-film distance exactly right.

Which 3D printing technology is best for a camera body?

SLS with nylon powder gives strong, solid and dimensionally stable parts, which suits a camera body well. FDM also works, but you need thick walls, opaque black plastic and careful treatment of gaps to stop light leaks.

Can a lens be 3D printed?

Photo-quality optical lenses are almost impossible to 3D print on ordinary machines. The common approach is to buy an existing lens and 3D print the body, mount and focusing tube to fit it.

Can someone with no CAD skills design their own camera?

Yes, but it takes time to learn CAD software and the basics of optics and fit tolerances. Beginners should start from open-source designs and modify them to suit their needs.

Besides cameras, what accessories do photographers often 3D print?

Common ones are mounts, adapters, lens caps, lens hoods, light stands, film cases and grips. These are small parts that are easy to print and can be customized for the gear you use.

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