3D printed LF cameras

[DMJ]

Does anyone have a 3D-printed 4x5 (8x10) camera? I see the WillTravel on eBay and would like to get one but I wonder how long these cameras can last, especially the helicoid's thread. Do they withstand rain?
I know some people here are 3D printing as well and I wouldn't be surprised if someone printed his own camera. My 3D printer is very small and I can only make small parts.

 

[Luckless]

Judging the durability of a 3D printed camera is going to be tricky due to variations in materials, print settings, and print quality - So remember to take comments with a grain of salt.

A copy printed on a professional's print farm with finely tuned machines and carefully tested filament is going to fair a lot better than one printed on my dodgy Ender 3 Pro with its currently wonky Z Axis and extrusion issue... [At some point I should probably just give up and rebuild the whole thing...]

And in cases like the WillTravel, I think concerns about long term durability might be a bit misplaced for someone with a 3D printer - If it does wear or get worn, print replacements with an attempt at improving the design? After all there isn't a great deal of sense in owning and running your own 3D printer if you're not tinkering with it as a hobby compared to ordering printed parts from a professional print service.

 

[abruzzi]

the only 3d printed LF cameras I've seen are of the fixed sort like the WillTravel or the Wanderlust Travelwide (I don't think that camera is actually 3d printed, but it easily could be.) If you want a proper view camera with movements, the only one I can think of is the Cameradactyl. The don't sell it anymore, but you can see some info here:

https://3dadept.com/cameradactyl-a-3d-printed-4x5-field-camera-in-custom-colors/

They do sell some 4x5 handheld cameras though. The challange with all of these is they're 3d printed by someone else, and I don't know if any of the shape files are available for printing yourself or reprinting.

 

[grat]

Most 3D printed cameras will use metal for things like the tripod insert-- you can buy the insert as a brass part, and use heat to melt it into place.

There are a number of options for LF-- Willtravel / Travelwide, there's the "Standard" camera which is a monorail camera, and then there's this: https://github.com/edgarkech/scalable_field_camera

Durability is down to filament choice, print quality, and how much abuse it takes.

 

[grahamp]

I have printed/assembled two of the WillTravel models (4x5 in 55/65 and 90mm lengths), and Edgar Kech's 6x12 roll film back. I happened to have a need for a 4x5 rigid body camera at the time, and the 6x12 back is handy for several tasks. I have existing 4x5 cameras, and I doubt that I would replace either with a 3D printed one using my FDM machine. And I don't have a need to get one built by a 3rd party using a different technology that does not suffer from the FDM limitations.

That is not to say that the cost/effort would not be worth it for someone else. I just want to spend more time using cameras rather than building them.

 

[logan2z]

I don't own one, but I keep running across YouTube videos discussing the Intrepid 4x5 Black Edition, which is apparently made of mostly 3D printed parts. Might be worth checking out...

https://intrepidcamera.co.uk/products/black-edition-4x5

 

[DMJ]

@Mountaingoldenlight Please share !

I saw the Intrepid BE and it looks great. But I was looking for a video of a review after a year of use and can't find one. It seems that most youtubers review products when they are new.
I'm also inclined to a camera without movements to use during a road trip with no time to set up standards.

Photrio members with 3D printers and 3D skills unite and develop the first community open source Photrio LF camera.