I met a genius at the psych ward, now I want to be a camera engineer

[Mike Feit]

Had to go to the psych ward (I'm much better now) and met a genius inventor who invented a new, completely modular, pad printing machine. He is a damn genius. He is the pinnacle of German engineering, in the shackles of the psych ward system of Europe.

He inspired me to build my own camera. I always told him how disappointed I was about the technology craze of photography people online, so he suggested I start some work an own camera.

So yeah, now it is out and shot into the abyss... I'm building a new 35mm Film Full-Frame, M42 Screw-Mount Camera.

I will build this camera for everybody. It will cost 200 Euros.

If this fails, it will be the heaviest defeat of my career.

I need your help to build this camera.

Mark my words, this is the single biggest project of my puny existence.

If I ever manage to build this camera, with the help of you guys, I will forever be "that weird camera guy".

Alongside Peter Elgar, Maitani and Moriyama.

That is a nice place to be.

We will see.

Thanks.

 

[BrianShaw]

Many geniuses are a bit looney, one way or another but most looney people are not geniuses. To succeed, don’t seek too much therapy or you might lose your creative edge!

 

[koraks]

Well, that sounds like a pretty ambitious plan. Setting aside the fickle issues of (1) feasibility and (2) competencies involved, this bit seems a bit puzzling to me:

. I always told him how disappointed I was about the technology craze of photography people online, so he suggested I start some work an own camera.

If you're disappointed at peoples' 'technology craze', why would you want to start on such a hardcore technology project?

I need your help to build this camera.

What kind of help are you looking for on the forum?

 

[btaylor]

There are millions of M42 mount lenses waiting for your camera!

 

[Mike Feit]

Many geniuses are a bit looney, one way or another but most looney people are not geniuses. To succeed, don’t seek too much therapy or you might lose your creative edge!

I will do my best.

 

[Mike Feit]

Well, that sounds like a pretty ambitious plan. Setting aside the fickle issues of (1) feasibility and (2) competencies involved, this bit seems a bit puzzling to me:

If you're disappointed at peoples' 'technology craze', why would you want to start on such a hardcore technology project?


What kind of help are you looking for on the forum?

I want to simplify things by building a no-bells-and-whistles camera for everybody.

I am looking for technical advice; what do people want?

 

[Mike Feit]

There are millions of M42 mount lenses waiting for your camera!

I plan on basing my lenses on the SMC Takumar lenses.

 

[Mike Feit]

Is it just me, or does this sound like it was fabricated by an AI?

Had the same problem on Reddit... No I write all my articles "by hand".

 

[koraks]

I am looking for technical advice; what do people want?

These are two distinct things; are you looking for both? If so, what kind of technical advice are you looking for? And what parameters of user requirements have you taken stock of?

Do you have any prior experience or awareness of new product development for technology-intensive products?

 

[Mike Feit]

I guess I'm just a complete nutcase

 

[monopix]

It's been done before. So it can be done again if that's what you really want. Research Shin Yasuhara. He had the same ideas only for a rangefinder using Leica L lenses. A modern, simple camera that took classic lenses was his goal. He did it and the Yasuhara T981 was the result. Your goal is more complex as you are talking about an SLR but don't be put off. Start by writing a detailed plan. Any gaps or weaknesses in your plan will soon become obvious.

 

[koraks]

He did it and the Yasuhara T981 was the result.

Yeah, but quoting from that page:

Quoting from his book, he says "The partner state-owned factory in China manufactured mechanical SLRs. In other words, they already had the basic mechanism for winding the film and activating the shutter. Roughly speaking, remove the single-lens reflex mirror box and the pentaprism and mount the Rangefinder on it. I'm done." (Google translation). And this is pretty much what happened.

So he contracted a camera builder, gave them his concept and they had something that they could relatively easily modify to his needs. In fact, they apparently integrated a number of existing sub-systems from different cameras into this one.
Also, I wonder what the catalog price was on that unit and how it relates to the seemingly ambitious €200 target set here (adjusted for 3 decades of inflation).

Any gaps or weaknesses in your plan will soon become obvious.

You mean, any additional gaps and weaknesses...

Sorry to be cpt. Buzzkill on this one, but sooner or later ideas like these make the acquaintance of Mr Harsh-Reality. While painful for the inventor, it's generally less painful the sooner this happens.

 

[djdister]

There are millions of M42 mount lenses waiting for your camera!

There are also millions of 35mm cameras of all types (manual, automatic, expensive, cheap) sitting in homes and bargain bins all around the world.

 

[Chan Tran]

How much does the Yahuhara T981 sells for? I think OP price of 200 Euros is too low and is an impossible price. Even in production of 10,000 that price is not possible.

 

[pentaxuser]

How much does the Yahuhara T981 sells for? I think OP price of 200 Euros is too low and is an impossible price. Even in production of 10,000 that price is not possible.

Perhaps we need to ask the OP what he has based his 200 euros on?

pentaxuser

 

[BrianShaw]

I want to simplify things by building a no-bells-and-whistles camera for everybody.

I am looking for technical advice; what do people want?

I'd be interested in something like a Pentax K1000 or spotmatic with a better meter. Ideally, mechanical shutter, M42 screw mount, and just the most basic of manual controls but with a matrix meter. Flash synch capability would be ideal yet nothing beyond X would be of interest.

Oh... and a snappy name with some sort of red-dot logo would really make it desireable.

 

[bluechromis]

It might be an idea to start with something simpler, like the early Leica cameras that lacked a rangefinder. Use scale focus. If one wants to develop a mechanical shutter from scratch, that alone seems pretty challenging.

 

[Don_ih]

It's a great plan if you have a few million dollars to toss into design and tooling.

Do you?

 

[ntenny]

I think if I wanted to build a “serious” camera, I’d start with a larger format than 35mm, and focus on a prototype that could use some cannibalized parts (shutter from a folder, stuff like that). There’s so much fiddly stuff involved in even a simple 35mm camera, and there are so many fundamentals to get right leaving aside that fiddly stuff, that it seems prudent to start with a smaller subset of the technical problems.

I don't want to rain on anyone’s parade, but I think the OP needs to decide if this is a commercial effort or a labour of love, and then take the project in gradual manageable bites rather than setting out from scratch to build something like a Spotmatic.

OP, how are your machining skills? Is cutting the threads for an M42 mount something you know approximately how to do already, for instance?

-NT

 

[4season]

New 35 mm SLRs selling for less than 100 USD exist! Lomography's Konstructor uses a clever mirror/shutter arrangement, probably similar to inexpensive Fujifilm, Exa and Mamiya models of the past. Even with something as simple as Konstruktor, you really appreciate the engineering that goes into these things, and I needed to fiddle with the mirror box to get it to work smoothly. If you can create something comparable to a Zenit B, you are practically god-level.

 

[Bill Burk]

I plan on basing my lenses on the SMC Takumar

Even including the insane rotating mechanism that loads against the block, keeping register to the aperture arm within the last several degrees tolerance of turning?

 

[Chan Tran]

I'd be interested in something like a Pentax K1000 or spotmatic with a better meter. Ideally, mechanical shutter, M42 screw mount, and just the most basic of manual controls but with a matrix meter. Flash synch capability would be ideal yet nothing beyond X would be of interest.

Oh... and a snappy name with some sort of red-dot logo would really make it desireable.

Such thing would cost at least $1000.

 

[Mike Feit]

Thank you for the support so far, I will do my best.

 

[koraks]

Good luck; please try to be not too disappointed in case it doesn't work out. You'll learn something in the process either way. And I think anyone will understand if the challenges turn out to be maybe a bit too big.

 

[bernard_L]

Why don't you start by dis-assembling (and re-assembling!) an existing SLR (you did not state SLR, but it seems that M42 cameras are SLRs). Then you can find out concretely what functions must be realized, how they have been implemented, and how you could do better (simpler, cheaper).

Excerpt below from the Spotmatic service diagram; complete exploded diagrams in attached pdf.