Ideal camera material

[Kawaiithulhu]

Bakelite!
Steve.

Like my century graphic Weighs a ton. Bakelite may be brittle in sheets, but in a complex form it feels indestructible, well, stable and free from flex.

 

[yulia_s_rey]

Depends on what type of camera: I'd say aluminium for <120mm: easy to work with and quite strong. On the other hand, aesthetically, (especially with replica LF and cine cameras) nothing beats a nice hardwood veneer with the right varnish and brass trim. Perhaps the only con using wood is cracking due to temperature variations and humidity levels.

 

[AgX]

I used to work as an engineer in the aerospace industry at a company that made turbine blades for Rolls Royce jet engine out of Titanium, and I know it has the lightest weight and highest tensile strength of any metal on the planet...

spec. density Aluminiun = 2,70

spec. density Titanium = 4,50

 

[E. von Hoegh]

There is no ideal material, only the best compromise for the intended purpose of the camera.
Titanium flavored koolaid anyone?

 

[John Koehrer]

Plutonium! It may be a tad heavy & a bit radioactive but still you would probably have the only one.
It's a little more rugged than peanut shells I suspect, haven't done any real field testing though.

FWIW I don't believe any camera is one metal through and through.

Leica and others used brass that were either plated or painted. The earlier Leitz cameras used a cage frame
most likely aluminum. Later cameras used a cast frame of an aluminum alloy.
The M6 is now some sort of white metal that's anodized.
Nikon did make a titanium body (Top & Bottom covers) but the innards were still cast alloy.
For bearing surfaces brass. Lens mounts brass plated with chrome although there was at least one that used
stainless steel.
Can't forget the "resin"(plastic) covers from Canon either.

 

[cliveh]

How about Platinum?

 

[jp498]

OM4t was titanium top and bottom as well. It's not that exotic...

 

[F4user]

Reinforced gold with diamonds. Good investment over time.
Gold is the best material reflecting IR so your IR film won't be destroyed by sun and diamond for toughness of the case.

Cheap-chinese could be anodized aluminum with Swarovski crystals.

 

[Truzi]

Pentelic marble - it was good enough for the Parthenon.

 

[cliveh]

Pentelic marble - it was good enough for the Parthenon.

As used by gladiators.

 

[DannL.]

What's that stuff they use to make "Peeps"?

 

[NedL]

...
FWIW I don't believe any camera is one metal through and through.

Well my soup can pinhole cameras do use a little square of aluminum ( aluminium for Clive ) for the pinhole.

But occasionally I make a pinhole camera out of an aluminum drink can, and then it's one metal through and through.

 

[Truzi]

What's that stuff they use to make "Peeps"?

Oh god no - my Mom would eat it on site. She's addicted to those things.

 

[MartinP]

It would be useful to have somewhere for the light to get in, whether that is a hole or an assembly of glass parts, so how about a camera body made entirely of glass? Some of it would be black and probably painted, with other bits transparent.

I'm not sure how to make a glass spring to drive the shutter. Possibly a gravity powered "falling hole" shutter could be tried instead, but then you are limited somewhat in the orientation of your camera....

 

[AgX]

To my inderstanding the Kiev 35 is built that way. Or at least to that effect.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

It would be useful to have somewhere for the light to get in, whether that is a hole or an assembly of glass parts, so how about a camera body made entirely of glass? Some of it would be black and probably painted, with other bits transparent.

I'm not sure how to make a glass spring to drive the shutter. Possibly a gravity powered "falling hole" shutter could be tried instead, but then you are limited somewhat in the orientation of your camera....

In the 19th century glass balance springs were experimented with on chronometers. I forget exactly why they were abandoned - probably the insane expense of making them and there were more practical methods of securing the desired result - but it wasn't fragility.