Intrepid 4x5 Camera Kickstarter Launch!

Pioneer · Oct 21, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Ed weston just had a darkroom and a light bulb for his contact prints.

This is not a very publicized option but, if you have a scanner, contact printing 4x5 negatives and then scanning is very economical way to get your larger negatives into the computer. Works just as well for 8x10 as well.

In addition, if you are photographing fruit and veggies then you may not need to print to big to get a very good print.

JRoosa · Oct 22, 2014

Ed weston just had a darkroom and a light bulb for his contact prints.

Bingo.

I am tempted to just contact print 4x5, but I think it would get boring quickly, and I would be in the market for an enlarger and try to shoehorn it into my darkroom.

I think I would go a lot longer with 8x10 contact prints happily.

Its apples and oranges, but I think I need a MF camera before LF. MF will fit my current enlarger too.

Having the images scanned on the computer are nice for sharing here or with family/friends, but I like prints for my enjoyment. My family and friends wouldn't notice a difference between 35mm and 8x10 on the computer. A good 35mm print exceeds monitor resolution anyway.

J.

Axle · Oct 22, 2014

And funded

analoguey · Oct 22, 2014

Wow! How much were they asking for?

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Axle · Oct 22, 2014

analoguey said:
Wow! How much were they asking for?

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£27,000, they're currently at: £30,809

Dr Croubie · Oct 22, 2014

Axle said:
£27,000, they're currently at: £30,809

And at mostly £130 and £180 rewards, they didn't need many, only 245 people so far.
By comparison, the travelwide needed about 500-700 people to get $75,000 (and they got just over 1000 people for nearly $130,000).

Given that this one is all milled, the startup costs are a lot less than the injection-moulding of the travelwide, but the economies of scale are less the more cameras they sell. If the travelwide had sold double what it did the overall per-unit would have been a lot less.

I'm curious as to how many people backed the intrepid who also backed the travelwide, and if the travelwide were in hand now whether they would have still got the intrepid.
I know I'm not going for the intrepid because I'm getting my travelwide soon (and I'm not impatient enough to get another in the meantime), seeing as I mostly shoot 90mm anyway I don't really need a field camera after that.

If the next intrepid comes out in 617 and/or 8x10, I'll definitely be all over them, they're both something I'd love to be able to shoot without lugging my monorails...

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 22, 2014

Threads merged.

munz6869 · Oct 22, 2014

I backed both the Travelwide and the Intrepid (& New55, Ferrania, and Cinestill) - of all these I'm most interested in the Travelwide & Ferrania, and most sceptical of Cinestill... but nonetheless I applaud them all for trying to keep our little market of interest alive. If the Intrepid is lighter than my Wista, it may actually see some use where I fancy taking a lighter bag, but want movements...

Marc!

Dr Croubie · Oct 22, 2014

I call shotgun on your Wista if you ever sell it (despite my previous line of "I don't need a field camera", it's just too beautiful to pass up).

Pioneer · Oct 22, 2014

I backed both but I am far more interested in the Travelwide. I haven't been this excited over a new camera in a long time.

However, if the Intrepid turns out as light as it claims to be, it may become a favored hiking LF camera as opposed to my Crown Graphic.

We'll need to see how it all plays out.

analoguey · Oct 22, 2014

I want to see how it stands field usage - given my experience with plywood furniture vs mold, moisture etc., I'm sceptical. (I am very used to teak, rosewood and such furnitures. I recently saw a pristine looking 70yr old field teak plate-size camera)
However, I do wish it success, every new analogue product is a good thing!

1,2 kilos is quite ambitious - have there been other cameras that light?

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Pioneer · Oct 22, 2014

analoguey said:
I want to see how it stands field usage - given my experience with plywood furniture vs mold, moisture etc., I'm sceptical. (I am very used to teak, rosewood and such furnitures. I recently saw a pristine looking 70yr old field teak plate-size camera)
However, I do wish it success, every new analogue product is a good thing!

1,2 kilos is quite ambitious - have there been other cameras that light?

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Marine plywoods hold up very well. I am not terribly worried about the durability. But I have to agree. 1.2 kilos is very light for a field camera. If they do succeed in producing a quality camera that light it could be that fact alone that keeps their business afloat. I am actually more skeptical of the resistance to deflection and movement than the durability. I guess we'll see.

analoguey · Oct 23, 2014

Pioneer said:
Marine plywoods hold up very well. I am not terribly worried about the durability.

Could you tell me what you mean by marine plywood - I only know the generic terms -plywood, blockboard, particle-board etc.,

Pioneer said:
But I have to agree. 1.2 kilos is very light for a field camera. If they do succeed in producing a quality camera that light it could be that fact alone that keeps their business afloat. I am actually more skeptical of the resistance to deflection and movement than the durability. I guess we'll see.

That was one thought I had when I wrote about it -it would weigh close to a heavy 35mm/DSLR and would have to balance lens and film holder while being stable.

I suppose in the weight-stability/rigidity-cost triangle, they'd have met two, and third might not apply?

Guess we'll know in a month or two.

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Regular Rod · Oct 23, 2014

Both Travelwide and Intrepid for me. I doubt either will ever replace my MPP but the Intrepid is not expensive and seems to me to be a project worth supporting anyway. The Travelwide will, hopefully, become a fishing camera...

RR

Pioneer · Oct 23, 2014

analoguey said:
Could you tell me what you mean by marine plywood - I only know the generic terms -plywood, blockboard, particle-board etc.,

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Some marine plywoods are designed for boat construction so are quite resistant to weather, sun and water. Like any wood they need to be protected by varnishes, epoxy or wax but they do not usually delaminate and begin to peel apart when subjected to the outdoors like normal plywoods. Block board and particle board are certainly not durable enough for an application outdoors.

According to the Kickstarter description they intend to use birch plywood. Birch plywood is available in a marine version which means it is constructed to be weather and water resistant. It wouldn't be used in boats since it is not very decay resistant but it is a very stable plywood and should be an exceptional wood for camera construction.

Mainecoonmaniac · Oct 23, 2014

I wonder if this young kids are leveraging CNC routers to make these cameras cheap and precisely made? It's pretty cool technology. If they are using CNC technology, I'm sure they also can sell the camera plans on the internet as a download.
Take a look at this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u7OH43NEUo

Pioneer · Oct 23, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
I wonder if this young kids are leveraging CNC routers to make these cameras cheap and precisely made? It's pretty cool technology. If they are using CNC technology, I'm sure they also can sell the camera plans on the internet as a download.
Take a look at this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u7OH43NEUo

Personally I think its a great idea. Combine the accuracy of CNC routing with the stability of high grade birch plywood to recreate a design from the 1800s. If you take a look at the Travelwide and the Intrepid we are seeing that some of the new technologies are being used to provide inexpensive cameras for entry into large format film. I hope it catches on. I think it would be neat to see one of the classic old folders recreated as well.

Gadfly_71 · Oct 23, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
I wonder if this young kids are leveraging CNC routers to make these cameras cheap and precisely made? It's pretty cool technology. If they are using CNC technology, I'm sure they also can sell the camera plans on the internet as a download.
Take a look at this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u7OH43NEUo

My understanding (possibly flawed) is that the prototypes were laser cut sheets which were then laminated to make the body. The production units are supposed to be CNC milled (though I'm assuming a laminated body as well). They are also going to be using metal parts in place of some of the laser cut wood bits. The production models should be considerably sturdier and better finished in comparison to the prototypes.

Kawaiithulhu · Oct 24, 2014

analoguey said:
Could you tell me what you mean by marine plywood - I only know the generic terms -plywood, blockboard, particle-board etc.,

Marine grade plywood is both built from more moisture resistant woods and (this is the important part) with way fewer defects or voids in the layers. This means that moisture has a hard time getting inside, you won't poke a screw through dead air in there, and it's more resistant to fungus and molds.

Personally I'd saturate it with epoxy, but that would probably double the weight and you could kill elephants by throwing your camera at them when it's done curing

Newt_on_Swings · Oct 24, 2014

There goes lf lens prices and film holders.

Regular Rod · Oct 24, 2014

Pioneer said:
Personally I think its a great idea. Combine the accuracy of CNC routing with the stability of high grade birch plywood to recreate a design from the 1800s. If you take a look at the Travelwide and the Intrepid we are seeing that some of the new technologies are being used to provide inexpensive cameras for entry into large format film. I hope it catches on. I think it would be neat to see one of the classic old folders recreated as well.

+1

(We could do with a "like" button)

RR

Pioneer · Oct 24, 2014

Newt_on_Swings said:
There goes lf lens prices and film holders.

Nah. I think prices are staying pretty stable. Except for that silly 90/6.8 Angulon.

Regular Rod · Oct 25, 2014

Pioneer said:
Nah. I think prices are staying pretty stable. Except for that silly 90/6.8 Angulon.

Hmm... One of the most useful and versatile lenses ever made. Tiny, great coverage, sharp... I love 'em!

RR

Newt_on_Swings · Oct 25, 2014

Regular Rod said:
Hmm... One of the most useful and versatile lenses eve made. Tiny, great coverage, sharp... I love 'em!

RR

I agree with one out of those three qualities.

MattKrull · Oct 27, 2014

I saw this the first day the kickstarter was up - unfortunately even then the first "cheapies" were gone, otherwise I'd have backed it already

I'm really glad someone is making an inexpensive field camera. But I'm a bit torn over it.

On one hand, an inexpensive and light field camera would be awesome. I'd prefer a field camera to a monorail (most the inexpensive used LF cameras I see are monorails) simply for the ease of transport and look. And that is where this fall flat. A camera is a tool, and it's look shouldn't matter; except part of the magic of a LF, to me, is the effect is has on the subject. Both Greg Heisler and Dan Winter point out their books how pulling out the 8x10 changed the attitude of the subjects. Even to celebrities who sit for hundreds of photos, a LF camera is special. It makes them feel special, and it makes them stand that bit taller, try the bit harder.

This thing looks too DIY. It looks like a constructor set, not a big noble camera. And if I was only shooting landscapes, that may actually be an advantage. I suppose a lot will depend on on what hardware gets made in metal.

Now, if a stretch goal ever becomes a graflarger style back (so I can use this as a 4x5 enlarger as well as a camera), they will get my money so fast my bank account will spin.

Intrepid 4x5 Camera Kickstarter Launch!

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