Update on delivery status of LomoGraflok instant back

[Oren Grad]

Just received the folllowing email from Lomography:
__________________________________

Dear LomoGraflok Buyer,

Firstly, thank you again for pre-ordering your LomoGraflok 4×5 Instant Back. We're super excited for all of you to get creative with this brand new item designed for Fujifilm Instax Wide, making large format photography easier, less expensive, and more accessible. We wanted to keep you in the loop and let you know that there isn’t much longer to wait before you get your hands on your delivery! Mass production is going well and is running at full speed and, most excitingly, the very first units passed QC and are ready for shipping! Unfortunately, we have encountered some unforeseen issues that have affected our production timeline. COVID-19 has affected global industry and supply chains worldwide. The introduction of new pandemic control measures where our factory is located has meant that the first shipments were unfortunately canceled, meaning some of you will, regrettably, need to wait a little longer for your delivery. Here is our updated shipping schedule:

USA & Canada
* The first 500 units are currently on the way to the USA. By Mid September they´ll go on the final stretch to buyers on a first come first serve basis
* Remaining quantities will be delayed until End of October 2021
Europe
* The first 300 units are currently on the way to Europe. By Mid September they´ll go on the final stretch to buyers on a first come first serve basis
* Remaining quantities will be delayed until End of October 2021
Japan
* Pre-Orders will be fulfilled in the last week of September and the first week of October
Hong Kong & Asia Pacific & Rest of the World
* Pre-Orders will be fulfilled starting Mid September and should be done by the end of the month
China
* Pre-Orders will be fulfilled in the last week of September and the first week of October

We would like to apologize for the unanticipated delays and let you know that we are working around the clock to get your Graflok Instant Backs delivered to you as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your understanding and patience,

Lomography

[EDIT: Reformatted so it won't chew up quite so much space on everyone's screen]

 

[abruzzi]

thanks. I haven't received that email yet, and I have no idea where I am in the queue (paid November 2020), but I'm looking forward to trying it out.

 

[Oren Grad]

I have no idea where I am in the queue (paid November 2020)

FWIW, my order went in on Sept 2, 2020.

 

[abruzzi]

FWIW, my order went in on Sept 2, 2020.

I just got the email. Looking forward to it actually getting the back.

 

[winger]

I got the email earlier, too. I don't remember exactly when I ordered mine, but I know it was fairly soon after it was announced. I'm just hoping I get mine soon (before the film for it expires).

 

[Donald Qualls]

I didn't order mine until April of this year, so I'd guess I'm now looking at December or January ship date, if not later. The email seems to imply they sold a bunch of them, though -- several hundred completed and shipped, and "remainder" quantities for various places. That bodes well, I think...

 

[abruzzi]

Well, based on my read, their initial batch is 800 units (500 to the US/Canada and 300 to Europe) and clearly there are more sold than that since for each location state additional orders September/October, I’d expect significantly more. So I’d say they have well over 1000 preorders, probably a lot more, which I’d say is a good number for a very niche audience (large format shooters.)

 

[Donald Qualls]

a very niche audience (large format shooters.)

Smaller than that -- large format users with Graflok mounts and an interest in instant prints. I'd have been surprised to hear there were a thousand potential customers, but apparently there were more than that.

 

[mweintraub]

Yay. I think I did an order early on, so I hope I get it early.

 

[neilt3]

I didn't pre-order as I'm always reluctant to pay for something without a guaranteed delivery date within the very near future .
And the way things have been the last eighteen months , nothings been certain .

But this is good news , though I think I'll wait for back orders to have been fulfilled so I can buy when there available with a reasonable , stated , lead time .
I'll certainly be buying one though .

 

[Cholentpot]

I'm on the fence for one of these. I really want one but I'm going to wait a bit to see how they shake down.

 

[mshchem]

Looking forward to seeing one of these

 

[mweintraub]

My local film friends were discussing this in our group and realized that we can't figure out how the order numbers are created as it seems they aren't in order. Would you guys who ordered it mind adding your order number and order date to the list? I'm curious on who will be the first people to get it and if the order numbers make any sense.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11u9ilKW8nnyJ6afJ8gRIja9-r3ix-xdlCw3cjU9TAJQ/

 

[ic-racer]

No surprise they are getting lots of orders. Large format users have been without a reasonable instant film solution for many years now. Looking forward to it.

 

[ciniframe]

After so many disappointing experiences with prepay and Kickstarter like projects my preference is to wait till they have them ‘on the shelf’, it’s worth the extra 10% price difference. Interested though, even if it’s another year for in stock to show up.
The extra time will also show a reliability curve and test Lomography’s commitment to replacing defective units immediately (10 day turn around window) with no extra expense or hassle for the customer.
How a company handles warranty tells more about them than any other measure.

 

[abruzzi]

I’ve never done a Kickstarter, and this may be the first time I’ve preordered. I generally am a little less than trusting of having my money locked up in something I may never receive. With this however, I figured Lomography was big enough that if they didn’t come through, my money would be refunded. I was worried that this would be pretty niche, and would be cancelled after the preorders were filled. Everytime I run across something interesting from Lomography, it seems it’s already cancelled.

 

[ciniframe]

Indeed, only one production run to fill preorders is a chance we take by waiting. However this is a overdue product and Instax Wide deserves a better lens than a plastic f14 lens and auto only exposure control. Oh yeah, there is the Mint InstantKon with a 93mm f5.6 and wide shutter shutter range plus manual focus but $900 ?? A bit thick. Rather buy the Fujifilm 300 for $88, remove the lens barrel and put a lens from a 6x9 out front. I have a Kodak front cell focusing 101mm f4.5 Anastar in a flash 800 shutter that should cover fine.

 

[Oren Grad]

 

[Donald Qualls]

Aaaaaaaaah...

I'm looking forward to this so much. Street shooting with my RF calibrated, Graflok upgraded Annie (after setting back the front standard using a spacer block), in instant color...

 

[Cholentpot]

Alright! Run it through its paces.

 

[ic-racer]

I hope you will give us a review. It seems like a similar workflow to using a rollfilm back, in that one has to keep swapping the GG and the film back. I'm trying to decide between this for my FA or the Mercury back for my Horseman VH-R, with the advantage of the rangefinder on the VH-R, allowing me to keep the Mercury instax back attached to the camera.
I'm still trying to figure this out but I'm led to believe that the Mercury back, fitted to the 6x9cm format Horseman VH-R will give the same image size as the Lomo back fitted to a 4x5in camera.

 

[Oren Grad]

I hope you will give us a review. It seems like a similar workflow to using a rollfilm back, in that one has to keep swapping the GG and the film back. I'm trying to decide between this for my FA or the Mercury back for my Horseman VH-R, with the advantage of the rangefinder on the VH-R, allowing me to keep the Mercury instax back attached to the camera.

Will post some observations once I've had a chance to exercise it a bit. It may be a few days before I can spend much time with it, as I have some work obligations to attend to first. Re workflow, yes, it's like swapping a Graflok-mount roll holder, with the added complication of needing to insert/remove the focus extender as well. I will probably try it on my 45FA at some point, but because it puts the film plane 19 mm or so further back compared to a standard cut sheet or roll holder, that's not going to be a good combination for wide-angle use, if one is into that.

 

[ic-racer]

19mm is an advantage of the Lomo compared to the Mercury which is 30mm farther from the lens than the GG plane.
One thing I found using the instax mini film in my VH-R sheet film holders is that wider lense make the subject so small on the tiny final prints. One has to acquire a special shooting style to match the tiny format.

 

[Oren Grad]

One has to acquire a special shooting style to match the tiny format.

Yes, good point! I think that will be true for this too - it will take some experimentation to figure out what works well, and it may turn out to be different from how we normally use 4x5 sheet film.

 

[mweintraub]

I just got a FedEx notification of shipment! I paid for 2 day delivery... so I should get it soon.