Okay anarchist camera manufacturers! I suggest we start small. If we are going to make every part on the camera the most challenging part will be the lens. So we start with a simple meniscus single element lens.
My recommendation is we produce a 6x6 medium format fixed lens viewfinder camera with a helicoid mounted 80mm f4.5 single meniscus lens with a simple leaf shutter (maybe single speed 1/100?) film winding with a red window system.
This would be a lot like a holga in essence but would offer a lot of challenges. Hell, if all you do is machine the body from aluminum and use a glass lens you’ll be lot nicer than a holga :)
Scaling up difficulty:
- Add a proper lens - 4 element tessar would be nice
- proper shutter with speeds from 1s-1/500
- Ratchet winding
- Rangefinder
If you got all that working tackle interchangeable lenses.
Long term the killer will be quality lens construction. I know you can get custom glass ground for not too much, but modern lenses are cemented, with floating elements, and coatings. And that’s ignoring knowing a damn thing about optics!
Anders Conbere
npub1g4…gntuv
2026-02-26 04:48:04 UTC
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2026-02-26 04:48:04 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Okay anarchist camera manufacturers! I suggest we start small. If we are going to make every part on the camera the most challenging part will be the lens. So we start with a simple meniscus single element lens. \n\nMy recommendation is we produce a 6x6 medium format fixed lens viewfinder camera with a helicoid mounted 80mm f4.5 single meniscus lens with a simple leaf shutter (maybe single speed 1/100?) film winding with a red window system.\n\nThis would be a lot like a holga in essence but would offer a lot of challenges. Hell, if all you do is machine the body from aluminum and use a glass lens you’ll be lot nicer than a holga :)\n\nScaling up difficulty:\n- Add a proper lens - 4 element tessar would be nice\n- proper shutter with speeds from 1s-1/500\n- Ratchet winding\n- Rangefinder\n\nIf you got all that working tackle interchangeable lenses.\n\nLong term the killer will be quality lens construction. I know you can get custom glass ground for not too much, but modern lenses are cemented, with floating elements, and coatings. And that’s ignoring knowing a damn thing about optics!",
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