Chroma - Lasercut Acrylic 4x5 Field Camera

I’m still working with Jason Lane on the new holders, but it’s looking like setup cost and flexibility of size is pushing us towards acrylic holders rather than moulded ABS. For anyone else waiting for Chroma cameras, the holder assembly is going to be outsourced, so it doesn’t mean taking up camera build time!

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I cut the first 8x10 holder yesterday....it’s huge! I won’t get this bonded together until my adhesive arrives on Monday, but I’m happy with the dry fit. Whilst both the 4x5 and 8x10 holders I’ve cut (and the 5x7 I’ve got drawn up) are designed for glass plates, they can also be used for sheet film with simple slot in spacer plates so they’re multi-use.

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I’ve also just finished/shipped the blue Chroma, now onto another green one :0)

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Just been out for an hour or two with the Chroma, first outing after @stevelmx5 stiffened the spring and re-glued the base. This time I did remember how to close it up without tearing it apart! I'm still finding it a very difficult process. Getting the lens board in place is a major hassle (just doesn't seem to want to go down that last half millimetre on one side), and I also struggle to get the film holder in and out after focusing. When it's in landscape orientation the Graflock plate thingy on the top doesn't want to sit "out", and the one on the bottom is difficult to grip being just near the camera base.

This time I used my new dark cloth, which I'm beginning to think was a mistake. It's just a large, heavy square of cloth, red on one side and black on the other. There's nothing to grip the camera anywhere, it just sort of flops about. I agree it makes focusing easier, and I handled the dark slides with the cloth over the camera (over the lens, too, I discovered when I went to the front to take the shot!). I did previously order a black XXXXL T-shirt off the evil bay, but it never turned up, so I thought maybe I should get a "proper" dark cloth. But since it was £25 rather than £80 or so, I suspect I didn't succeed. I might try it one more time, and if not easier maybe sell and have another T-shirt attempt.

This was really two test shots to see if I can still remember how to use it, and in particular avoid dark slide light leaks.
 
This time I used my new dark cloth, which I'm beginning to think was a mistake. It's just a large, heavy square of cloth, red on one side and black on the other. There's nothing to grip the camera anywhere, it just sort of flops about. I agree it makes focusing easier, and I handled the dark slides with the cloth over the camera (over the lens, too, I discovered when I went to the front to take the shot!). I did previously order a black XXXXL T-shirt off the evil bay, but it never turned up, so I thought maybe I should get a "proper" dark cloth. But since it was £25 rather than £80 or so, I suspect I didn't succeed. I might try it one more time, and if not easier maybe sell and have another T-shirt attempt.

Chris with his new dark cloth... :D

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Just been out for an hour or two with the Chroma, first outing after @stevelmx5 stiffened the spring and re-glued the base. This time I did remember how to close it up without tearing it apart! I'm still finding it a very difficult process. Getting the lens board in place is a major hassle (just doesn't seem to want to go down that last half millimetre on one side), and I also struggle to get the film holder in and out after focusing. When it's in landscape orientation the Graflock plate thingy on the top doesn't want to sit "out", and the one on the bottom is difficult to grip being just near the camera base.

This time I used my new dark cloth, which I'm beginning to think was a mistake. It's just a large, heavy square of cloth, red on one side and black on the other. There's nothing to grip the camera anywhere, it just sort of flops about. I agree it makes focusing easier, and I handled the dark slides with the cloth over the camera (over the lens, too, I discovered when I went to the front to take the shot!). I did previously order a black XXXXL T-shirt off the evil bay, but it never turned up, so I thought maybe I should get a "proper" dark cloth. But since it was £25 rather than £80 or so, I suspect I didn't succeed. I might try it one more time, and if not easier maybe sell and have another T-shirt attempt.

This was really two test shots to see if I can still remember how to use it, and in particular avoid dark slide light leaks.

Hi Chris. Sorry you’re having some issues with your Chroma. Going through each one;

1) Lens board fit - acrylic sheet has some tolerance +/- by a few tenths of a mm which could be causing the front standard frame to pinch the lens board slightly. I also add a rubber inlay for grip which could be adding to the tolerance. There are a couple of options, firstly you could back off the bottom screw on the front of the standard frame slightly . This will give a little bit of extra space and can be done with an allan key. If you don’t want to do that, you could take some fine sandpaper (or an emery board) and file the rubber slightly at the bottom of the front standard where the lens board slots in. I would guess that it’s slightly too tight in the centre (where the screw is) so start there.

2) The Graflok plates are, annoyingly, victims of gravity in landscape orientation. For future builds down the line I’ll change their 45 degree slot for a more traditional stepped slot to prevent that. If they’re getting in the way, it might be an idea to keep a small ball of blu-tac on them so, once you’ve removed them from the ground glass, you can hold them in place until you want to fit them again?

3) Dark cloth - if you know anyone who’s handy with a sewing machine, I’d suggest stitching two strips of nylon webbing with Velcro on each end onto the inside of the top face of the dark cloth and use them to secure it to the camera using the two slots built into the main body;

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It’s a future accessory that’s on the design table now [emoji6]
 
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Sorry but that bottom picture made me think of Sheev Palpatine!
 
I’m still working with Jason Lane on the new holders, but it’s looking like setup cost and flexibility of size is pushing us towards acrylic holders rather than moulded ABS. For anyone else waiting for Chroma cameras, the holder assembly is going to be outsourced, so it doesn’t mean taking up camera build time!

Steve, any idea what the price point of the new holders will be? How do they compare to the various artisan wet plate holders around (Svedovsky, Stenopeika, Gibellini etc.?) This is an exciting time to shoot plates!
 
Steve, any idea what the price point of the new holders will be? How do they compare to the various artisan wet plate holders around (Svedovsky, Stenopeika, Gibellini etc.?) This is an exciting time to shoot plates!

At the moment, I’m working with an injection moulding company in Norwich to finalise machining/assembly costs per holder. These may not be the final prices exactly, but I’m aiming for;

4x5 Double Plate/Sheet Holder - £50
5x7 Double Plate/Sheet Holder - £65
8x10 Double Plate/Sheet Holder - £75

4x5 reducing frame for 8x10 - £40 (will allow the 4x5 holders to be used on an 8x10 camera)

The idea is to keep them affordable and the only way to do that is to mould in volume. The plan is that the Kickstarter campaign will raise the funds to create the moulds (around £8k per mould and I’ll need 2) and manufacture a set number of first run holders. After that, the cost will be in moulding/assembly.
 
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At those prices there's no reason to not shoot plates. Look forward to the KS campaign!

Thanks, I'm glad we're looking at the right price point. Post-campaign there will also be a wet plate holder but that will be entirely laser cut I think rather than having it's own mould. I've got a few being tested at the moment so should have some results to share at some point in the next month.
 
I’m all excited today because I’ve finally got my own complete Chroma!

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I decided to build one in a unique colour scheme so went with matte black/concrete grey with purple text on the back. It’s got the same front/rear standards as the Kickstarter cameras but I’m testing out a new bed design that uses an embedded lead screw at the back instead of the rack/pinion control at the front. The main benefits are that it’s simpler to build, offers finer control of focusing and doesn’t need a locking screw.

I need to give it a proper run out before I decide if it’s the best design going forwards but I’ll firstly be the loon carrying a large format camera around The Photography Show on Saturday :0)
 
I’ve also just got another 4x5 dry plate holder print delivered. I’m planning on getting the various acrylic layers cut and assembled tomorrow so I can take it along with me on Saturday.

This is the first print I had made 2 weeks ago being test fitted in a Chroma back. I’ve narrowed the outer width down by 1mm now to make it a slightly less snug fit but the internals are the same. This is a printed version so there is no raised upper section on each face or raised latching section to hold it into the camera but the moulded version will have those.

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The two narrow plates between the dark slides are dual purpose. As well as being an indicator that there’s a plate loaded (the plastic plate won’t push in if there’s a glass plate inside), they also act as push plates to help unloading the glass plate. When the dark slide is removed and bottom hinged door opened, the plastic plate is pushed in which in turn pushes the glass plate 12mm towards the bottom door. This then allows you to get your finger alongside the glass plate and push it out entirely.
 
I should be there on Saturday, so I'll look out for you. Will you be carrying any 5x4 DDSs with you?
 
Fine. I'd like to have a chat...

You won't be able to miss me - I'll be the one without a camera.
 
I like that idea!(y)

I think one of the Chamonix cameras uses a similar focusing method.

Yeah, along with a couple of other manufacturers including Intrepid's new 8x10 Mk2 (which I saw after I'd built mine :)). One of my earlier designs used a similar setup but at the time I couldn't find a supplier for a screw smaller than T8 (8mm diameter) which is the most common size as used in 3D printers etc so I shelved the idea and developed the current design. Recently I found a new supplier who now offers T3.5 lead screws which means I can embed it inside the focusing bed of the Chroma to keep it at the same dimensions it currently is.
 
It's been a while since I posted an update on here so I figured it was time to catch up! To be fair, it's been a while since I've posted in F&C in general, mainly because I've been run off my feet with my 9-5 day job, Chroma, and future developments but that's all going to change soon....my last day as an IT Engineer is next Wednesday (17th), so on Thursday (18th) I become a camera builder with Chroma as my full time day job (gulp)!

The last few months have been chaos, mainly due to working towards redundancy and its' associated handover/training replacements, so I've been finding it a real challenge to split my time between it, Chroma and my family. With my last week now, I'm getting more excited to finally be able dedicate myself entirely to Chroma. Of course, this brings its' own new challenges with running my own business and finding a good accountant but it will be worth it. The main thing I'm looking forward to is actually getting the remaining cameras built and out to everyone who is very patiently waiting. Once those cameras are out in the wild, I will be focusing on the plate/sheet holders along with launching the Chroma camera as a retail option.

With the plates, I've been speaking with a company in Maidenhead about the moulding/assembly. One thing I've learned from the Kickstarter campaign is that I can't fit 36 hours into every day, no matter how much I will it! As a result, I won't be assembling/packing the holders myself, especially with launching it as a retail offering relatively quickly. The moulding company have already 3D printed some test parts for all 3 holders (4x5, 5x7 and 8x10) and they fit together well, which is a good start!
 
Another future 'development' (to borrow @Strappy humour) that a few people have asked me about, apart from an 8x10 Chroma!, is a 'deluxe' version with more custom materials including carbon and aluminium to reduce weight, and additional movements. I've been looking into the possibility of this and think it's something I could do, without pricing it out of reach, so I'll put some time into that once my priority Kickstarter builds are complete.
 
Although I'll never own a Chroma, sorry Steve but I just wouldn't know what to do with it! I've followed this (and have a badge on my bag!) and as well as hoping people enjoy their cameras I'd like to wish you luck Steve, I hope you can go from success to success with this.
 
Although I'll never own a Chroma, sorry Steve but I just wouldn't know what to do with it! I've followed this (and have a badge on my bag!) and as well as hoping people enjoy their cameras I'd like to wish you luck Steve, I hope you can go from success to success with this.

Thanks a lot Alan, I appreciate your support, and that you wear the badge on your bag :D

It's a mix of excitement and an equal dose of fear that my mortgage is going to rely on Chroma but I'm confident that I can make something of it, fingers' crossed!
 
Thanks a lot Alan, I appreciate your support, and that you wear the badge on your bag :D

It's a mix of excitement and an equal dose of fear that my mortgage is going to rely on Chroma but I'm confident that I can make something of it, fingers' crossed!

What was it Del boy used to say? "This time next year Rodney…"

You never know :D
 
It's been a while since I posted an update on here so I figured it was time to catch up!

The main thing I'm looking forward to is actually getting the remaining cameras built and out to everyone who is very patiently waiting.

Thanks for the update Steve.

I know it's been a long time, but do understand and am looking forward to receiving the camera and getting a chance to use the lenses I've managed to get hold of!

Very best of luck with your big move to Chroma as a full-time endeavour, and thanks for keeping us updated.
 
Thanks for the update Steve.

I know it's been a long time, but do understand and am looking forward to receiving the camera and getting a chance to use the lenses I've managed to get hold of!

Very best of luck with your big move to Chroma as a full-time endeavour, and thanks for keeping us updated.

Thanks a lot. As I said in the last update, I’m massively grateful for everyone’s patience. I fully understand that it’s way past the original expected delivery date but, now that I’m full time on it, I’ll be able to get all of the remaining cameras out much more quickly.
 
:clap: All the very best with this Steve….So how was your first day, did you come up to the expectations of the boss ( not you you muppet, your Mrs!)?:LOL:


I have an abacus!…..Do I consider myself employed?:p

Thanks mate. The first day was productive, I finished off the assembly of two cameras so they’re now ready for their bellows.

My boss was suitably happy with my work ethic, and even said that I’m her best employee ;0)

If you can start on Monday, you’re hired!
 
I’ve just spent an hour recording the 50th episode of the Phlogger podcast with Andrew Walmsley. Myself and Jason Lane were on it, talking about our current workloads, along with the next steps in our dry plate holder campaign. The podcast should be published over the next week, so you can all hear my lilting scouse tones [emoji23]
 
Hi @stevelmx5 I wondered how far you've got with delivering the Kickstarter orders? Bit of a motive for asking... somewhere above you mentioned the idea of a rollfilm back, including a 6x12 possibility. I'm not quite sure how this would work... I assume you frame and focus with the ground glass then remove the GG holder entirely and add the rollfilm back, remove dark slide, take shot, replace dark slide, wind on, remove rollfilm back, replace GG holder...

Fair bit of mechanics in a rollfilm back, I guess. Have you thought any more about this? (Please, no red window!)
 
Hi @stevelmx5 I wondered how far you've got with delivering the Kickstarter orders? Bit of a motive for asking... somewhere above you mentioned the idea of a rollfilm back, including a 6x12 possibility. I'm not quite sure how this would work... I assume you frame and focus with the ground glass then remove the GG holder entirely and add the rollfilm back, remove dark slide, take shot, replace dark slide, wind on, remove rollfilm back, replace GG holder...

Fair bit of mechanics in a rollfilm back, I guess. Have you thought any more about this? (Please, no red window!)

Hi Chris. I've got around 40 cameras left to build and am bringing someone on board with me this week to speed up the last push.

With regards to the rollfilm back, I printed one a while back and tested it out with relative success (for a first build at least). It's basically a simple body with winder knobs on the top and an integrated dark slide...and a red window...sorry about that. It's the simplest way to workaround the frame spacing issue with 120 rollfilm without designing gearing/ratchets and some way to manage the frame spacing 'blind'. Rather than being a slot in Graflok style rollfilm back, I built it as an entirely separate magnetic back so I could compose/focus using the standard ground glass, then detach the entire back and fit the 612 back in its' place. This was part of the reason for my original magnetic design as it allows for multiple backs without fiddling with removing the ground glass itself. I'm not sure if I've got any pictures of the 612 back in place but I'll post them here if I do.

Once I've built the last of the KS cameras I'll spend some more time developing the 612 back. At the moment I'm using a Toyo 45/69 rollfilm back to give me 6x9 negatives but I'm definitely keen to build the 612 back.
 
Hi Chris. I've got around 40 cameras left to build and am bringing someone on board with me this week to speed up the last push.

With regards to the rollfilm back, I printed one a while back and tested it out with relative success (for a first build at least). It's basically a simple body with winder knobs on the top and an integrated dark slide...and a red window...sorry about that. It's the simplest way to workaround the frame spacing issue with 120 rollfilm without designing gearing/ratchets and some way to manage the frame spacing 'blind'. Rather than being a slot in Graflok style rollfilm back, I built it as an entirely separate magnetic back so I could compose/focus using the standard ground glass, then detach the entire back and fit the 612 back in its' place. This was part of the reason for my original magnetic design as it allows for multiple backs without fiddling with removing the ground glass itself. I'm not sure if I've got any pictures of the 612 back in place but I'll post them here if I do.

Once I've built the last of the KS cameras I'll spend some more time developing the 612 back. At the moment I'm using a Toyo 45/69 rollfilm back to give me 6x9 negatives but I'm definitely keen to build the 612 back.

Thanks Steve... I did rather expect the red window, although I'm a bit surprised rollfilm has the numbers for 6x12... d'oh, you just have to snap and carry one, I guess!

What would help for me would be the ability to wind back a bit, if I (think I have) missed the number. It would also be great if there was something that would take me nearly there in one movement, with knobs to fine tune... but that's back to the gears and ratchets I suppose.

How does the 6x9 back work?
 
What would help for me would be the ability to wind back a bit, if I (think I have) missed the number.

Exactly this, though I do appreciate that the film is only attached to the dark paper at one (the leading) end, so rewinding an overshoot could be an issue if over winding on the last or possibly even second to last frame on the roll.
 
Exactly this, though I do appreciate that the film is only attached to the dark paper at one (the leading) end, so rewinding an overshoot could be an issue if over winding on the last or possibly even second to last frame on the roll.

Thanks Steve... I did rather expect the red window, although I'm a bit surprised rollfilm has the numbers for 6x12... d'oh, you just have to snap and carry one, I guess!

What would help for me would be the ability to wind back a bit, if I (think I have) missed the number. It would also be great if there was something that would take me nearly there in one movement, with knobs to fine tune... but that's back to the gears and ratchets I suppose.

How does the 6x9 back work?

The back I've printed has got one knob on each spool so it's possible to fine tune your wind on if you wind too far etc. Having a single sweep would be good to you near enough on the next (but one) frame so I'll see if there's a way for me to do that. The issue is that the amount you wind on will gradually decrease as you go through the roll as the wind on spool gets larger with film wound around it. I'd like to include a ratchet style wind on to keep the back as slim as possible, although I also like the Combo style rollfilm backs that mount the film/takeup spool outside of the main body, which means that they can be fitted underneath a spring back;

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My 6x9 back is made by Toyo and is a Graflok mount unit so is fitted in place of the ground glass;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPaveoUIWLo
 
Tbh I don’t see where the problems arise with red windows.
Missing the frame numbers doesn’t happen if one winds on slowly and concentrates on the job in hand!.......it becomes obvious as the frame number begins to enter the window, leaving a fraction of a turn more to be made to bring it to it’s final, central position.
It really is that simple.
 
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