I spoke to Richard yesterday (Jan 23rd) and he says things are progressing nicely.

Now, for the self-serving part of this post.

He has four committed orders. If he has ten by Feb 15, we ten will get a bigger discount because he has economies in his production run.

John Bowen and I need at least six more of you to ante up quickly with deposits. Who knows what would happen if a hundred of you did!

That's why Richard has been mum on the amount of the discount - it will vary with the number of orders.

Richard even darkly hinted that he may need to raise the price after Feb. 15 if the initial order quantity is small. Don't procrastinate if you're interested in a finely-made, American-crafted camera with an innovative design and light weight.

I'm ordering the 4x5 and 5x7 backs, too. It will all replace my existing Sinar and Wista with MUCH less weight and bulk.

So this time, my financial interest has to do with the size of the check I write Richard. With your help, it will be smaller for all of us, and Richard will be well-launched into the camera business (deservedly so).