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Hilarious, why would people give up a deal like that? I just got the email saying that preorders have closed and that my credit card would be charged.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Hooray! Congratulations!
Just yesterday, I pitched the camera to someone who was complaining about the hassle of shooting a Linhof. I hope he beat the preorder deadline. The $99 price did not give him pause, considering the cost of other cameras.
Thank you all so much... If it wasn't for LFF, I wouldn't be shooting large format, let alone making a 4x5 camera. The 65mm version is a direct result of the poll in this thread and the feedback you gave us... And you did an amazing job getting the word out. So THANK YOU!
Today we spoke to a tool and die shop in Michigan. We learn something every single time we talk to the tooling shops. It's always fascinating for us.
We also shot and processed two batches of two different light leak tests (one test for the back and one for the helical). Thanks to those tests, we were able to verify that our back is absolutely not leaking light. So that is a huge relief.
We keep adding tape to the inside and outside of Prototype #2, and the amount of leak/flare has gone from a large amount (visible in the Brazil shots) to an absolutely tiny amount. At this point, it's not visible during normal shooting, but when we do a stress test, we can still provoke fogging in one corner. I'm convinced that the cause of the leak is the 3D printing material on the helical. What's happening is that light is entering the tiny gap between the lens tube and focus ring, going right through the helical ridges, and entering the camera. This won't happen in the production camera because light can't get through black polycarbonate.
I'm posting this because I'm trying to be 100% transparent (no pun intended) about the process. We're going to quadruple check the CAD. We really don't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a faulty design. But the nice thing is that even if we need to scrap two molds and redo them completely, we have the financial elbow room to do it. This camera will not go out the door until it's working perfectly and we're proud to put our name on it.
Thanks again you guys. YOU made this happen.
Nothing happens without an idea. That came from you and Justin. The support from the worldwide photo community is certainly validation, but this camera concept wouldn't exist without your original idea.
I'm really looking forward to getting my Travelwide.
Any chance you'll be able to put an Arca-Swiss compatible mounting point on the bottom?
We did look into it... The portion that would make up the AS mounting surface would have to extend past the bottom of the camera, and would be a pretty thick chunk of plastic. Beyond adding bulk, that extra thickness means a potential for that section to sag or pull away from the mold as it cools. So I think the tradeoffs don't quite justify the convenience. Sorry about that!Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Goldstein
How about three 1/4" tripod threads instead of one? Then, we could use a long AS plate from eBay with two screws--the ultimate anti-twist plate. But for those not using plates, it would add flexibility to how they attach it to a tripod.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Rick "happy to spend your money" Denney
Three tripod threads?? People seem to use everything from DSLRs to Mamiya RZs to metal field cameras with one tripod thread. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by rdenney
The tripod thread itself is a metal insert which has to be hand-placed in the mold, so not only does the metal insert part itself cost money, it also costs more to run. Adding two more would add to the retail cost of the camera and would necessitate making the camera larger somewhere to house the tripod mounts.
I get that people want flexibility, but keep in mind that it's a 1.3 pound camera. A Leica weighs more!
Oh well, I'll just use the tripod hole to attach a small AS-type plate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
P&S camera...
When Arca-Swiss, Kirk, Wimberley, Acratech, or Really Right Stuff provides a custom anti-twist plate for the Travelwide same as they do for the cameras you mentioned, then I'll agree. It's not the weight of the camera that makes twist control important, but rather my fat hands pushing in a film holder. But if you can't accommodate my need, I suppose I'll get over it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Syverson
Rick "that was a joke; you can laugh" Denney
(P.S. How about a hole or two that lines up with a Mamiya or Pentax medium-format camera, so that a plate for one of those, with the alignment pin, would fit properly? Would adding such a hole affect the design or cost? It would not need to be metal lined. Mamiya uses two holes, Pentax one.)
Color me skeptical... I made a short video demonstrating the Travelwide on a tripod, complete with a film holder insertion or two. If you're doing something rougher than what I do in this video, God help you!Quote:
Originally Posted by rdenney
https://vimeo.com/65355646
Link to the video
Edit: you'll notice that our spring back sticks a little bit—that's due to the gaffer's tape we've added to the camera, not the design. You'll also see the espresso machine which generates all my ideas.