Thanks a lot for the review Neil, and your honest feedback. I really appreciate it.
As you said, the design of the camera has changed along the way from the first crowd funded version, mainly due to my own constant push to improve on the back of feedback, and just from building over 150 of them! As above, no camera will ever be “perfect” for everyone, whether it’s a £300 entry to large format or a £10,000 classic from Linhoff/Ebony etc but my hope for Chroma was to build something that is affordable, allows the photographer to grow their skill without needing to replace their camera before they can, and is a little bit more unique. The materials I use, along with the manufacturing techniques, allow me to keep the costs down, without compromising on rigidity and weight. The current version of the Chroma Advanced 4x5 weighs 1600g, has fully independent movements on both standards and folds down to a compact size for transport, but that doesn’t meant that it’s the right camera for everyone.
With regards to the negatives you’ve highlighted, we’ve already talked about these as they’re valid points. The film back design, with steel Graflok plates/springs, is something I’ve been working on upgrading for a while, and my new Carbon Adventurer, Mk2 Advanced and Snapshot, all use a new traditional leaf spring design to secure the ground glass in line with the film plane, without needing the Graflok plates to secure it. I’ve also replaced the traditional style steel plates with rotating cams instead. As well as reducing weight further, they also work better with a wider range of international standard backs, which come in a whole range of “standard” sizes!
The new film back design is a direct replacement for the version you have in your camera (I designed the film back to fit using magnets to allow for a modular approach to upgrades in the future), and I’ll be offering them on my website as an accessory upgrade in the near future.
With regards to the thumbscrews, again, you’re also right about them being a little small. They were originally chosen as a compromise between cost and functionality, to keep the overall camera price down, but I’m replacing them with larger screws going forwards.
Finally, the choice of materials, whilst different to more traditional cameras, are still high quality, strong and light. As a photographer myself, the top priority in designing my cameras is always to make something I want to use myself. Whilst Fisher Price may be made from plastic, that doesn’t mean my cameras are toys
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