My previous experiments with a foam core 4×5 camera has whetted my appetite for more camera experiments. In particular, I was looking for cameras that could be built quickly, and where amateurs could construct their own lenses out of surplus optics. I am particularly interested in cameras that use the old fashioned meniscus landscape lens design, which takes just a single meniscus lens, and symmetric lens designs like the Steinheil Periskop. Most DIY camera projects seem to fall back to using modern or antique lenses, but I did come across two cameras from the same maker that took a more basic approach.

This large format camera is basically a pinhole camera, but with a stop right at the lens, yielding a focal ratio of about 90. Check out the flickr set, which includes both pictures of the camera and taken through the camera. This camera doesn’t include a focus mechanism, but since it is operating around f/90, it already has a great deal of depth of focus. It straddles the line between a pinhole and a conventional camera. But still, it creates some cool images.

The same maker created another awesome camera, but this one is a lot more awesome. The frame is wood, it has a focusing bellows, and takes a 4×5 film holder. The Flickr set for this camera shows some really awesome portraits, and one can tell it’s a lot more versatile and fun to use. Awesome, inspiring stuff.