Hello There
I found the site from YouTube, like I imagine most of you others did as well, and had to say Hi. The Venn diagram of content here and my interest has a pretty massive overlap. I'm a machinist/designer who lives in New York. I make scientific equipment, among other things professionally, but have always been able to make stuff on the side, including camera stuff.
My photo history starts with an absolute fascination with electronics as a kid. I loved plugging in AV equipment, riding my bike to Target and checking out the specs of all the cameras, and was generally a gear hound from go. My first camera was a Fujifilm FinePix A101, coming in at a whopping 1.3mp. This was 2001 and I was 13 or 14. My next camera was the, fits-in-an-altoids-tin, Pentax OptioS. I did keep it in a felted Altoids tin as well. From there I got the original Canon Digital Rebel but my interest in photography slipped a bit for years in lieu of cars bikes and other hobbies. When that camera finally died many years later I bought the Ricoh GR. This was 2013 and I spent more on it than I had in savings at the time but it was totally worth it. Selling that camera in 2020 was a massive mistake that I regret to this day.
During the pandemic I took up photography and my interest in cameras in a new and absolutely obsessive way starting with a Fuji XT3, which is to this day the best camera I have ever owned. I got into 3d printed cameras and lenses. Film stuff with some home brewed developing and scanning at home. A CCD craze in 2022. etc. Among others my haul included:
- Bronica S2
- Zorki 4K
- Lomo LCA
- Mamiya Press (mainly to use the lenses with the 3d printed camera craze)
- Lumix LX5
- Lumix GF1
- Canon S95
- Canon EOS 1Dsii
- Ricoh GR (new one)
Here is a more recent project moving the new TT Artisan OVF over to the side of the Ricoh GR with a 3d printed adapter mount.
...and some photos for good measure. I hope that was meandering enough. Nice to meet you all!
Uploaded files:
Nice intro and welcome!
This statement hit home for me: my interest in photography slipped a bit for years in lieu of cars bikes and other hobbies
I have the same exact cycle of hobbies. I'm happiest when I combine them... like say when I take my camera with me on a bike ride or over-landing in my Jeep.
Cool shots.
Parker, hello and welcome!
Those are some great cameras on your list. I love the GR. It's my "if I could only have one camera" camera.
I'm also big into biking. Mountain biking and then now gravel biking after a move to Iowa (not a lot of mountain biking out here).
Here's a shot on the 2013 GR from a bike trip I took just last week, actually.
I'm curious which 3d printed cameras you've explored so far? I have looked at several but have never committed to a project.
Love the expanses of grass in the midwest. I grew up in Minnesota and miss it. I too am deep into bikes with gravel getting the most seat time these days. All the best places to explore are on back roads. Where was the trip? Looks like some lovely fall singletrack.
I got involved with the Goodman discord scene when it came around a few years ago. There were a couple of offshoots but most used an RB67 120 back and a Mamiya Press lens (as they all include leaf shutters). The channel is now called Filament and Film. I printed and built the Brancopan from Cameradactly which was a trip. I write a review on Emulsive about it here.
Thanks for all the wonderful content as well as the welcome! A joy to watch.
Quote from parkermusselman@gmail.com on December 11, 2023, 3:21 pmI found the site from YouTube, like I imagine most of you others did as well, and had to say Hi. The Venn diagram of content here and my interest has a pretty massive overlap. I'm a machinist/designer who lives in New York. I make scientific equipment, among other things professionally, but have always been able to make stuff on the side, including camera stuff.
My photo history starts with an absolute fascination with electronics as a kid. I loved plugging in AV equipment, riding my bike to Target and checking out the specs of all the cameras, and was generally a gear hound from go. My first camera was a Fujifilm FinePix A101, coming in at a whopping 1.3mp. This was 2001 and I was 13 or 14. My next camera was the, fits-in-an-altoids-tin, Pentax OptioS. I did keep it in a felted Altoids tin as well. From there I got the original Canon Digital Rebel but my interest in photography slipped a bit for years in lieu of cars bikes and other hobbies. When that camera finally died many years later I bought the Ricoh GR. This was 2013 and I spent more on it than I had in savings at the time but it was totally worth it. Selling that camera in 2020 was a massive mistake that I regret to this day.
During the pandemic I took up photography and my interest in cameras in a new and absolutely obsessive way starting with a Fuji XT3, which is to this day the best camera I have ever owned. I got into 3d printed cameras and lenses. Film stuff with some home brewed developing and scanning at home. A CCD craze in 2022. etc. Among others my haul included:
- Bronica S2
- Zorki 4K
- Lomo LCA
- Mamiya Press (mainly to use the lenses with the 3d printed camera craze)
- Lumix LX5
- Lumix GF1
- Canon S95
- Canon EOS 1Dsii
- Ricoh GR (new one)
Here is a more recent project moving the new TT Artisan OVF over to the side of the Ricoh GR with a 3d printed adapter mount.
...and some photos for good measure. I hope that was meandering enough. Nice to meet you all!
Welcome! There is one camera in this list that you have that I'd love to hear about. What's been your experience with the Zorki 4K? It's a camera I'd love to own for a shelf piece but it would be doubly awesome if it was a great functional piece.
Welcome on board 🙂
Quote from HeggenDazs on December 13, 2023, 9:27 pmQuote from parkermusselman@gmail.com on December 11, 2023, 3:21 pmWhat's been your experience with the Zorki 4K? It's a camera I'd love to own for a shelf piece but it would be doubly awesome if it was a great functional piece.
Hey HeggenDazs, the Zorki is a great camera! I'd buy another one. It's soviet so you take some good with some bad but if you find a good copy it can be a great functional piece. I got it because I was curious about rangefinders in general and this was pretty cheap and for the availability of good lenses for L/M39 mount. I will say, I always wanted a Leica iii and getting a Zorki didn't change that.
Pros:
- Like I said the lens mount has a great selection of lenses.
- I found the Jupiter 12 (35mm f2.8) to be fantastic. Great contrast, slim, good looks. It's a non-retrofocus lens design (it protrudes deep into the camera) and as a result doesn't play nice with digital sensors if that's an interest.
- The Elmar 50mm f3.5 retractable lens is totally awesome (as well as the soviet clone)
- There are a bunch of fast Sonnar type lenses that are really fun as well.
- I like the viewfinder/rangefinder. It's bright enough to easily find focus.
- The body feels good in the hand and is in general enjoyable to use.
Oddities:
- The strap mounts are on the front of the camera, so unless you have a really heavy lens, the camera is always tilted forward. Can be a bit annoying.
- Mine developed an issue with film advance which causes overlap sometimes. So test the unit you get and perhaps get one in nicer nick.
- In general is feels very soviet. It's something that you really need to get comfortable with. I found that once you do though, you end up with a nice personal relationship.
- The tripod mount is a different and also protrudes from the bottom. You can get an adapter to go from the 3/8-16 to the more common 1/4-20 but the protrusion still doesn't allow the camera to sit flat.
- I printed/machined an arca swiss adapter to solve these problems but adds a little bulk.
Here are some photos of the camera and mount. The BW photo was taken with the Jupiter 12 for reference.
Uploaded files:
Quote from parkermusselman@gmail.com on December 11, 2023, 3:21 pmI found the site from YouTube, like I imagine most of you others did as well, and had to say Hi. The Venn diagram of content here and my interest has a pretty massive overlap. I'm a machinist/designer who lives in New York. I make scientific equipment, among other things professionally, but have always been able to make stuff on the side, including camera stuff.
My photo history starts with an absolute fascination with electronics as a kid. I loved plugging in AV equipment, riding my bike to Target and checking out the specs of all the cameras, and was generally a gear hound from go. My first camera was a Fujifilm FinePix A101, coming in at a whopping 1.3mp. This was 2001 and I was 13 or 14. My next camera was the, fits-in-an-altoids-tin, Pentax OptioS. I did keep it in a felted Altoids tin as well. From there I got the original Canon Digital Rebel but my interest in photography slipped a bit for years in lieu of cars bikes and other hobbies. When that camera finally died many years later I bought the Ricoh GR. This was 2013 and I spent more on it than I had in savings at the time but it was totally worth it. Selling that camera in 2020 was a massive mistake that I regret to this day.
During the pandemic I took up photography and my interest in cameras in a new and absolutely obsessive way starting with a Fuji XT3, which is to this day the best camera I have ever owned. I got into 3d printed cameras and lenses. Film stuff with some home brewed developing and scanning at home. A CCD craze in 2022. etc. Among others my haul included:
- Bronica S2
- Zorki 4K
- Lomo LCA
- Mamiya Press (mainly to use the lenses with the 3d printed camera craze)
- Lumix LX5
- Lumix GF1
- Canon S95
- Canon EOS 1Dsii
- Ricoh GR (new one)
Here is a more recent project moving the new TT Artisan OVF over to the side of the Ricoh GR with a 3d printed adapter mount.
...and some photos for good measure. I hope that was meandering enough. Nice to meet you all!
General Kenobi.
Welcome to the club!
Quote from parkermusselman@gmail.com on December 14, 2023, 8:54 amQuote from HeggenDazs on December 13, 2023, 9:27 pmQuote from parkermusselman@gmail.com on December 11, 2023, 3:21 pmWhat's been your experience with the Zorki 4K? It's a camera I'd love to own for a shelf piece but it would be doubly awesome if it was a great functional piece.
Hey HeggenDazs, the Zorki is a great camera! I'd buy another one. It's soviet so you take some good with some bad but if you find a good copy it can be a great functional piece. I got it because I was curious about rangefinders in general and this was pretty cheap and for the availability of good lenses for L/M39 mount. I will say, I always wanted a Leica iii and getting a Zorki didn't change that.
Pros:
- Like I said the lens mount has a great selection of lenses.
- I found the Jupiter 12 (35mm f2.8) to be fantastic. Great contrast, slim, good looks. It's a non-retrofocus lens design (it protrudes deep into the camera) and as a result doesn't play nice with digital sensors if that's an interest.
- The Elmar 50mm f3.5 retractable lens is totally awesome (as well as the soviet clone)
- There are a bunch of fast Sonnar type lenses that are really fun as well.
- I like the viewfinder/rangefinder. It's bright enough to easily find focus.
- The body feels good in the hand and is in general enjoyable to use.
Oddities:
- The strap mounts are on the front of the camera, so unless you have a really heavy lens, the camera is always tilted forward. Can be a bit annoying.
- Mine developed an issue with film advance which causes overlap sometimes. So test the unit you get and perhaps get one in nicer nick.
- In general is feels very soviet. It's something that you really need to get comfortable with. I found that once you do though, you end up with a nice personal relationship.
- The tripod mount is a different and also protrudes from the bottom. You can get an adapter to go from the 3/8-16 to the more common 1/4-20 but the protrusion still doesn't allow the camera to sit flat.
- I printed/machined an arca swiss adapter to solve these problems but adds a little bulk.
Here are some photos of the camera and mount. The BW photo was taken with the Jupiter 12 for reference.
Thanks for sharing, you really saved me a ton of time with this write-up! I'll start scavenging through listings and find one that speaks to me.
