well, i had a few hours, andrew and i have been exchanging thoughts about an "omniscope"-type camera that could be owned by us downtrodden billfold-clampers, so i sez, self- just make one. ran out of time today, but a couple of hours got me this far:
this shot shows the raw parts roughly milled. 3" pvc pipe cut to length, a slot cut in one for the film to enter image chamber. other piece lopped off and angled to provide abutting case for spools. wood parts cut from 1/4" poplar, including a few that have ended up on the editing floor.
this one shows the top and bottom assemblies underway, circles glued to allow a channel for the film around cylinder, and pins glued in place to hold spools. winding knob from old polaroid 620 body in the top piece. will move forward tomorrow after work...
had even less time today, so i spent it backpedaling, remaking some rethought aspects. i continue to have serious doubts about the film path complexity so i changed the channel guides to slipperier pvc rings (this also gave me the chance to lengthen the upper channel- i forgot to modify camera height after an earlier design change. i will problably broaden the throat into the image chamber to ease the transport, too. finally, i added a second knob to allow for rewinds and film tensioning (if this blasted thing ever works!), and drilled the opening for the pinhole mount.
i guess that's why its a prototype, and i can only blame myself for the absurd complexity of this project (by my standards, anyway - i must be the "stupid" referred to in "kiss"). still, if it works it will be worth it all.
loaded with film and ready for a test drive. before painting (some adjustments to allow the film to travel with less resistance), the insides painted ultraflat, and the outside cadmium orange. the mechanism seems to work, but light leaks and flares still a concern:
mu, the color was an attempt at reverse psychology- if i leave something so obvious lying on the floor in a public building, it is less likely to cause a security meltdown than a weird black thingy with knobs and buttons. hmmmm- we'll see...
perez, the 120 film spool is loaded on the left, the film passes through a slot and is then guided by rings around the inside of a cylindrical chamber, and passes through a second slot to the take-up/winding spool. the pinhole is perpendicular to the film plane. the shutter is just tape until i've tested it. who knows how well it will work? unfortunately i can't develop my own film, and the lab won't be open until monday.