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The KDS-POTO2 – A DIY Super Plastic Camera

Jul 6, 2011 by Udi Tirosh 1 Comment

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The KDS-POTO2 - A DIY Super Plastic CameraIf you were not impressed with the La Guillotine DIY camera, we are taking another stub with the KDS-POTO2. KDS-POTO2 is a camera designed and produced by kit da studio – It is quite an awesome camera for a DIY camera, however, one step requires laser cutting. Totally worth it f you ask me.

Here is what this camera is capable of: It supports various lenses (yes the very first DIYLR – in this tut: a wide lens scavenged from a Konica WaiWai camera and a pinhole), Interchangeable 120/135 (regular) back, Bulb and normal shutter modes and a frame counter. Yea baby. It is totally DIYed!

In this post, I will show you how to make one of those babies.

First, here is the complete KDS_PHOTO2 again. Bigger.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

The Design

To be completely honest, I will not take you through all the design steps, and only give you the final version. This was a second camera in a series so much of the know-how was already accumulated. The goal here was to make it as interchangeable as possible.

If you wanna get a sense of what this camera built like from the inside look at the following drawings:

This is a drawing of the camera internals. Note the little guy working hard on the right hand side.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

This tweak give it the option to shoot 135 films

DIY Super Plastic Camera

And this one give it the option to shoot 120 films

DIY Super Plastic Camera

This is how we make sure the film does not unwind

DIY Super Plastic Camera

This is how the interchangeable lens adapter looks like

DIY Super Plastic Camera

And this part is the Shell Locker used to hold the film and back in place.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Design

Usually the first thing with this kind of camera is to find the correct distances between the shutter plate, lens and film. (you can see how it is done with a transparency film on the Battlefield Pinhole tutorial.

One of the main challenges was to keep the film from unwinding. Below is a video for the paper model and the acrylic part.

Laser Cut Parts & AI File

During the design phases this was one of the more demanding tasks, luckily for you, you get this file readymade here. This file contains all the parts needed to build the camera (aside the scavenged shutter plate and WaiWai lens) but there are no part numbers or instructions, the design sketch above and the pictures below is all that you have going for you.

The file is an AI 3 file and can be used with any Laser Cutting service like Ponoko, (ponoko compatible file) or with your local laser cutting store. You would need to cut a 3mm black acrylic board.

If you are doing this locally sand the acrylic down on one side so you get one shiny side and one reflective side.

here’s the laser-cut acrylic board with the AI file

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Gluing Everything Together

The right glue to use with the acrylic board is Chloroform

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Act quickly because it will crystallize

DIY Super Plastic Camera

You would need the regular set of assorted tools, like screw drivers, players and so on.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

The Film Framework

Here is the framework which holds the film

DIY Super Plastic Camera

And here is the frame counter. This is an 8-legged gear so each 8 clicks is one complete rotation and one frame.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Assembled with the top “knob” the knob has a small triangle mark so a full rotation can be easily observed.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

The Anti-Roll-Back Gearworks

Here is the spring and leg attached (they are much smaller than what they appear here)

DIY Super Plastic Camera

The empty take-up spool

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Spring, leg and spool combined to work like the video above.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

The entire shell and lens adaptor

DIY Super Plastic Camera

And the Holga Shutter plate from behind

DIY Super Plastic Camera

The Konica Waiwai Lens

Remove the lens module from waiwai – including the lens holder

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Cut up the edges

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Use it with the adaptive rings + with the hood stuck to it

DIY Super Plastic Camera

The Pinhole “Lens”

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Start with a piece of plastic or a part from aluminum can

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Sand it till the center part is very thin, and use a sewing pin to punch a hole in it.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Stick the hole on the lens and you are done.

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Putting Everything Together

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Sample Photo With The Pinhole Lens

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Sample Photo With The Waiwai Lens

DIY Super Plastic Camera

DIY Super Plastic Camera

Some Double Exposures

DIY Super Plastic Camera

DIY Super Plastic Camera

DIY Super Plastic Camera

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Filed Under: DIY

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

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Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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