This is the $60 DIY 6×6 medium format camera from Lomography
Nov 4, 2019
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 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.
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At some point in their photographic journey, many people who take up arms with a camera, especially if they start shooting film, toy with the idea of building their own camera. There are a lot of options out there for scratch building, and not all of them easy, requiring a wide array of tools.
Lomography wants to change that, though, with their new Lomomod No. 1, a DIY self-build 6×6 medium format camera. We spoke with Lomography at PhotoPlus 2019 to see it in person and find out more.
The entire camera is made from cardboard, except for the film spool and the lens, and it can be easily constructed in just an hour or two without having to use any kind of glue or screws. There is a little bit of tape in one part, but I think we can let that slide.
As a 6×6 medium format camera, it’s fairly large. In the video it looks pretty comparable in size to something like the Pentax 67. Of course, this is going to be much lighter than the Pentax, given that it’s made of cardboard.
The lens in the system is a liquid-filled 80mm lens. This gives a similar horizontal field of view to a 50mm on a full frame DSLR. Of course, being square, the vertical field of view is much higher. The liquid-filled part of that lens is interesting. While you can simply fill it with water, it offers a lot of other potential options for exploring different creative avenues. Essentially, the liquid you put inside it becomes a “filter” of sorts.
For this reason, Lomography recommends you use the camera with colour film. But there’s nothing to stop you shooting black and white film with some orange or red liquid to create lots of contrast in the skies. Or yellow/green liquid for black and white portraits with even skin tones.
It looks like an interesting project. And for $60, it’s not that expensive of a toy – especially considering what most of our other kit costs.
If you want to get one of your own, head on over to the Lomography website.
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DIYP’s coverage of PhotoPlus Expo 2019 is sponsored by Luminar, Cosyspeed, PhotoPlus, and Spiffy Gear – check ’em out.
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John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 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.
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