Weekend Camera Experiments: Monochrome Video, New Mods & Lens Hacks

More than a stills camera.

Hey,

So it’s been a pretty fun weekend of playing around with the camera and experimenting. I’ve got a lot to cover today and they’re kind of random ideas that fit together. It all started with a potential customer messaging me on Friday morning saying that they would love a monochrome video camera.

Video Mode

The more I thought about it, the idea of having a monochrome video camera is incredibly rare and would be a lot of fun. The main limiting factor that my camera has is battery life. To address this, I created a video mode that isn’t designed to compete with Sony or dedicated video cameras. It doesn’t shoot raw video, just 4K and 1080 mp4 H264 encoded files. There’s also a 2 minute capture limit to prevent overheating. Here’s how the UI looks:

Addition of a tripod mount

I’ve been wanting to get into different grip and mounting options for awhile so I added a 1/4” mount to the bottom battery plate. This opens up a plethora of different rig and mounting options for the build:

Chimney Style Viewfinder

I was playing around with my old Mamiya C33 and forgot how awesome the giant chimney finder is. As a result, I decided to 3d print my own version for extra glare reduction when shooting in bright daylight. Here’s how it turned out:

Adapting Projector Lenses

Finally, the last thing I got up to this weekend is adapting my collection of projector lenses. The first one I adapted was an ISCO Optic 50mm F2 lens along with some of my Cinelux lenses:

The other lens is this massive 50mm F1.2 16mm project lens for Bell & Howell:

Since it’s designed for 16mm lenses, the flange distance is incredibly small. I was always paranoid using it on my A7IV because I was scared of accidentally having the mechanical shutter enabled and being damaged by the lens. Even though it’s a massive lenses, I think it might work out really well on this camera. Here are some sample photos I took this morning around the house using this lens:

Updated User Guide

If you want a holistic overview of all the new features I’ve added to the camera, here’s a link to the latest user guide: User Guide

Upcoming Batch

Also, I have another limited batch of sensors coming in next week and will be announcing an official drop of more cameras at the end of the month. If you want a fully built version of the camera, I highly recommend reserving one before the official drop because they’ve been typically selling out within 48 hours after each drop. Here’s the reserve link: Reserve Link

Thank you for sticking around this long and will send you an update once I have a few new features to announce.

Cheers,

Malcolm