Show me a homemade Instax camera!

[B-9]

Really surprised I have not seen many Instax mods (they may exist beyond my vision)

Considering we do have a few crafty members, handy with tools and such 😉

And we have yet to get a "serious" instax camera....

Show me what you've come up with!

 

[JChrome]

The only custom instax mod I know of is a guy in Florida who makes an adapter to allow the mating of an Instax wide back with a Mamiya Press. He charges like $300 or so for it on the 'bay. Too rich for my blood but I'd like to have one nevertheless.


www.stillthrill.com

 

[VTHokiEE]

I bought an Instax wide back for my Crown Graphic that is shown in another thread here, but I didn't make the back. I did 3D print a solid bellows for the Instax mini back and put an older folder lens on it. I'll try to get a picture up tonight.

 

[Hogarth Ferguson]

This is the only one I can think of, available here.

 

[B-9]

I guess I should step up and making something "better"

Tired of my old 210 pooping out mid pack, and the lens combined with the horrible exposure system make for the worst looking images. I even dislike to look and feel of the thing, overpriced plastic.

Considering having a Polaroid 110B converted for Instax!? But the price for conversion seems out of touch, when I am perfectly capable of cutting and gluing things myself....

 

[VTHokiEE]

Considering having a Polaroid 110B converted for Instax!? But the price for conversion seems out of touch, when I am perfectly capable of cutting and gluing things myself....

I've frequently thought the same, I may eventually pull the trigger though. I want something similar to my Land camera 250 for Instax.

 

[mdwsta4]

I wish there were a smaller version of the instax wide camera. The 210 is just so comically large it's impossible to fit in any bag. I also keep wishing for an instax wide printer!

 

[B-9]

I could live with a Instax wide printer actually...

Going to spend some time tonight on drawing a few ideas, then I guess find a suitable lens.

Thinking UWA, a simple wood body, and the belair instant back from lomo. Mm 47mm Schneider... Wishful thinking.

 

[JChrome]

I could live with a Instax wide printer actually...

Going to spend some time tonight on drawing a few ideas, then I guess find a suitable lens.

Thinking UWA, a simple wood body, and the belair instant back from lomo. Mm 47mm Schneider... Wishful thinking.

Not sure how hard it is to mate a Mamiya Press lens to your diy body but I'd take a look at the Mamiya 50mm f6.3. If you can mate it, then you have a very reasonably priced WA lens with a helicoid. I've been looking at building a DIY 6x12 with the Schneider 47 and adding a helicoid puts the price well north of 1K. Or, you could go sans helicoid and do focus at infinite. Not bad either.



www.stillthrill.com

 

[B-9]

Lots of good 65/75mm lenses in the 150-300$ range that would work great as well.

Planning to keep it super simple with fixed focus, maybe a helical if I can find one cheap enough.

The 47 would be nice, but I think I'm capping this project at a low budget.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Coincidentally I was reading about a mod involving a 75mm Franka lens a few minutes ago. It's a link to a Facebook page. If that bothers you (as in the past it has seemed to bother some members) then, don't click on it...
https://www.facebook.com/instantcameraguy/posts/1044747918928411

 

[B-9]

Having thought about this all weekend, I jumped into a 65mm f8.0 SA, I am definitely giving this a go.

I've fully destroyed a Polaroid 100 to start with although it will not likely be recognizable from this point on.

Grabbing some Aluminum tonight, along with hunting down some "exotic" wood scraps... I could of swore there was a chunk of Burl Maple down the road... Hmmm. Failing that there is a literal ton of white oak at my finger tips.

Still hunting down the cheapest Bel Air back, looks like BH and Adorama are steady at 79.99$ so that will get ordered tonight as well.

Call me crazy if you must.

 

[JChrome]

Having thought about this all weekend, I jumped into a 65mm f8.0 SA, I am definitely giving this a go.

I've fully destroyed a Polaroid 100 to start with although it will not likely be recognizable from this point on.

Grabbing some Aluminum tonight, along with hunting down some "exotic" wood scraps... I could of swore there was a chunk of Burl Maple down the road... Hmmm. Failing that there is a literal ton of white oak at my finger tips.

Still hunting down the cheapest Bel Air back, looks like BH and Adorama are steady at 79.99$ so that will get ordered tonight as well.

Call me crazy if you must.

If I may - I bought the bel air back and it's really cheap quality. The Instax wide cameras may be hackable and at the push of a button could pop out the film. Just an idea.


www.stillthrill.com

 

[B-9]

I've got a model 210 Instax that I wanted to hack or atleast use as a back... But damn if I could cut into it... Even with all its gaffer tape holding it guts in I still think it would be better off given to a friend for an extended life as a whole.

The Polaroid, no problem, rip, tear, snap, and cut my way through that junk.

 

[B-9]

Went a little further today and dismantled my 210 to be used as a back.

It's going to be ALOT more work getting this thing to look like a film back and not a chopped camera... A good amount of body filler I see in the near future.

Now to play ameteur electrician and figure out the simple matter of engaging the discharge motor, likely not using any of the original interface, so a field trip to RadioShack is in order!

Lens arrives tomorrow at a speedy rate!

Thanks for nudging me away from the belair back, after reading more reviews I get the feeling my hacked up 210 is likely "more" durable than the junky belair back at 80$! 210=already used, abused, and hung up wet with no added cost to my project.

 

[mdwsta4]

Looking forward to what you come up with!

 

[unixrevolution]

Went a little further today and dismantled my 210 to be used as a back.

It's going to be ALOT more work getting this thing to look like a film back and not a chopped camera... A good amount of body filler I see in the near future.

Now to play ameteur electrician and figure out the simple matter of engaging the discharge motor, likely not using any of the original interface, so a field trip to RadioShack is in order!

Lens arrives tomorrow at a speedy rate!

Thanks for nudging me away from the belair back, after reading more reviews I get the feeling my hacked up 210 is likely "more" durable than the junky belair back at 80$! 210=already used, abused, and hung up wet with no added cost to my project.

I am very very interested in seeing where this is going. I really want to hack together my own Instax Wide or Impossible TLR.

 

[B-9]

I can definitely see why people have opted to just mount a lens to their old Instax.

The camera is mostly empty inside, but the roller assembly with motor are squeezed into the rear part of the hand grip making this a pain in the butt to get flat lines.

At first I was hoping I could squeeze it all into a project box, cut out room for the film gate to open and close, then body fill in the gap. In theory I would have a instax shooting project box I could easily adapt to other cameras as well as allowing me to keep this camera somewhat universal (maybe a 2x3 backs down the road?) The trouble is with the boxes ive found, is my lens getting to close to my body and to far from my film making this a sad one trick pony...

At least for now that dream is shot down, and im considering casting the whole rear panel (with the door/gate removed) in resin after ive cut and castrated what I can off of it.

Edit: after a bit more critical thinking... ok maybe it was the beer... I think ill be able to use a project box. Local radioshack has a 7x5x3 inch plastic box for 7.50$ ill just need to get that 3" dim down to 1" or so!

 

[B-9]

Progress today,

Had about 2 hours to give this project today. Got the project box from RadioShack and started to lay everything out. Also started to cut down on old tabs and gearing not needed on the 210 chassis.

Plenty of room for batteries with this layout.

 

[rjschell]

I bought a Belair Instax Wide Back for $80. After some slicing, shimming, taping, etc. it was mated to my Crown Graphic w. 127mm Ektar lens (it ain't pretty, but it was cheap). I'm very pleased with the results. I previously had erratic/miserable results with the Lomo Instant Wide and it's lack of manual exposure control, which is essential to 'instant' photos. (However, I still prefer the old discontinued Fuji FP-100 pack film format).