Camera FUNCAM

FUNCAM camera series overview.
Cheap, cheerful & colourful, great fun cameras.

The FUNCAM Model Range.

1 - 6x6cm Longer Focal Length Camera (77º view).

2 - 6x6cm Wideangle Camera (100º view).

3 - 6x6cm Superwide (130º view).

4 - 9x6cm Curved Plane Camera.

5 - Anamorph Camera.

6 - 35mm Camera.

7 - 135x6cm Panoramic Camera.

8 - 6x4.5cm Trichromy Camera.

For some time I had wanted to use a cheap, readily available construction material for my cameras. Using some sort of cardboard would be perfect, it would be available practically anywhere & would need little more than a craft knife to make the parts. Things never quite worked out satisfactorily.
I still need to use some MDF in the construction but this time round, I have a design based upon mountboard which produces excellent pictures.

It is possible to use mountboard from a range of many different colours but I remain doubtful about the opaqueness of the material so now I do it the Henry Ford way - any colour as long as it is black.
The downside is that mountboard is not a robust material. To improve this I apply varnish to all the panels & this means the finished camera can be handled without fear of surface marking. Varnishing increases the strength of the material & makes it resistant to moisture & stains.

Compact & good looking, two 6x6cm cameras, a 9x6cm & a 35mm camera.

Key to the success of this design is the top plate. As ever I use a recessed light trap, painted matt black, on the top plate. The front & rear panels which are mountboard are obviously thin & where the top plate meets them the light proofing is poor.
To compensate for this weakness, the top plate has a skirt. This forces light around some tricky corners & provides the necessary light proofing.

    The original concept behind these cameras was to make them as simple & cheaply as possible. For that reason many of the cameras pictured do not have a tripod mount (the tripod cradle pictured below is used to hold the camera to a tripod).
    The cradle fits onto the tripod & provides a method of securing the camera to the tripod. Any camera in the range can be used on the cradle.
    After using my cameras, the lack of a tripod mount proved to be more of a compromise than I found acceptable. The cameras pictured (in black) are all now fitted with a tripod mount. This moves the design a little way away from the original simple design ethos but the camera can still be made without a tripod mount.

The tripod cradle has a tripod mount on the bottom.
Any of the cameras are then fitted to the cradle.
The bars are wide enough to accomodate the
longest camera which is the 13.5x6cm panoramic.

A 6x6cm superwide ready for action.

    The basic design for these cameras is extremely flexible leading to a huge range of options. The basic construction remains the same throughout (some models like the superwide 6x6cm require additional internal fabrications). Panels are cut to suit the chosen format & focal length combination.
    We can choose from at least three different formats :- 9x6cm, 6x6cm & 6x4.5cm. Even these standard formats can be stretched to our choosing as demonstrated by the panoramic camera.
    Additionally, we can have full flexibilty with the focal length too. For simplicity's sake, the focal length is best limited to minimum of 27mm - a spool is 25mm diameter. As demonstrated by the 'long focal length 6x6cm' a longer focal length is easily achieved. There is no limit on the maximum focal length (within the bounds of practicality & common sense).
    A focal length shorter than 27mm has some difficulties, but even these can be overcome - see the 6x6cm superwide camera. A more complex design is required to achieve these very short focal lengths (less than 27mm) but the same basic design is still used.

    I have even produced a 35mm version, it would seem the options are almost unlimited.....