Lomography Konstruktor is the World’s First Build-It-Yourself 35mm SLR
You may have seen built-it-yourself 35mm pinhole cameras before, but have you ever seen a DIY SLR? Lomography today announced the Konstruktor, a camera it calls “the world’s first 35mm do-it-yourself” SLR camera. If you loved building model airplanes as a kid, this is one camera kit you’re going to love.
The camera comes in a cardboard box with a number of large components and a whole bunch of small ones. Among the large components that form the foundation of the camera are a body, a viewfinder system, a backside, and a film holder:
Assembly is pretty straightforward: simply follow the step-by-step instructions on snapping and screwing the different pieces together (there’s a screwdriver in the kit). Lomography says that you’ll need to set aside about 1-2 hours to build the camera.
The resulting camera is a fully working 35mm SLR that features a top-down viewfinder, the ability to capture multiple exposures, a max shutter speed of 1/80s, bulb mode for long exposures, a tripod thread, and a detachable 50mm f/10 lens.
The kit includes a number of colorful covers that can give you some options in how you want your camera styled.
Here’s a short video that introduces the Konstruktor:
Here’s a video showing how the finished camera is used:
In addition to being a neat project for adult photo enthusiasts, this kit would be a great way to teach a child about photography (it’s geared towards people ages 12 and up).
Here are some sample photographs captured with the Konstruktor:
You can pick up a Konstruktor for $35 over in Lomography’s online shop. To learn more about the camera, check out the micro site set up for it.
