As an art form and a technology, photography’s youth is only matched by its blisteringly rapid advancement. This creates something of a paradox for us as enthusiasts and professionals, where the history of the medium we so love can feel both short and overstuffed. Neither condition is conducive to any one camera gaining, let alone maintaining, a sense of permanence or constancy.
The history of photography is over a century old -- in fact, it was 107 years ago that Oskar Barnack created the Ur-Leica, a camera that would later be known as the genesis of the 36x24 “full-frame” format. Since then, hundreds of companies across the world have, to varying degrees of success, produced everything from 35mm to 127 to an assortment of medium format sizes and finally to digital.
When you hear the words "retro camera," you probably think of some kind of silver or black camera crafted decades ago out of solid chunks of metal. But what would a retro camera look like if you kept the design the same but replaced its metal body with wood?
French photo enthusiast Cesar Sebouhian and his father recently decided to find out, and created the gorgeous Nikon "F2D" seen above.
See the big box hanging out from under this Nikon F2 film SLR? It's called the Speed Magny, a special back that transforms the camera into an instant film camera. Instead of loading the camera with film, you take off the back of the camera and attach the 4lb contraption that's loaded with Polaroid pack film. Light entering the camera is directed onto the instant film below using lenses and mirrors, giving you a neat way to capture instant film photos at the expense of 5 stops of light.