Nick starts off the episode by talking about what a universal camera design is and why it might be nice to have (5:15). From there they talk about existing cameras that can be considered universal and how different qualities are more flexible than others. Nick describes the Mercury Camera System, a system that was designed from the start to be ...…

This time around Nick and Graham discuss photographs they have taken and how they inform the cameras that they build and how the cameras that they build allow for photographs that are different from the ones they can take with off-the-shelf models. Nick’s photo is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/51834204@N07/42317986574/in/dateposted/ Graha ...…

E08 Materials Graham and Nick start off by talking about light and what kind of light they like to have for taking photographs. They then launch into a discussion of materials from paper to metal, glass and plastic. Discussions include sources of various materials and tools. The continued adventures of the Save the Scameras from Graeme’s Hammer ...…

The viewfinder and Scameras. Graham mentions a trip around St. Simons Island where he took a picture (https://www.flickr.com/photos/129971511@N04/36592696526/in/datetaken/) with a camera he hates that got 84,000 views on Flickr for some reason he cannot figure out (1:25) as he and Nick discuss cameras they don’t like. Neither of them likes the ...…

For this episode, Graham and Nick talk about focus and focusing mechanisms in cameras. Nick asks whether focusing is necessary and Graham talks about one of his favorite Flickr people, ChetBak59 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/129558209@N02) and his use of out-of-focus areas of images to great effect (9:15). Nick challenges Graham to take a phot ...…

Nick and Graham start off the show talking about slide film and the forthcoming Kodak Ektachrome along with some Agfachrome that Graham stumbled upon several years ago. They then begin with a description of what the purpose of a Film Transport Mechanism is and why it’s an important part of any camera build. Graham describes the three major film ...…

This is the second half of a two-part episode. In this half, we talk about the aperture. Nick and Graham start off talking about the purpose of an aperture on a camera and the collimation of light that is required for a sharp image. Graham floats the crackpot concept of using variously-sized holes in lens caps as aperture controls (10:22). Nick ...…

E04a The Shutter Notes This episode was originally planned to cover both the shutter and the aperture but as the recording topped two hours, we decided to separate the two concepts. In two weeks we will continue as we focus on the aperture. Right off the bat, Graham can’t remember the name of the camera repair guide he read. It’s Camera Mainten ...…

E03 The Lens Show notes: Note: This episode contains some erroneous information about Ilford Direct Positive Paper. Graham states that it is no longer in production. This information is not correct. Direct Positive Paper is still in production after a short interruption. For more information on this, listen to the Sunny 16 Podcast episodes 100a ...…

In episode 02, The Body, Nick and Graham talk about the purposes and qualities of a camera body. Nick talks about exquisite beauty (6:00); the hosts describe the seven components of a camera (14:20); they focus on the body of a camera (19:30); Nick realizes he is late in starting his Garbage Cam Challenge project (24:15); the four main function ...…

In which Graham describes the process and decision-making during the build of a FrankenCamera (a camera made out of parts of different source cameras), the FrankenBessa. The inspiration for the camera is discussed (7:45), including the K-Pan camera (http://paulkohlhaussen.com/k-pan/) and why the Voigtlander Bessa 6X9 folder was chosen for the b ...…

In this episode, Nick and Graham cover the making and modifying of cameras and processes as they launch the Homemade Camera Podcast.