The designer behind two of Kickstarter’s most popular pinhole cameras is back with a third designed to get back to the physical experience of photography — its users build everything from scratch. The Videre 35mm is a cardboard pinhole camera that requires about $40 and an hour to assemble before shooting old school analog photos.
The Videre 35mm is part of Kickstarter Gold, a program where the crowd-funding platform invites some of the most successful creators back for more projects. The do-it-yourself pinhole is designed by Kelly Angood, a London-based photographer that started the Pop-Up Pinhole Co. after the designs for the cardboard camera she designed in college was downloaded more than 60,000 times.
The Videre 35mm is an enhancement to Angood’s first Kickstarter project, the original Videre, which shipped out after reaching full funding in 2013. She designed an even more easy-to-use camera called the Viddy a year later, which was also successfully crowdfunded.
The Videre 35mm uses the more affordable and easily accessible 35mm film format instead of the medium format of the original cardboard camera. That means the twin lens reflex camera is also smaller than the original design.
The update brings a new light-proof film canister that is reloadable for reusing the Videre camera over and over again. The kit also includes 3D-printed film advance knobs (the original used cardboard), and a tripod thread. The shutter was also redesigned to hold up better over repeated use. The rest of the camera is constructed from screen-printed, die-cut cardboard.
Assembling the camera is also now easier in 12 steps with fewer pieces, while a folding viewfinder “roof” at the top of the camera like a traditional twin lens reflex also makes the camera more portable.
Like other pinhole cameras, the small 0.2 mm opening of the Videre 35mm is designed for long exposure photography — the camera includes an exposure guide for using the f/225 camera with film rated for ISO 100, 200, 400, and 800.
The Videre 35mm was quickly funded on Kickstarter, reaching full funding on Sunday The campaign is set to remain open until July 31. If final development and shipping is successful, backers can get the Videre 35 for about $38 without film or $42 including a roll of film.
