3) Has anyone considered using a machinist to custom make your own accessories for cameras that are not being widely supported like Fotoman...
I figured that as long as the mount that attaches the digital back can be made, then it's a matter of creating the front piece which attaches to whatever camera that's involved...
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Here's my 2 cents:
I've been trying to do this recently, but I can tell you that it may not be so simple. I had a few problems, and here's some of the things that happened:
- I wanted to make my own stitching back, thinking that Kapture Group's stitching back for 4x5 costs waaaay too much for me.
- I took the idea to a machinist to see if I could get a quote for something similar-ish. The quote was good, making it look worth it.
- But the machinist wasn't familliar with structures like this and such fine ones at that, I think, because it required locking mechanisms, etc. in a thin metal plate.
- Eventually he referred me to another machinist, who also had a go at it.
- In the end, a few mangled prototypes came out, and in fairness, I had to pay for the materials, etc.
- It depend on their experience and knowledge. The initial quotation might look good, but if they are not experienced making these kinds of mechanisms, you might end up with false starts and wasted pieces. Some of them usually work from already completed engineering drawings, and I didn't have these, just napkin drawings and a lot of arm waving and gesticulating. I guess this is where my effort went wrong.
- Another interesting barrier was language - the machinists here generally speak Mandarin and Cantonese and I don't!
So the moral of the story? Fotoman and SK Grimes are experienced with this sort of work. Even if they cost more than your local neighbourhood machinist, they might be a better choice. Of course, you might get lucky and find a low cost local machinist who can do the job.
