Watching a YouTube video about a photographer with a medium format instant camera caught my curiosity more than any other project that comes to mind.
After that I had always wanted a Mamiya, but didn’t feel I was ready for it at the time. After doing a bit more research I found Dora Goodman and her 3D printed medium format bodies. I printed one out and ordered the cheapest Mamiya Press lens I could find. While the final build left a little bit to be desired for a first time medium format shooter, I realized the modularity and flexibility of these systems.
Eventually I stumbled upon a great deal on a Mamiya RB67 with a known history. After putting a few dozen rolls of film through it, I started to feel comfortable enough with it to start tinkering.
After attempting to build a few half working Instax Mini backs, I was realizing that achieving anything remotely close to what I was seeing online would be nearly impossible. These things looked borderline threatening on the back of the RB, with exposed wires and batteries. After a few successful shots though, I was hooked.
Wanting to find a cleaner solution I started looking online for what pre-assembled options were available, and wasn’t overly impressed with any. Some looked great but lacked strength, others were functionally solid but lost a lot of the charm that comes with Instax by modify the eject system entirely.
A few weeks later I happened to see that the original Frankinstax creator, David, was no longer interested in producing these and was offering the business for sale. I saw the unique opportunity and began discussions with David, and now I am producing Frankinstax.
Of course Fuji will not make the SQ1 forever, nor do all medium format photographers have RB67’s; I will continue to design and develop new products to bring instant enjoyment to everyone!
