Goodman Zone Z1

 Modern technology has been a huge boost for the film photography community. All manner of 3D printed accessories, lens caps, helical lens adapters, handles and grips for the many existing cameras currently in circulation has been a welcome addition and you can even print a camera if you wish. I freely admit that 3D printed cameras have intrigued me for a while. There are several on the market, mostly pinhole and large format 4x5 and 8x10, but there is one manufacturer that has been making strides into medium format, Dora Goodman Cameras.

Based in Budapest Hungary, Dora Goodman and her team have been busy designing, printing, building and selling 3D printed cameras and handcrafted accessories since 2016. Dora began making wood veneers and leather camera straps before embarking on designing and manufacturing 3D printed medium format and pinhole cameras and accessories.

A recent giveaway in conjunction with Peta Pixel had a Goodman Zone Z1 medium format camera as first prize and I decided to give it a shot. Lo and behold a few weeks later Dora sent me an email telling me I had won! I had to wait a few weeks as the christmas season meant Dora and the team were very busy, which I didn't mind. Dora has a great reputation for looking after her customers and was busy making sure everyone who bought items for christmas got theirs delivered in time. It was the first week in February when I finally received my Goodman Zone Z1 and it was well worth the wait.

First impressions always last and on unwrapping my new Goodman Zone Z1 I was blown away by the quality. We somehow expect 3D printed items to be a little rustic, but that's not the case with this camera. The 3D printed parts do indeed show the layers that the printer built up over 17 hours, but you can see the attention to detail that Dora Goodman Cameras has put into making this camera look good. Each part is meticulously fitted together with quality fasteners and the inside of the main box is painted matt black to stop light bouncing around and causing light streaks on your film.

The crowning glory of this camera is the lens, a Schneider-Kreuznach Super Angulon 90mm f8 with a Synchro-Compur Copal #0 shutter. This lens is highly regarded in the large format community and really stands out from the front of the camera in all its glory. The camera came ready built with a box of accessories I could fit and all the necessary fasteners and tools for the job. Dora Goodman Cameras have a series of tutorial videos on their you tube channel explaining how to build the camera at home yourself if you feel brave enough to give it a try. I fitted the strap bracket, the handle that also holds the cable release and the front sight.

My camera came with the MAG 66 film magazine that I must admit was a bit fiddly to load. I have limited use of my left hand courtesy of ill health and it took me a little while to get a roll of Foma Retropan loaded up and ready to go. I also found the light seals are top quality. I don't expect to have any light leaks, but the proof is in the shooting. I bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro S back for it as the camera is designed to use it. Ths should stop my ham-fisted fiddling about whilst loading.

I sourced one on ebay for a reasonable price. When it arrived I only had to lock it in place with the two screws on the top of the camera body so I now have choices when out and about. I also bought a Goodman Focusing Screen to help me get that all importnt focus bang on and really get the benefit of that Schneider lens. It is possible to use zone focus, but that's a skill I am not confident of using with this camera just yet. I still have much to learn but overall I am very impressed with my Goodman Zone Z1, it's a very well designed and built medium format camera that uses items readily available on the used market. in a world where we are encouraged to reuse, recycle and be more ecologically friendly, that's an eco win for me.

How does it perform in the field? That is a blog for another day, in the meantime say hello to my l'il friend. I am going to have a lot of fun with it. For more info about Dora Goodman Cameras please visit doragoodman.com where you can see their range of cameras and maybe be inspired to build one yourself from their open source files.