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Dave, I am also shocked at some of the prices for new cameras. I always thought that maybe they only sell one or two a year? ;-)
But to be practical, the bellows is the killer. A new replacement can easily run $350 or more (okay, that's 8x10).
I would have to say that if I built a wood field camera, I doubt I would be willing to sell it for less than $1000. Start with a $350 bellows. Add cost of brass, good wood, screws, washers, custom inserts (tripod, etc.). Do all that machining. Do all that fine finishing. Add the costs of labor. $1000 may not be enough?
But if someone has the resouces of wholesale materials and a CNC machine, then I could see, well, a $1000 camera... There does have to be some profit involved in there or why bother?
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Rich,
Just looking at it from the 4x5 standpoint right now, and you would be amazed at how low the material costs are, once I was set up, I could bring a 4x5 to market for a very reasonable cost, and I have 90% of the tools right now to do it...bellows are not that hard to make, I have done quite a few of them, in fact I have now taught my wife the process and she is better at it, then I am, she can do a complete bellows in a very short time, they can become expensive, depending on the material you use, but even with using cordovan leather, I can do them quite inexpensivly..
Just some thoughts, send me a note and I can eleaborate a bit more.
Dave
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Well, I admit that I look at this from a one-off project with a huge amount of fine handy work, and buying a bellows.
I suppose you could outsource all the metal work and save a bundle if bought in bulk. I was amazed at what my company could buy things for (machined metal parts). If you then made your own bellows, you could save a lot, but I have no idea how much time would be involved? And then there's all that wood finishing, something I've always hated. It's just so easy to leave a scratch in the wrong place, or make a new one... I love woodworking but always hated the fine finishing...
So, we have some pople who want to make new cameras. Dave has plans and know-how. I have, ummm, well... interest? ;-) When do we start production?
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