Palm Press
Palm Press is a photographic publisher and 'atelier' in Boston MA,[1][2] and has in the past produced some cameras. The company was established in 1980 by Arlette and Gus Kayafas.[3]
The Palm Press Camera is a viewfinder camera for 2¼x3¼-inch (6x9cm) exposures on roll film, assembled using components from other camera-makers, together with a body made by Palm Press. The body is a rectangular tube of aluminium, attached to the roll-film back of a Mamiya Press camera.[4] The camera is usually seen with a 90mm or 65mm Schneider Angulon, (for a slightly-wide or wide-angle view) on a helical focusing mount. There is a shoe for an optical finder on the top, loops for a strap, and a tripod socket on the bottom. A 6x12cm camera was also made.[3]
The camera falls far short of the functionality that (say) a 2x3 Graflex offers (ground-glass focus; rangefinder focus; camera movements; multiple formats; folding), but it is a compact and straightforward camera for hand-held use.
The availability of 3D printing has allowed more of this sort of camera in recent years: see for example the Mercury (3-D printed) and cameras by Noble Design.
Notes
- ↑ Palm Press
- ↑ There is an unrelated greetings-card company of the same name in California.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Notes to an exhibition, Celebrating Palm Press at Gallery Kayafas.
- ↑ Forum post Palm Press Camera at Photrio. The fifth post includes some photos of the camera. One poster refers to a later camera built on a Graflex body.
Links
- Palm Press Camera at blog Magnorama, with a Rodenstock 35mm Apo-Grandagon mounted, apparently without focusing; it is not stated if this was by the camera-maker or a modification by the owner.
