One of the most interesting developments in the world of photography over the past decade is the increasingly innovative use of 3D printing.  A great example of this is the work done by the Hungarian company of Dora Goodman.  The Scura 120 pinhole camera is one of a handful of 3D printed cameras that she has designed and built.

The Scura 120 is the bigger sibling to the Scura 35 - both cameras share many similarities but also have quite a few differences from other pinhole cameras currently on the market.  Perhaps the largest difference with the Scura 120 is that it comes as a DIY kit that you are meant to assemble yourself, as opposed to the pre-assembled works done by companies like Zero Image, Reality So Subtle, and ONDU.  Overall, the Scura 120 takes just under an hour to put together.  The camera strikes an excellent balance of being a fun, small project without being a pain to complete.  Goodman also includes a wood inlay kit that you can glue on, once your Scura is all put together, and this finish really asserts the cameras unique aesthetic.

Another key difference with the Scura 120 is that it may be the only 6x6, medium format, curved-plane pinhole camera out there.  Yes, there are other curved-plane pinholes on the market, but they are typically reserved for panoramic formats.  The Scura 120 brings all the benefits and quirks of curved planes to your square 6x6cm photography.  One downside to the more common flat-planed pinholes, especially wide-angle cameras with really narrow focal distances between the pinhole and film, is that you get heavy exposure fall-off at the edges of your frame.  This results in noticeable darkening at the corners and sides.  A curved-plane camera attempts to keep an equidistance between film and pinhole from edge to edge, thereby giving you an even exposure.  However, curving your film plane does come with its own tradeoffs; mainly distortion.  Specifically, any horizontal lines out of center will bow and bend as rendered by that curved film plane.  A horizontal line above center bows up and a horizontal below center bows down.  Tilting the camera forward or back can further exaggerate this effect.  It is certainly exciting and interesting to see this characteristic offered in a 6x6 pinhole camera.

Outside of those two features, the Scura 120 has a nifty magnetic shutter that is both easy to use and doesn't tend to open on its own or by accident.  We see this as a real plus.  We have lost more than one frame to a pinhole with an accidentally opened shutter.  Film advance is done by the typical red window in the back of the camera.  The Scura 120 has dual film advance knobs that allow the film to either be advanced or rewound.  Dora Goodman also has her own camera app available for download that provides a digital viewfinder for composition, as the camera itself lacks any visible sight lines and the viewfinder accessory atop the camera is only mildly helpful.

One last point to note, due to the extra depth required by the curved film plane, the Scura 120 is not a terribly wide angle camera.  It has a field of view more akin to a 35mm-50mm lens, unlike the extreme wide angle fields of view offered by Zero Image or Reality So Subtle.  This gives the Scura 120 a bit more variety.  We thoroughly enjoyed carrying this camera alongside our wider Zero Image; it was similar to the flexibility that having multiple lenses for your 35mm SLR gives you.