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Goodman Scura 120

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.

Goodman Scura 120 and Some Fall Foliage

There are a few of aspects to the Goodman Scura 120 pinhole that set it a bit apart from other pinhole cameras on the market, a couple of which are nicely demonstrated in the sample image we have here for you today.

The first is the camera's angle of view. Many medium format pinhole cameras that you will come across these days are of the wider, or super wide, nature. This is a factor of the camera's depth. Cameras like the Zero Image 2000, Reality So Subtle 6x6 or ONDU 6x6 tend to be quite shallow and therefore have really wide fields of view. The Goodman Scura 120 on the other hand is about twice as deep as those aforementioned cameras, in large part due to the design of its curved film plane. This results in a field of view that is much more telephoto.

Another difference with the Goodman Scura 120 is that its images are much softer, much more impressionistic than similar pinhole cameras. Pinhole sharpness is a product of a few factors. There is the size of the pinhole in relation to its distance to the film plane. There is also the quality of the hole itself and how it was made, not to mention the material the hole is made through. Essentially, the thinner the metal the better the quality of image. We don't know which of these reasons contributes to the Goodman's softer image quality, but it definitely gives the camera a different look and is perhaps more loyal to the history of pinhole imagery. You could argue that we have been a bit spoiled by how sharp some modern pinhole cameras are and have forgotten that sharpness isn't everything after all.

So we have this before/after pairing to share with you of a Goodman Scura 120 at work so you can see some of this for yourself.

Wood Inlaid Goodman Scura 120 with Hasselblad 500C

Siblings separated at birth? Distant cousins meeting for the first time? ⁠

⁠We don't exactly know what the relationship between this Hasselblad 500C and Goodman Scura 120 should be, but they definitely seem like they ought to be related.⁠

⁠One tangible tie that binds both of them is the wooden inlay they share from the hands of Dora Goodman. Dora is someone whose work we have long admired from afar. How can you not? She does beautiful things to - and with - cameras. ⁠

⁠When her company recently reached out to us and asked if we would like to be her first North American distributor for the Goodman Zones and Scuras, we jumped at the chance to have some of her cameras in the shop. Of course, we couldn't help but ask for a wood inlay kit for one of our personal Hasselblads (and Pentacon Six, too). ⁠

⁠If you don't already follow @doragoodman on Instagram, we highly recommend you do so now. To learn more about her incredible cameras, visit her website here.

za/sd

Little Scura 120 in a Big World

Little camera, big world. Right?⁠

⁠We recently began carrying the Goodman Scura pinhole cameras - both the 35mm pano and the 6x6 medium format - so, naturally, we had to get some real-world, hands-on experience with the machines ourselves. Since these cameras were visiting for the first time from Budapest, Hungary, we felt it appropriate to introduce them to the wonderful landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.⁠

⁠Here is the Goodman Scura 120 sitting in awe of the Olympic Mountain Range as seen from Hurricane Ridge. Swipe over to see its take on this spot. Once we have another roll or two through these cameras and a bit more familiarity, you can expect a more in-depth review of our thoughts on them. But we will point out one feature of these cameras right now. Unlike most other medium format pinholes that work in the 6x6 format, the Scura 120 is curved plane. This means a reduction in exposure fall off from edge to edge. But it also means a unique distortion caused by the curved film plane. Note the line of the hillside in the foreground. In the first image made with a phone camera you can see the hillside bowing up. In the following image made by the Scura, that horizon line bows down. With curved plane cameras, any horizontal line above center will bow up, while lines below center will curve down. ⁠

⁠PS - If you'd like to get more personally acquainted with one of these pinhole cameras, we have the kits linked in the "For Sale" section in the sidebar menu.