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Chroma Camera is a British company that makes modular medium format film cameras and lenses, and their latest release is too cool not to share.
The CubeFF is a tiny little full-frame 35mm pinhole camera that delivers both simplicity and a sort of austere elegance.
Chroma Camera announced the compact device weeks ago but it’s still worth sharing now in case any of you haven’t heard of it yet.
With the CubeFF, Chroma has created a 24×36 pinhole camera with a 0.2-millimeter laser-drilled pinhole plat and a 30mm focal length.
Chroma mentions that photographers can also use an included 18×24 half-frame insert to double the number of shots from a 35mm film canister with this camera.
This insert turns the CubeFF into a half-frame camera, much like Kodak’s Ektar H35N.
These work by letting a photographer obtain two exposures from each frame of a film roll, with each exposure taking up half the frame, side by side. Thus, for a 36-exposure roll, a camera with half-frame capability lets it shoot 72 exposures.
The CubeFF is Chroma’s second pinhole camera after their release of the even smaller Baby Cube.
According to Steve Lloyd of Chroma Camera, in recent comments to the website Kosmo Photo, “My first pinhole camera, the 24×24 Baby Cube, was launched in November 2021 and I’ve built and shipped over 200 since then,”
As you can probably tell, Chroma works in tiny production batches with these cameras, but that doesn’t take away from their quality, and it certainly gives them a certain uniqueness.
Lloyd also mentioned,
“Pretty much since that launch, I’ve had photographers asking me when I would make a full-frame (24×36) format model too, so I’ve taken the opportunity to launch the brand new design CubeFF alongside the Baby Cube.”
The result was the CubeFF, which can shoot in both full-frame format and with the above-described half-frame split exposure method.
As Lloyd elaborates, the camera uses a simple analog spacing design and has an external rotating wheel that lets a user clearly identify both full and half-frame spacing between images.
The camera’s other components are also very simple but effectively designed. The camera’s creator describes them,
“The shutter is a newly designed open/closed rotating magnetic disk, with an easily accessible trigger on the front plate. The CubeFF retains the 49mm magnetic filter ring from the Baby Cube, along with two strong grippy aluminum wind/rewind knobs and an integrated bubble level on the top plate. “
As for the CubeFF’s specs, they’re as simple as you could want. Its compact design offers:
A laser-drilled 0.2mm pinhole
A 30mm focal length
An Equivalent aperture of f/150
Optimization for ISO200/400 film rolls
The CubeFF also features a click-stopped frame reminder along its base and includes a ¼-inch tripod mount too. Its rewind button has a traditional design that any analog photographer should be familiar with and the lens has a built-in 49mm filter.
With the CubeFF, Chroma Camera has built an extremely simple, effective 35mm film camera with a pinhole lens and dead simple shooting controls.
This little camera may not be up to the task of fast-paced modern pro photography, but it could certainly be used to capture some very interesting artistic shots with the right kind of film slotted into it
Chroma Camera is selling its CubeFF and other compact film cameras directly through its website. The CubeFF itself is retailing for $163. Chroma’s older, smaller edition, the BabyCube sells for a slightly cheaper $124 price tag.
Image credit: Chroma Camera
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