Dec 10, 2015 | By Benedict
For those not yet in the know, the Olympus Air OPC (Open Platform Camera) constitutes something of a photography revolution. The hackable piece of kit has been designed to integrate with smartphones, giving casual photographers access to lenses of an infinitely higher quality than those of a standard smartphone camera.
To get creators stuck into the OPC, Olympus has provided two special camera kits: one for developers to create custom software for the camera, and one for creators to build physical accessories for the camera such as bodies and mounts. The photography company has named this open call to designers the “OPC Hack & Make Project”, and the project has already caught the eye of many a maker. 3D printing platform Rinkak Services is one company to have snapped up the opportunity to jump into the developing room, and has teamed up with FEEL GOOD CREATION, its CMF (Color, Material, Finish) partner, to develop its own range of 3D printed Olympus OPC accessories.
The “Great Rinkak CMF x 3D Prints Experiment” has resulted in the production of several 3D printed bodies and smartphone adapters for the open source camera. The acrylic and nylon 3D printed parts have each been given an eye-catching finish, with the company more than justifying their use of the term “experiment” with some unusual finishing techniques. Inspired by the outlandish “Steampunk” trend, which combines 19th century aesthetics with technology, the 3D printing platform employed a unique painting and aging process to give some of its camera grip parts a retro-futuristic style. Other accessories received a flocking finish to provide a skin-like feel, whilst others were treated with resin to create an elasticated surface. Each of these innovative techniques contributed to a highly photogenic range of 3D printed accessories for the OPC.
Rinkak’s 3D printed creations represent an inspiriting contribution to the Hack & Make Project, but the 3D printing platform also hopes to catch the eye of those outside of the photography community. The OPC project provided a platform for Rinkak to showcase their prototyping skills, which enable clients to experiment with customized products on a small scale, before taking the prototypes to mass production.
The open platform Olympus Air A01, able to shoot pictures at 16MP, can be connected to devices via WiFi and Bluetooth. Just like a regular digital SLR, the camera’s lenses are interchangeable, allowing photographers to shoot perfect portraits and landscapes that would be impossible to reproduce on a standard smartphone camera. The camera seems to offer the best of both worlds to photographers: total connectivity for easy social media sharing, with high quality lenses for a professional quality of image.
Makers can get stuck into the hardware or software kits at the OPC Hack & Make Project website.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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this will awesome camera for drones! I want one, could totally see one of these slung in a 3-axis gimbel.
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