Chroma Cameras was originally launched in 2018 via a very successful Kickstarter campaign, following two years of design and development by Steve Lloyd, has launched its latest product: a modular, customizable camera system for 120mm film called the 679 System.

“The Chroma 679 is a brand new, modular, medium format camera system,” Lloyd told to Kosmo Foto. “Like my other Chroma cameras, it’s been designed around the idea of flexibility and ‘uniqueness’, along with being an affordable, and enjoyable, way to combine existing lenses and film holders.”

Following previous field camera designs, the Chroma Camera 679 system will allow you to build your own camera to fit your specific needs. For the 679 system, there are four standard components:

• Removable acrylic lens board, with integrated metal helicoid for smooth focusing.
• Thread aluminium lens board, to allow for lenses to be easily switched in the field.
• Printed mid-body, available in any depth to suit the lens required, with integrated dual cold shoes on the top plate, and mounting points on both sides for optional accessories.
• Printed film body, available in four different mounts: Kiev-88, Hasselblad, Mamiya RB, and Mamiya Press, along with a ground-glass version for critical composition/focusing. More mounts are currently in the works.

These standard components connect using a physical interlock and four ‘very strong neodymium rare-earth magnets’ in each section. Additional accessories can also be attached using integrated mounting points on each side of the mid-body. Photographers can purchase an additional cold shoe plate and a basic tripod mount to add to their 679 camera system. Further, there’s an available full grip with an integrated tripod thread, internal storage for a roll of 120 film, and a passthrough mount for a cable release. The grip is available in black and wooden printed materials for either left- or right-handed photographers.

Lloyd told Kosmo Foto that while modular medium format cameras have been made by various manufacturers over the last sixty years, as far as he could tell none of them offered true flexibility of mounting multiple film backs from different manufacturers to the same camera system. Additionally, he believes that because the backs can be swapped quickly, photographers will find that switching between, for example, a 6×6 black and white back, a 6×7 color negative back, and a 6×9 slide film back interchangeably throughout the day makes his system extremely compelling.

The 679 system and its components can be ordered at $45 for the front plate, the lens board is £25 (pinhole is £30), the mid-body component is £40, and the film back is £40. A ground-glass back is also available for £30. Optional components range in price from £15 to £45.

More info on Chroma Cameras’ website.