I built something similar and used it for a wedding shoot...
The bride was quite happy with the result, especially after receiving a hefty check from the lawsuit she instigated.
I guess some people just don't appreciate art....

Ari: I've got the book. I watch the videos, but I never knew you were such a mad scientist.

This is absolutely brilliant.

Soon I'm going on a "build your own pinhole camera" trip for 4x5 film and paper, so it's reassuring to me seeing someone I trust venture into alternative processes.

Thank you, my friend.

And Hard Day's Night works.

Best photography video of the year nominee.

This is fantastic. As a learning tool it's great because it really breaks down the components to their absolute basics, and nothing is hidden by abstractions. Well done, Ari!

Ohhhhh goodness .  . .  I am laughing all through this, Ari!    Thank you for this entertainment and finger poke in Pentax's eye!    Reminds me of some business transaction I did back in the '80's with a famous manufacturer of high tech electronics.   They were announcing their latest and greatest spectrum analyzer and we were anxious to acquire.    We asked them what the lead time was going to be and they said the first deliveries were anticipated in 14 months (this at a time when most new designs were delivering in 8 to 12 weeks).     I laughed and said - "you realize that we could create a human being in less time than it is going to take you to build this gadget?"    None of the suppliers' representatives appreciated my humor.    🤪

This is really weird because Im designing a camera very similar but use a shutter mechanism from a mamiya and repurposed bellows from an old land camera I patched up and build a simple rail/sliding focus system. Honestly jaw dropped when you made a gravity based shutter I never thought about that, very fascinating and clever with how this turned out! Good job!

The ‘Ariflex’. Not to be confused by the cheap Arriflex cine camera.

Genius build!

You should definitely put some rubber on the bottom of the shutter so that you can get bounced double exposure!  Great Idea for this weeks video.  Thanks again, mike

Very nice work! Years ago I made a camera not too different from this. One thing I found is that the photos can be super sharp even with a cheap lens as long as you use a small enough aperture and a tripod for steadiness. I still use that camera from time to time, I should probably make a video about it someday. Too bad I didn't document the build with video or photos; that turns out to be harder to do than I thought, and I was excited to just keep building to the end.

That's an incredible video. The shutter sounds just like a french guillotine.

I just love you, that’s all. ❤ Thanks for making me laugh, giving me endless joy and inspiration, and showing me that anything is possible. This video made my day!
Oh, PLEASE shoot some black and white with this camera! The quality may not be up to your standards, but the character is wonderful!

Brilliant and beautiful work Ari!  That gravity shutter and sound remind me of the sound of the curtain shutter on the speed graphic!  And I am sure with a little effort you could make a revolving back to solve the gravity problem and get portrait orientation.  I love the softness of the pics - remind me of zone plate images.   Very inspiring.

I liked the creative approach to camera film and image .
It reminds me of solving a problem 52 years ago I was having trouble getting sharp pictures with an Olympus PEN FT. TRI-X looked like black and white sand.  
I read an article on H&W VTE Pan and tried it. I now had a new problem. NO grain  
at all. So focus became really critical.
The next 8x10 that I turned in to my teacher
was So Sharp she was certain I had used her 8x10 Graflex camera. I later enlarged another photo to 16 x 24 and usinsing a 10x magnifying lense on those prints no grain .
Just sharo super detail or soft out of  focus.

That was both ingenious and hilarious at the same time. I don't know if I will order one now or wait for the Pentax, but anyway, I love the character of the photos, cheers from Istanbul.

Now that's a fantastic project. And that shutter sound, wow

One of the best gear related videos. The shutter idea is awesome and the pictures are so cool. Super creative 👍👍👍

First of all, thank you Ari for another inspiring and entertaining video! No joke, I am thinking if I can replicate this on my own, with few mods attached, ah, reinventing the wheel. But I don't see any pictures from the new camera on your Instagram, I'm sure such marketing savvy person as yourself would not miss the opportunity for further promotion for this new product ;)

You sold me on the fact that it floats! And I was impressed that you used color film!

Loved this, and I think the images turned out well. They have a mysterious, painterly quality about them.

Best video I’ve seen in awhile. I’ll be painting all my cameras black this weekend.