Typically when we talk about automation with regard to photography in the modern sense, we are usually discussing something electronic or app-based.
That doesn’t mean that machines don’t have a role to play although it’s typically on a larger scale than many people at home are capable of maintaining, particularly when it comes to film processing.
Even so, there are a lot of practitioners out there that love to develop their own film and may even enjoy having a little bit of automated assistance while doing it.
Such is the inspiration behind Reveni Labs’ Dunkbot.
Reveni Labs’ Dunkbot is capable of processing three 35mm film rolls, two 120 rolls, and a maximum of six sheets of 4 x 5 medium format film, PetaPixel reports.
In what almost seems like a throwback at this point, the company is seeking funding for this project on Kickstarter with a total goal of $USD 300,000. The Dunkbot will join the company’s other product, the Spot Meter, if the Kickstarter campaign is successful.
One of the major inspirations behind the product is the rising interest in film photography. Noting that many processing centers went out of business with the advent of the digital camera revolution, and those that remain being somewhat expensive, the Dunkbot hopes to close the gap for at-home practitioners.
Naturally, photographers will have to supply their own chemicals and agents, as well as a dark environment within which the machine can work. Aside from that, the machine will monitor processing times, temperatures, agitation cycles, and more, the company claims.
Currently, the robot can only be purchased via Kickstarter with a $700 self-assembly version in a $900 assembled version on offer from Reveni Labs. The Kickstarter campaign has a target date of September 2023 for shipments to begin.
If you would like to learn more about the Dunkbot, you can check out its Kickstarter page at this link.
Any thoughts that you might have on the Dunkbot are welcome in the comments section below.
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