The Snapshot and Snapshots

 The Chroma Camera snapshot is a 4x5 camera that was designed to allow photographers to have a lightweight, large format camera that is easy to use on the run.  

Normally a 4x5 camera is a big and cumbersome affair needing dark cloths, loupes, sturdy tripods, a range of lenses, the list goes on and on.

The snapshot does away with much of that and allows a more handheld experience.

Unfortunately things are not as easy as that. I initially bought a 180mm Schneider Kreuznach Symmar lens.  This lens is really heavy and makes the handheld experience something of a trial, not least because it places the lens 180mm from the film plane which makes the camera front heavy and difficult to manage.

I've since replaced the 180mm with a 90mm Schneider Kreuznach Angulon.  The 90mm lens is really light and moves the center of gravity back towards the film plane, therefore making the camera much easier to handle.

The snapshot has a helicoid to which the lens and shutter is attached. If you look at a Holga camera, it too has a helicoid focusing system upon which is marked a single person, two people, a group of people and a mountain.  These represent 1 meter, 2 meters, 6 meters and infinity.

The snapshot helicoid will need to be similarly marked. However this calibration needs to be done by the photographer when the camera is received. 

The calibration is done by mounting the camera on a tripod and focusing on an object 1 meter away using the ground glass. Mark the helicoid. Move the object 2 meters away and repeat, then 6 meters and finally 10 meters.

Once calibrated the helicoid can be set to which ever distance is required and the user will have confidence that the picture being taken will be in focus.

Now the photographer doesn't need the ground glass for focusing and can compose the photo, set the helicoid, set the shutter speed and aperture, cock the shutter and take the photo all handheld and without dark cloths and tripods.

While it's a little bit involved it does mean that the camera is a light and quick in use.  Certainly quick enough for street photography use if the hyperfocal distance is used. 

Note you cannot compare a camera of this sort with a modern 35mm camera. 4x5 is by it's nature slower than 35mm to use.

This is what you can get with a Chroma Camera Snapshot handheld, using zone focusing on the helicoid. A snapshot of a VW van taken while out for a walk on 4x5 Adox CHS 100 II film.