If you’re a fan of Buster Keaton’s 1928 silent film The Cameraman, and are intrigued by his portrayal of a street photographer who processes his own film, then you might want to check out the Alfie BOXX camera currently on Kickstarter.
The BOXX, a retro-inspired handcrafted wooden camera, combines the spirit of slow methodical 19th-century photography and 21st-century accessibility with an in-camera process that enables black and white 6 x 9-cm (2.36 x 3.54-in) prints to be developed entirely inside the camera body while out in the field.
Created by British product designer Dave Faulkner, whose Alfie Tych half-frame camera we previously covered, the BOXX is described by Faulkner as being able to “go from photo composition to printmaking,” and to put a “complete analogue experience in the palm of your hand.”
Alfie Cameras
When fitted with a 100-mm lens, the device measures 139 x 98 x 118 mm (5.47 x 3.86 x 4.65 in). It’s constructed of stained and lacquered hardwood with brass attachments and a sprung back mechanism with a traditional ground glass viewing screen.
An interchangeable modular lens system allows for a range of three types of lenses that fit the 75-mm square lens board, which include:
- Wollaston – a 100-mm f/8-f/32 portrait lens with 1-meter to infinity manual focus based on an 1812 design by William Hyde Wollaston
- Steinheil Periscopic – a 55-mm f/16 wide-angle lens based an 1865 Steinheil of Germany design that was popular in folding cameras that is manually adjustable from 50 cm to infinity
- Pinhole – a 65-mm f/190 pinhole lens with a magnetic shutter and preview aperture for that experimental soft focus camera obscura effect
There are also standard sized 1/4-inch tripod mounts on the side and bottom of the BOXX camera, allowing the user to shoot in portrait or landscape format if desired.
Alfie Cameras
Exposure is done manually by way of the lens cap for the 55-mm and 100-mm lenses (as there is no shutter) to enable an accurate distance for focussing, just like how the early photo pioneers did.
Once the composition is ready for capture, users attach the magnetic Pocket Darkroom film holder onto the BOXX to expose the image directly onto the black and white photo paper and then develop the prints with a four-step black and white reversal process that uses about 10 ml of chemicals to create positive 6 x 9-cm prints without the need of a darkroom.
To ease the novice mind, an in-depth guide book with videos is available with all the steps needed to achieve the best results for those inexperienced with darkroom processing.
Alfie Cameras
Included with each BOXX camera reward is a 25-pack of pre-cut photo paper and a four-pack of 10-ml labeled syringes to hold the photo chemicals. The Adox Black and White Reversal Kits for film development have adapted instructions for use with photographic paper and are an add-on purchase, though other brands are compatible according to Faulkner.
Additional paper packs can be ordered after Kickstarter fulfillment, but you can cut down your own large sheets of photographic paper to fit the holder.
The Alfie BOXX camera with included pinhole lens goes for a pledge of £176 (about US$237).
Manufacturing is planned for summer 2026 (Northern Hemisphere) with expected delivery this fall if Kickstarter funding goals are achieved.
Source: Kickstarter