Although purely a model-making exercise from the annals of Ridhima Saini’s portfolio, this Sony Alpha 7R looks so gorgeous I wish it were real. Somewhere down the road, man ditched wooden ‘camera obscuras’ for metal and then molded plastic. In doing so, we lost the charm of hand-made cameras, their craftsmanship, and just the fact that each camera felt more precious rather than factory-made.
Saini’s version of the Sony Alpha 7R brings back that warmth to modern-age mirrorless cameras. The model, made entirely out of wood-block and MDF, has a beautiful appeal that ditches the camera body’s splatter-texture for something more unique, like a wood-grain fingerprint that is about as unique as the photos you click with this camera.
Designer:
“A hand crafted wooden scale model of the Sony Alpha 7R, built to exact proportions. The process began with detailed technical drawings and dimensioning based on the original camera,” says Saini. “Careful material selection played a key role, wood formed the core structure, while metal and acrylic were used to highlight the other key elements and features. The model was shaped through a combination of technical drawings, material selection, machining and hands-on work capturing the essence of the original form and feel.”
“22 identical MDF shapes were laser cut for the grip. These were arranged to create an inward curve towards the upper end. The inward curve was achieved by shifting individual pieces slightly forward and backward during assembly,” Saini describes. “A movable dial was installed within the grip. The dial was made by splitting one MDF grip part and attaching a 3mm aluminium rod as the rotational axis. Grooves on the dial’s edges were created using a diamond file for better texture and grip.”
This is a common exercise within the industrial design circuit, to give students an understanding of material, form, and proportions. I myself made a Braun beard-trimmer back in the day… but what really caught my eye about Saini’s reinterpretation is that she chose deliberately to not paint the wood over with appropriate colors. Instead, she kept the model entirely raw and wooden, albeit with a few details like spray-painted knurled knobs on the top, and laser-etched branding on the front and back.
The result is a camera that looks and feels just slightly different enough to completely change its personality. From a cold, clinical, black box of imaging and intrigue, it goes to something with heirloom value. It looks warm, approachable, and genuinely interesting, with how the wood grain wraps around the body of the camera.
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