With getting a 3D printer, the idea of a grip for my ARAX was always in my mind. Finally I started the project which turned to be out more difficult than expected because of my rookie skills in CAD, the small tolerances and the required stability of the grip. In addition the shape of the camera is not so rectangular as it looks.
But after several weeks and a lot of trial prints later I did it. The ARAX grip came alive. After covering the grip surface with a leatherette, it even did not look anymore like a home made 3D printed prototype.
Due to the grip I can't use the strap anymore since one of the strap lugs are covered and used for the stability of the grip. However, since it happened more than one time that the strap became loose and I almost dropped the camera, this wasn't a showstopper for me.
Especially with bigger lenses, the camera sits so much better in my hand now. As already mentioned in an earlier article, the ARAX provides everything you need to do medium format photography. Especially the access to so many nice Pentacon and Schneider lenses makes the ARAX with the Pentacon lens mount so attractive. My all time favorite lens is the Zeiss Jena Sonnar 2.8/180. Compared to other lenses, you get a lot of glass and look for very small money.
The stl file for the 3D print of the ARAX grip is free available on Thingiverse.
