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Jollylook Auto - The Modern Vintage Instant Film Camera!

Created by Jollylook

Combining a classic design with environmentally friendly materials, a manual development mechanism, automatic shutter, and a flash.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Launched Jollylook Eye: The Digital to Analog Instant Photo Printer!
5 months ago – Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 05:09:51 AM

Hello, Beautiful People of The Jollylook Community!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Jollylook Eye: The Digital to Analog Instant Photo Printer!

Jollylook EYE turns digital snaps into instant photos. Think of it as a little time machine for your smartphone photos!😄

Don't miss the Super-Early Bird prices of just $49, available only for the first 48 hours!

 Until we meet again,

The Jollylook Team.

Step by Step, Getting Closer to Our Goal!
6 months ago – Mon, Oct 30, 2023 at 11:46:42 AM

Hello to All the Beautiful People of our Big Jollylook Community!

First, we express our deepest gratitude for your continued support and faith in Jollylook. Your backing means the world to us.

We apologize for the long pause before posting an update. We want you to know that our team is working hard, and we're not giving up. Moving to a new country has made things a bit tough, but we are doing our best to get back on track.

Now, let's talk about what's been happening with the Jollylook Auto project:

Launching the Jollylook Pinhole SQUARE Instant Film Camera DIY Kit campaign helped us speed up our progress on the SQUARE Film Development units.

When we got the first batch of SQUARE Development Units, we noticed some minor issues with the roller seats and the way the photos were developing. Our main task at the moment is to fix these issues in the mold with the manufacturer. 

We are changing the dimensions and optimizing the design, and we expect to receive new samples from China in about a month.

We have also received and tested the rollers for the SQUARE Development Units. They work great, so we have already ordered the whole batch and expect to receive them in December.

Here is a closer look to how the SQUARE development units get assembled:

In our previous update, we mentioned awaiting the bellows for the SQUARE format from our partners in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Well, the good news is that we've received the first 500 units! We've already tested them and started assembling them. They look fantastic and fit perfectly.

We have now ordered 3000 more and they should be ready within a month too.

 We have received all the necessary metal parts: hooks, springs, and golden screws.

We are reaching the final stage. All that remains is to finalize firmware, which our engineers are now actively working on. Once everything is finalized, we will immediately place the order for the electronics and then be able to start final assembly and shipping. Manufacturing the final electronic part will take about one and a half to two months to complete.

Here are some results of the latest tests with Jollylook Auto SQUARE. 

These are double and triple exposures taken in manual mode: 

We continue working and solving challenges and obstacles and can't wait to ship the Jollylook Auto cameras to you, our beautiful backers.

To speed things up and be able to move faster, we are planning to launch a campaign for a simple product that we can manufacture easily. At the same time, we are waiting for the electronics. Next month, we plan to launch a campaign for Jollylook EYE -THE Digital to Analog Instant Photo Printer.  

Launching the new campaign will allow us to speed up the manufacturing,  as we plan to use a portion of the funds raised for the Jollylook Auto project. We already have all the necessary equipment and parts to manufacture the Jollylook EYE printer.

Jollylook EYE

We can't thank you enough for your support and patience throughout this project, and we are not asking you for any additional support, all we are asking for is a little more patience on our journey together. Rest assured that our goal is to bring this project to fruition as soon as possible.

Jollylook Auto Estimated Timeline:

We anticipate having the first Jollylook Auto cameras ready for shipment by February.

We are showing the process of assembly and production as it is. Step by step, persistently towards the goal, and never stopping.

Your tremendous support during these challenging times has been the lifeblood of this project, and we can't thank you enough.

We remain optimistic about the future of Jollylook and continue to do our best to succeed, no matter what.

We're eagerly looking forward to delivering your unique cameras!

Without you, this project would not be possible, and because of you, it will succeed.

Peace to all.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

The Jollylook team.

Work is in Full Swing: Testing Electronics, Ordering Final Parts, Sharing Progress!
9 months ago – Thu, Aug 03, 2023 at 05:46:48 AM

Hello to All the Beautiful People of our Big Jollylook Community!

It is a lovely day for a new update, and we hope it finds you in good health and high spirits.

In good old fashion, firstly, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for your continued support and faith in Jollylook. Your backing means the world to us.

Now, let's get straight into the latest developments for the Jollylook Auto project:

Electronics: We are actively testing the electronics and working on optimising the firmware.

There were inaccuracies in the movement of the control levers in the plastic housing for the electronics. So we had to find the cause and correct the mold twice. 

But now, to our delight, we have received the final samples and everything works perfectly. 

Also, we finally got the samples of the batteries that were delaid, because the postal service had previously returned them to the manufacturer.

These batteries work well and full charge can do up to 50 flashes.

Samples of the Batteries

Camera Body Production: Since we have done some miner changes to the plastic and metal, we will start cutting the bodies as soon as we confirm the final version. Cutting all the 3000 bodies of the Kickstarter batch will take about one month.

We are so pleased with the way the camera looks, so here is a photo of a recent sample of the Jollylook Auto Square with the new rail system.

Sample of the Jollylook Auto Square with the New Rail System

SQUARE developer: As we mentioned before, the launch of the project - The Jollylook Square Format Instant Pinhole Camera Kit - gave us the opportunity to speed up the production of the SQUARE format development unit. 

We have ordered the molds for it from China and expected to receive the platsic parts from them in the beginning of July. Now, all the molds are ready and we have already received 10 pre-production samples of the SQUARE developer plastic parts, they are all very good quality and fit perfectly.

SQUARE format development units

The SQUARE Fresnel lens for the viewfinder has already arrived in Slovakia this week.

The SQUARE Fresnel lens

Also, in the last shipment from China, a parcel of metal handles with gears went missing. We found out about this when only half of the order arrived. After a long search and investigation, the lost box was found and the rest of the order finally arrived in Slovakia last week.

We are expecting:

The rollers for the Jollylook Mini film development units are ready and on their way to Slovakia, and for the Jollylook SQUARE film development units we have ordered the first small test batch.

We expect to receive them by 10th August and will show you some photos and results in the next update.

The rollers for the film development units on their way to Slovakia

We have already ordered all the necessary metal parts: hooks, springs and other parts are ordered and paid for the whole batch.

Metals Parts from China

The mold for the SQUARE bellows production was made for us by our partners in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The first test batch of SQUARE and Mini Bellows have already been sent to Slovakia, we expect to receive these samples next week and of course, we will show you some photos and results in the next update.

Estimated Timeline:

We anticipate having the first Jollylook Auto cameras ready for shipment by November. 

We are showing the process of assembly and production as it is. Step by step, persistently towards the goal and never stopping. 

Your tremendous support during these challenging times has been the lifeblood of this project, and we can't thank you enough.

We remain optimistic about the future of Jollylook and continue to do our best to succeed, no matter what.

We're eagerly looking forward to delivering your unique cameras!

Without you, this project would not be possible, and because of you, it will succeed.

Peace to all.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

The Jollylook team.

The Progress , SQUARE and The Next Steps!
10 months ago – Wed, Jun 21, 2023 at 10:45:52 AM

Hello to All the Beautiful People of our Big Jollylook Community!

We hope this update finds you in excellent health and high spirits.

We're here with another update, and as always, firstly, we want to express our immense gratitude for your continued support and faith in Jollylook. Your backing means the world to us.

Now let's get straight into the latest developments for the Jollylook Auto project:

Parts from China: Many parts have already arrived in Slovakia this week. 

Shipment from China
Material for the bellows
All the metal parts, screws, and magnets for the electronics.
Plastic parts, rollers for SQUARE format, and finalized electronics samples.

Electronics: The final samples of the electronics arrived, and we are doing the final tests before we place an order for the whole batch. These tests should not take more than two-three weeks, and hopefully, we will be ordering the whole batch soon.

Electronics in case

Camera Body Production: We are currently set to begin the cutting and assembly process for the camera bodies in July. 

SQUARE developer: As mentioned in our previous update, we have launched a small project - The Jollylook Square Format Instant Pinhole Camera Kit

This has helped us move faster with the manufacturing of the SQUARE format development unit, which will be used in the Pinhole SQUARE and the AUTO SQUARE.

The molds for the SQUARE development unit were ordered as soon as the pinhole campaign was funded, and today they are ready in China:

SQUARE development unit mold

 The sample parts from these molds are on the way to us, and we expect to receive them at the beginning of July.

Parts from the mold

We have also received and tested the samples of the rollers for the developing unit, they are the right size and quality, and we have placed the order with the manufacturer.

As well as the SQUARE Fresnel lens viewfinder.

Revised Timeline: We anticipate having the first Jollylook Auto cameras ready for shipment by September. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to survive and produce the best possible product for you.

Your tremendous support during these challenging times has been the lifeblood of this project, and we can't thank you enough.

We're grateful for our journey so far, and we're excited about the path that lies ahead. We remain optimistic about the future of Jollylook and continue to do our best to succeed, no matter what.

We're eagerly looking forward to delivering your unique cameras!

Without you, this project would not be possible, and because of you, it will succeed.

Peace to all.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

The Jollylook team.

SQUARE FILM DEVELOPER

Major Milestones Achieved and On Track for August Shipment!
12 months ago – Wed, May 10, 2023 at 11:07:59 AM

Hello, Wonderful Jollylook Community!

We hope this update finds you in excellent health and high spirits. 

We're here with another update, and as always, firstly, we want to express our immense gratitude for your continued support and faith in Jollylook. Your backing means the world to us. 

However, we've noticed that some individuals seem to misunderstand our circumstances, voicing their dissatisfaction with the significant shipment delays. Reading some of these comments can be disheartening, and we believe there's a crucial aspect that needs to be clarified.

  • Remember, Kickstarter isn't a store; it's a platform for backers to support ideas they believe in, helping them become realities. Often, these concepts face numerous challenges and might even not always succeed. But what's important to emphasize is our unwavering commitment: we have never and will never give up.
  • We're not a big company. We're a small team from Ukraine who has faced and overcome numerous obstacles. Over the past two years, we have weathered the storm of COVID-induced shutdowns, particularly affecting our Chinese manufacturing partners. We've also endured the strain of war in our home country, with our hometown being invaded by russian forces, leading to our team being scattered across Europe. Then rebuilding our operations from the ground up in a foreign country without fluency in the local language was no small feat. We had to reinvest in essential equipment that we previously possessed and bring new staff on board. Yet, we persisted. 
  • Instead of giving up many times throughout this journey, we have always found ways to continue and eventually be able to deliver what we have promised.
May 2022
May 2023

Now back to the current situation and plan:

Firstly, we're delighted to announce that all Jollylook Pinhole DIY kits have been shipped and delivered!

The experience of bringing the Pinhole DIY kits to life has been an incredible learning journey for our team. Not only has it provided us with valuable insights into the complexities of production and fulfillment in a new country and from scratch, but it's also given us a clear understanding of the challenges we may encounter as we work towards making the Jollylook Auto a reality.

We're applying these learnings to streamline our processes better, ensuring the Jollylook Auto is even better than planned.

As many of you are aware, we've taken on the ambitious endeavor of building everything from scratch in a new land - Slovakia. This journey, while exciting, has required a lot of hard work, more time, and financial resources than we initially estimated. Nevertheless, we are pleased to inform you that, through overcoming these challenges, we have found success.

To expedite the delivery of the Jollylook Auto, we have devised a strategy that will also help us manage our resources more efficiently. We plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the Pinhole Square DIY kit. This move will not only save on the costs of the square developer molds but will also enable us to deliver the Jollylook Auto Square to our backers in a more timely manner.

As we mentioned in our previous update, we're excited to announce the launch of our next project - The Jollylook Square Format Instant Pinhole Camera Kit! We plan to launch this campaign in the second half of May. If that is something you might be interested in, please follow this link and click "notify me on launch." 

We're committed to making the most of your support and are relentlessly working towards making the Jollylook Auto a reality.

Now let's get straight into the latest developments and the revised timeline for the Jollylook Auto project:

Parts from China: All the metal parts, along with the material for the bellows, screws, and magnets for the electronics, are already on their way to Slovakia.

Camera Body Production: We are set to begin the cutting and assembly process for the camera bodies in June. Our high-quality materials, combined with the precision of the laser-cutting machines we have now, give us confidence that we'll produce camera bodies that exceed our initial expectations.

Electronics: We anticipate the arrival of the electronics test batch by the end of May. If the final tests proceed smoothly, we'll place an order for the whole batch and will immediately commence assembling the initial batch of Jollylook Auto cameras. Throughout this process, we will be fine-tuning the assembly line to ensure that we deliver a top-quality product to each of our backers.

Revised Timeline: In light of the challenges we've faced while establishing our new location and team, we now anticipate having the first Jollylook Auto cameras ready for shipment by August. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to survive and produce the best possible product for you.

While we're doing our best to stick to this timeline, please remember that it's an estimate and may change. We promise to keep you posted on any changes or potential delays.

For those who chose to switch their rewards to the Jollylook Pinhole DIY kit, we hope you're enjoying your new cameras. If you still wish to switch, kindly fill out the survey here.

We're grateful for our journey so far, and we're excited about the path that lies ahead. We remain optimistic about the future of Jollylook Auto.

Your steadfast support has been the lifeblood of this project, and we can't thank you enough.

We're eagerly looking forward to delivering your unique cameras!

Without you, this project would not be possible, and because of you, it will succeed.

Peace to all. 

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

The Jollylook team.