Amazing! This guy turned a Konica S3 into a digital rangefinder.

The Zeiss Ikon could accommodate the Dalsa 24Mp Sensor [52.7 x 40 x 4mm...or 1.79mm after cover glass/bezel removed]...without any surgery. The ZI's film channel is 44mm wide.

ZI's hinged back opens wide [@125mm wide] for fitting a digital back/battery/SD-slot...after removing the take-up spool and film winder drive. I expect a battery would last since shutter cocking is manual.

I always consider the ZI's VF superior to Leica M-anything.

I would be comfortable rating the Dalsa monochrome sensor at ISO 200 to start...or at ISO 800 taking advantage of the sensor sensitivity-depth at the underexposure side.
 
This is how I would modify the camera guide rails so that it could still be reverted into film mode...

And if you look at the M back door carefully, you will realize the pressure plate is almost exactly the same size as the Dalsa 24Mp sensor.

With the Zeiss Ikon or M-cameras, the clearance is there. grinding off a 53mm segment of the outer guide rail is easy enough...didn't even need to be too precise.
 

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Well. I follow this thread somewhat (I'm an old electronic engineer turned statistician/biologist) and my hopes remain high. I should say now that whether its an M2/3/whatever or a Zeiss Ikon, people will be *thrilled*!!! with the outcome. Just need to keep our perspective. BTW, I made my kickstarter contribution, have you???? Let's try or die.

As my 18-year old son (just off to college) would say, "jus keepin it real, man"
 
I take that back. No contribution after all. I didn't realize I HAVE to be signed up with Facebook to contribute. Absolutely ludricous!!! Believe it or not, I'm not allowed to be a Facebook (or any social media) participant. Partly my cloak-n-dagger employment (don't ask, it wouldn't be as glamorous as you're thinking), partly my own decision. Bummer and a half!!!

Oliver, if you read these, contact me for more direct support.

Still invoke my kid's sentiments 🙂
 
OliverBaker said:
Hi,
Thanks for the encouragement, I created a kickstarter at

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1807005251/frankencamera-ii
Click to expand...

Hey Oliver, great work you are doing there.

I have a technical question. Does the camera work without the buttons and the LCD being connected? I know it is not easy to know but you might have tried snapping a picture without the LCD.
Also do you think there is a way of making the connections so when disconnecting the motor it doesn't give you an error?

Including just the sensor, the board and the battery + the shutter connections would make a much easier setup to work with don't you agree?

One last thing: How did you make the camera turn on exactly?

Thanks
 
This is amazing, I'll be contributing to the kickstarter this afternoon though I'm glad to see it's already past it's goal.

One question: should all go well, would it be possible for this same M module to be fitted into a Barnack?

Also I've noticed Sony came out with a QX1, an APSC clamp on smartphone camera with virtually no physical controls (just a shutter button I think) and full wifi/NFC capabilities for smartphone control. It's also tiny, perhaps it could make a suitable donor for this kind of project since ISO/calibration/chimping could be taken care of outside of the camera itself.
 
88 backers: £4,540 pledged of £3,000 goal; 30 days to go.


Update for Oct 3:

91 backers: £5,020 pledged of £3,000 goal; 28 days to go
 
Time for a bump. Oliver is about to have his Full Frame Digital M3 project funded, with 100 backers but more importantly 33 of those including the parts kit.

Last chance to be part of a unique endeavour, and get the body shell/ conversion kit in brass or keenly priced nylon.

Oliver has posted in this thread- read up if you haven't before.
 
I think one camera I would like more as a digital is the Rollei 35. I never got used to the zone focus with that little 40mm lens and therefore she sits one the shelf. With digital I could have more fun with it.

Because film is expensive, I try and be careful with it and so I don't want to put it through a camera where I don't know the results I'll get.
 
CameraQuest said:
I wonder if there are any kickstarters to turn a Leica M240 into a film camera.

Stephen
Click to expand...

I guess this was supposed to be a 'funny' at the expense of film enthusiasts. Unless you haven't noticed, plenty of film Kickstarters have been madly over-funded in the last few months: Ferrania is $300,000+ at the moment, and other large-format camera makers have successfully used Kickstarter (one of these was funded after four days recently).

The answer to your question, is why would anyone take an expensive and technically inferior piece of hardware, built to standards below those of 50-year old working film cameras, and convert it to be a poor substitute of the real thing at very great expense?


Anyway, good luck to this project - seems like plenty of enthusiasts here. As for me, converting a film camera to a digital one means the sacrifice of a superior tool to create an inferior one.
 
mani said:
I guess this was supposed to be a 'funny' at the expense of film enthusiasts. Unless you haven't noticed, plenty of film Kickstarters have been madly over-funded in the last few months: Ferrania is $300,000+ at the moment, and other large-format camera makers have successfully used Kickstarter (one of these was funded after four days recently).

The answer to your question, is why would anyone take an expensive and technically inferior piece of hardware, built to standards below those of 50-year old working film cameras, and convert it to be a poor substitute of the real thing at very great expense?


Anyway, good luck to this project - seems like plenty of enthusiasts here. As for me, converting a film camera to a digital one means the sacrifice of a superior tool to create an inferior one.
Click to expand...

making fun of film enthusiasts? That was not my intention. It was a comment on adapting cameras to whatever the current idea is of preferable technology.

Film cameras can be continually updated with the newest and hopefully improved film. Digital cameras not so much. I wonder if a camera's digital technology will ever be so outdated that its owner considers its conversion to film an update.

That said, the idea of producing a digital replacement insert for a 35mm cartridge has been around for awhile. Eventually I think it will be successfully done. 5 years? Perhaps by then the insert will be able to make a phone call and buy a coffee at Starbucks as well.

Stephen
 
mani said:
Anyway, good luck to this project - seems like plenty of enthusiasts here. As for me, converting a film camera to a digital one means the sacrifice of a superior tool to create an inferior one.
Click to expand...
Oliver's brief is a REVERSIBLE conversion. So more adding another imaging option to the superior tool.

As for the previous post re Rollei 35, if you don't want zone focus then perhaps it's simply small form factor. And for that you can pop the new Voigtander collapsible 40mm onto your favourite Sony E-mount camera. Or would the haptics need to be reproduced?
 
Does anyone have access to Update #2? I missed out on the kickstarter, but would love an update on the progress for the M3 frankencamera.
 
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