converting a Yashica to a digital one

PdB

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Hi,

I haven't been active on this forum before, but lately I have been looking around here actively to find out what my next best purchase would be.

During the search I came to the conclusion that, what I want is not really out there. The Leica M-D comes close, but at the same time this option is furthest away from my budget.

With the Frankencamera in mind, I was thinking the following, and I'd like to get some feedback/input, in wether it would, or wouldn't work.

The camera I want to use for this project is a Yashica Lynx 14, and the digital components I want to get from a Sony QX1 and sensor from an A7. The Yashica is big, plenty of empty space on the inside to stuff things. The QX1 is small, doesn't have a screen, minimal buttons, you don't have to remove to much from the original product and therefor changes of getting an error are hopefully a bit smaller. Since Sony releases so many products, new ones and iterations, I expect often used components in their cameras are all the same over the range, it would be a waste of money to keep reinventing connector pieces, right? so what if you could disconnect the sensor and swap it for a A7 full frame one. This would be a bit nicer, since a 1,5 crop factor on a 45mm lens isn't completely what I'm looking for in a rangefinder (but never tried it, so not completely sure).

Good things:
- lens of the Yashica has everything in it, QX1 has all its own stuff in it, I only have to align the exposures
- I have 3D modelling skills and a printer
- winter is coming, I need a project for the long and dark evenings...

The problems that I so far have been able to think of are:
- QX1 doesn't have a full manual mode, only P, A and S
- not sure of the connectors inside the Sony's, there aren't Ifixits of both...

So, before I start buying things I'd like to verify my train of thoughts with people that know a bit more about the insides of cameras, DIY project in this field.

Thank you very much in advance for any tips, thoughts and tricks
Pascal
 
Sony did a teardown video on QX100. There are lots of differences but it might help as the basic architecture could be similar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH0_dAtKofw

If you could fit the bigger sensor physically (not likely), you would still at least need to reverse-engineer the firmware in order to read data from A7 sensor. Oh, and you would have to fit a bigger shutter too. Otherwise this sounds like a good idea! Equivalent focal lenght of 67,5mm woud be great for portraits, not so much for street photography.
 
Thank you Alfonso for your feedback. Hadn't thought about reverse engineering the firmware, very valid point. Makes it roughly impossible to use an a7 sensor.

I'll leave my Lynx 14 for film, and do the conversion on my GSN. Smaller lens and thus hopefully easier to find a wide angle converter that I can screw on it, to minimise the effect of the crop factor.

Another challenge I found, is the fact that the QX1 can't be used without a lens, some astrophotographers mentioned it somewhere since they wanted to mount this on the telescopes. I think I can work around this.

Does someone have experience with Sony's smartphone app PlayMemories Mobile (perhaps even with the QX1)? I can't seem to find which setting you can lock. If it can be the ISO and Shutter, then I think it could work, somebody then can shine some light on that?

Thanks!
Pascal
 
Found those two videos of a very talkative guy, but very informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BVtIbsXjD4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME6YayY-p0Q

Good to know that it doesn't need a lens and that I can select the ISO and shutter. The only challenge now is to attach the shutter buttons of both camera to each other, electronically or mechanically. Pity of the noisy shutter mechanism of the camera.

Seems like there aren't that many obstacles left, now I just have to order 1 or 2 of them 🙂. I'll come back to this forum to show updates
 
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