Digi back for film camera

[hans voralberg]

I haven't seen it on RFF yet hence the post. Very interesting project with what looks like real production capabilities.

Basically a sensor fitted to film camera like a film cartridge.
The sensor size increase with pledge and the biggest size is 4/3rd so that's pretty decent if it could make it.

Given how much interest in such thing I've seen over the years here some of us would definitely back it up. I just did.

Indiegogo link:http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/digipod

 

[Noll]

Good luck. You folks are going to need it.

 

[Keith]

I like my digital cameras and I like my film cameras ... and have no desire to turn my film cameras into digital mongrels.

This will struggle to get off the ground IMO!

 

[jordanatkins]

Sorry, APS-C is a minimum for me. I hate odd crop factors from the smaller sensor sizes.

If full-frame was possible I'd be willing to pay more than twice his asking price, even if the megapixel count was somewhat low.

 

[GaryLH]

Something similar to this was tried maybe somewhere between the 80s and 90s period. By the time they had working prototype, big name companies already had sensors that were far superior for their digital consumer cameras.

Fast forward to today.. Given the technology we have today and the cad tools, the probability for success is higher. Some companies have so much extra capacity in their fab house, they contract out their services. A group like this only needs to have the ASIC designers and fw developers..everything else can be contracted out. At least in general versus reality of what they need to accomplish and in what time frame.

Most of us who have invested in the digital world have already made the split from film. What Keith says is probably the new reality for most. For those of us w/ digital and film, we are into film just because.

I can c some people who would love to have digital capability in their old film camera, but personal think it may never measure up to their expectation. Then there is the Leica guy that wants a drf but the digital m is out of his price range (thank goodness I stop after m6 and CL). This could be his ticket.

But I pretty much in Keith's camp on this one.. CSC type cameras satisfy the itch of still being able to use my legacy lenses w/ digital. I really don't shoot much 35 these days.. I am mainly medium format and some LF and it is mainly folders.

Gary

 

[Rayt]

Didn't Leica tried that with the R Module? I had one and it was a good idea in theory but full of gremlins.

 

[GaryLH]

U have a collectors item there 🙂 😛
Gary

 

[zuiko85]

One reason I've stuck to film is because of direct control, mechanical cameras. By that I mean an aperture ring, a shutter speed dial, a focusing ring, a screen made for accurate manual focus.

I just cannot function with menu driven, touch screen BS or free form plasto blob cameras. I want an aperture ring, shutter speed dial, and smooth, real (not fly by wire) manual focus.

All that said a tiny sensor just won't cut it. Who would put up with a 4X factor. Even if they reached a 5000 unit production goal the biggest sensor envisioned is quarter frame with a 2X factor.

Now if they came up with an 18X24 frame with a 1.33X factor for common enlargement sizes this might fly if they could keep the cost down to $500, a currently unrealistic goal. The price would be 4 to 6 times that amount.

This is an old idea that just ain't going to happen.

 

[BW400CN]

The market would be big enough for a item like this - if you look aroung how many old cams are still there in working conditions. So this product could be a burner - maybe not for an ambitious photographer but for the big crowd who wanted allways the possibilitiy to use the cam of their parents/uncles/grandparents but didn´t know that film was/is still avaiable (I hear this question very often when I´m out with my cams) - If this catridge will make at least to APS or better FF then it will be something where I step in and buy it! to have the possibility to shoot digital when I need/want it with one of my old film cams would bring me closer to the dream to get a cam that ´s versaile for everything from wet plate to film to digital.
So hopefully this project will grow and find its way and not got into troubles like the sillicon digital film in the early 2000th.

 

[BW400CN]

One reason I've stuck to film is because of direct control, mechanical cameras. By that I mean an aperture ring, a shutter speed dial, a focusing ring, a screen made for accurate manual focus.

I just cannot function with menu driven, touch screen BS or free form plasto blob cameras. I want an aperture ring, shutter speed dial, and smooth, real (not fly by wire) manual focus.

All that said a tiny sensor just won't cut it. Who would put up with a 4X factor. Even if they reached a 5000 unit production goal the biggest sensor envisioned is quarter frame with a 2X factor.

Now if they came up with an 18X24 frame with a 1.33X factor for common enlargement sizes this might fly if they could keep the cost down to $500, a currently unrealistic goal. The price would be 4 to 6 times that amount.

This is an old idea that just ain't going to happen.

I just speaking for my self - an APS digital film for less then 1000,-€ and I would buy it - an FF digital full up to 2000,-€!!!

I don´t want an Nikon D600/800 I want a digital Voigtländer Bessamatic or Canon A-1!

 

[Rob-F]

Didn't Leica tried that with the R Module? I had one and it was a good idea in theory but full of gremlins.

Yes and digital baks are available for the Hasselblad as well.

 

[jordanatkins]

They have to get around the terrible crop factor. 2x crop is a shame, a 35mm lens becomes a portrait lens. Most of these old camera systems don't have very wide lenses, so that makes them useless.

If they could just come up with an affordable 8-12mp full-frame sensor it would do away with all this nonsense and you can use the old lenses just how they were intended.

I'd buy 2.

Until then... good luck, chap!

 

[Chris101]

I've seen this idea reconceived 4 or 5 times, depending on if you liked the April Fools site last year. I'd have more confidence if it was on Kickstarter, and in dollars.

 

[c.poulton]

Very interesting concept - I can definitely see this selling, maybe not in huge numbers, but as a niche product, certainly --- lots of possibilities too: consider different sizes of sensor, different types such as monochrome and infrared --- depending upon price, I could see someone buying more than one 'type', rather like film!

We shouldn't be so negative (forgive the pun) about this device - good luck to the guy...

 

[FrozenInTime]

In practice, I'm sure a custom back would be required for each camera - so limiting it to a few models.
The digital sensor would need to be triggered form the flash sync - limiting the mechanical shutter speeds ; an electronic shutter would require an extra dial to transfer settings.
As demonstrated by the M8 and M9, the processing power needed to grab the sensor data and push it to a SD card are never fast enough without using an ASIC.
People will want a LCD or Bluetooth to phone connection - bigger battery and antenna.

Sorry but it's just too impractical and with so many low cost digital SLR and CSC camera the time for such a device has long passed.

 

[BW400CN]

... I'd have more confidence if it was on Kickstarter, and in dollars.

That´s amarican ignorance in her purity!!!

 

[dct]

I suppose this idea could grow (in sensor size) with the number of pieces sold. Supporting such a device now is the difference between doing nothing or having a functional 1st version, which of course should be developed further.

I think about a donation or even an investment. A few more days thinking about it...

 

[axiom]

I'll check back when it has a full frame sensor.
I can take monochrome, screen less

 

[Chris101]

...
We shouldn't be so negative (forgive the pun) about this device - good luck to the guy...

Ok.

It's not really a pun though, cause it's digital, right?

My negativity comes from 20 years of disappointment with this concept. I want to believe, but I need more than the video and web page to convince me.

 

[Murchu]

While this is not a new idea, I would love to see something like this work, but fear it's a pipe dream. With legacy lenses, anything less than a 36x24mm sensor is a non-runner, imo, and those things just aren't cheap. Even Canon/ Nikon/ Sony et al, would struggle to offer something like this for less than 3/ 4/ 5 grand I think.

Personally, I think I would prefer to see someone make film processing and scanning as cheap as possible, as I think that would be a far more viable proposition if we want to really use our analog cameras digitally.