Digital Yashica

[ptpdprinter]

I am still trying to figure out the film part of Digifilm. Those plastic cartridges are for choosing camera settings. The images are stored on an SD card. So what's the film part? The fake advance lever? The more I think about this the stupider it seems. But so far 5000 people have bought some form of it. I guess there are 5000 people around the world that would buy just about anything. Maybe I should offer a 50 foot hose that is really a squirt gun so people could pretend they are watering the lawn. Cool.

 

[jsrockit]

I am still trying to figure out the film part of Digifilm. Those plastic cartridges are for choosing camera settings. The images are stored on an SD card. So what's the film part? The fake advance lever? The more I think about this the stupider it seems.

You might be taking it a bit too seriously...

 

[Corran]

My guess was that it was their V 2.0 camera already engineered and priced.

Yeah that's what I was thinking too.

What makes it seem contrived to me is that I searched craigslist and found vintage Electro 35 GSNs going that take real 35mm film going for less than this thing.

Who cares? In case you missed it, this is a different product, with callbacks to the Electro 35. I had one by the way, and after 3 rolls it stopped working. Was it worth my $50? No, not really.

Millenials don't [...]

"Millennials" are not a monolith. I am a millennial and yet I have stacks of darkroom prints. Perhaps you should lay off the "How Millennials are killing off xyz" articles.

The more I think about this the stupider it seems.

A suggestion then - stop thinking about it and move on. You know, I think the Leica Q was a stupid camera. A LOT of people here wanted to argue for days about why it was the perfect thing. Okay, fine, whatever. I actually forgot it was a thing later when it was mentioned some months later. I was like, what is this Leica camera I hadn't heard of?? It was so totally irrelevant to me I just forgot.

The rampant snobbery and camera elitism continues unabated. Sheesh, it's a cheap point and shoot with some quirky design features. It's perhaps one of the first/only "toy" digital cameras made. That category was/is wildly popular with film. But I'm sure the same folks turn up their noses at Dianas and Holgas. I don't use them myself but many of my friends do. Some make good work too.

We all interact with photography differently, we all pursue different genres, styles, and tools. I am interested to see a different product and not a "me-too" camera. Maybe it'll suck, maybe those who purchase it won't use it for more than a week. Doesn't do any harm. In a world where much of photojournalism is done with iPhones and passionate hobbyists shoot 8x10 cameras, it's all good.

 

[Huss]

You might be taking it a bit too seriously...

The model in the video seems very serious.

 

[Taipei-metro]

oh very serious very serious...in Shibuya...u know T o k y o!

original not by me,
shot from cm
by
taipei metro
G6, 14-42 パナソニック

 

[farlymac]

They've lost my interest.

I postulated some years ago how nice it would be to have a digital camera that you could swap out modules for different film looks. My idea of powering the camera was to use the winding lever to drive a piezoelectric generator for each shot, eliminating the need for batteries. And the retro design, but with a rangefinder.

So this seemed to be close enough to my ideal to at least give it a try, and being an old Yashica fan, to at least have it in the collection.

But they have already increased the prices of everything. Introduced an all black version for more than double the chrome model. Then taken away the shutter speed control, making it aperture priority. Sounds Yashica enough at first glance, but as far as I can tell there is only one aperture to start with, so the only control you have over the camera is what cartridge you are using, and what you point it at before you press the shutter release.

I'd rather use my Minimatic-C.

PF

 

[YouAreHere]

"Millennials" are not a monolith. I am a millennial and yet I have stacks of darkroom prints. Perhaps you should lay off the "How Millennials are killing off xyz" articles.

Darkroom prints from an SD card-based camera? I'm talking about printing a digital file on an inkjet printer. That's the step that seems to be disappearing, nothing is printed, it's posted for on-line sharing instead.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Darkroom prints from an SD card-based camera? I'm talking about printing a digital file on an inkjet printer. That's the step that seems to be disappearing, nothing is printed, it's posted for on-line sharing instead.

I find that my iPad Pro's display is generally a more satisfying way to view photographs than an inkjet print. I certainly don't expect prints to go away, but for those of us who don't live in a city with good galleries and museums, viewing photos online is an excellent option. I've done a fair amount of printing, but haven't in a while, and I don't miss it particularly.

Regarding the "millennial" label, it is indeed vexing when older members of this form slap the younger ones with generational insults like "hipster." If it were possible for people to live to 175, there would absolutely be RFF members who regarded everything but daguerreotypes to be artistically invalid.

 

[Corran]

Darkroom prints from an SD card-based camera? I'm talking about printing a digital file on an inkjet printer. That's the step that seems to be disappearing, nothing is printed, it's posted for on-line sharing instead.

Firstly, if you are so inclined:
www.digitalsilverimaging.com

Secondly...what method of printing, or printing anything at all, has exactly zero to do with this product. Unless somehow you expected Yashica to reinvent how photographs were printed??

+1 to all of the above from mabelsound.

 

[Paul T.]

Regarding the "millennial" label, it is indeed vexing when older members of this form slap the younger ones with generational insults like "hipster." If it were possible for people to live to 175, there would absolutely be RFF members who regarded everything but daguerreotypes to be artistically invalid.

too right. Honestly, at odd points this thread has become Old Guys Who Pose With Leicas, slagging off Young Guys With Yashicas.

I kinda like the idea of this camera, as I do the Fuji SQ10, because users might actually have, you know, Fun.

 

[ptpdprinter]

Regarding the "millennial" label, it is indeed vexing when older members of this form slap the younger ones with generational insults like "hipster." If it were possible for people to live to 175, there would absolutely be RFF members who regarded everything but daguerreotypes to be artistically invalid.

I think the term "hipster" is belief and behavior rather than age related. Millennials in generally shouldn't be offended by its use. Of course, if the shoe fits... And what does the term "hipster" and "artistically invalid" have to do with one another?

 

[Archlich]

I am still trying to figure out the film part of Digifilm. Those plastic cartridges are for choosing camera settings. The images are stored on an SD card. So what's the film part? The fake advance lever? The more I think about this the stupider it seems. But so far 5000 people have bought some form of it. I guess there are 5000 people around the world that would buy just about anything. Maybe I should offer a 50 foot hose that is really a squirt gun so people could pretend they are watering the lawn. Cool.

The film part is the...materiality of photography. When exposing a roll, when processing and printing it, you know you and the film had been to the very same space, in the same time. The photons that once hit your retina are the photons that imprinted onto the silver halide. It's a promise, and the action of changing film is to keep it.

You can't expect this Yashica to trace the full course of film photography, it being digital after all. But the concept is as capable as it gets: a faux ritual, suitable for this age. All people are upset about is just the "not-so-serious" sensor size...

 

[f16sunshine]

The digifilm is seems to be a hardware solution for what is typically solved by software (menus/firmware/etc..).
It's a little pre-programmed module.
Reminds me of a game cartridge of the old Nintendo NES system.

Again I think it's an ultimately a compliment to film in how it copies film in it's "fixed" choice.
Very cute although, probably a "one hit wonder" as folks find how limiting it is compared to their phones camera.
Fun for now and maybe inspires further innovation.
Hard to see anything bad about any of this.

 

[ForestCap]

The digifilm is seems to be a hardware solution for what is typically solved by software (menus/firmware/etc..).
It's a little pre-programmed module.
Reminds me of a game cartridge of the old Nintendo NES system.

Again I think it's an ultimately a compliment to film in how it copies film in it's "fixed" choice.
Very cute although, probably a "one hit wonder" as folks find how limiting it is compared to their phones camera.
Fun for now and maybe inspires further innovation.
Hard to see anything bad about any of this.

After the camera hit the market, they can start selling filters in this digifilm form, lots of them, in different colours with fancy names, like "Mary of Silence" (muted colour), "Bloody as Hell" (boosted red colour), and so on.

 

[Archlich]

After the camera hit the market, they can start selling filters in this digifilm form, lots of them, in different colours with fancy names, like "Mary of Silence" (muted colour), "Bloody as Hell" (boosted red colour), and so on.

Would "Ansel's Moon" and "Grey Henri" or "William Chrome" be more appealing? Or perhaps "Provoke Grain", for the Asian market?

 

[krötenblender]

After the camera hit the market, they can start selling filters in this digifilm form, lots of them, in different colours with fancy names, like "Mary of Silence" (muted colour), "Bloody as Hell" (boosted red colour), and so on.

I expect an electric auto-recock and winder add-on, that will be sold to make a press-version of the camera that can do 10fps.

 

[BillBingham2]

They just answered two questions (no from me).

Oh My Gosh, they are making money hand over fist on this one........


Is it a fix aperture of F2.8 equipped in Y35?

Yes, this is a fix F2.8 aperture equipped in Y35.


What is the focusing system of Y35?

Y35 is equipped with a high quality fixed-focus lens.

 

[NickTrop]

Not sure about this Yashica and its "film roll" concept. What "I" think would be an interesting idea would be a digital Olympus XA. Same design. No LCD screen at all. Manual RF focus. Aperture priority. 35mm f 2.8 fix lens. Clam shell design. Everything same as original. Maybe info in viewfinder digital if it saves costs...

But -- squeeze a full frame sensor in there that only shoots raw. You have to load your photos into some proprietary raw processor that comes with the camera. You can't see your pics until you import them from the camera. No chimping.

 

[NickTrop]

If the laws of physics will allow -- a full-frame camera that truly is pocketable and at a modest price.

 

[rcubed]

They finally released prototype sample photos