Do 1/4 frame cameras exist?

[luz_sandeman]

Hello! Do 1/4 frame cameras exist?

Like something which has 4 small lenses or moveable lens to make a 35 mm frame into 4 smaller frames of 3:2 ratio (or similar), for more economical shooting and also nice big grain...

I know of Lomography cameras called "action sampler" which is kind of what I want, or the "supersampler" with 4 small plastic lenses next to each other, but I think those cameras have really ****ty optics, fixed focus, you can't change the exposure time or anything, they're just toy cameras... Or did they make like a "luxury sampler" with good lenses etc...? 🙂

Was anything like what I'm looking for made in like the 60s or 70s or something with actual glass and not plastic? 😀

I'm thinking also of getting a half frame camera, been reading here on the forums and googling some. Preferably a half frame rangefinder to get accurate focus but they seem very rare and thus more than expensive. So I'm thinking of maybe getting a Yashica Samurai because of ease of use?

Best regards! Thanks in advance for the help! 🙂

 

[bullterrier]

looks interesting,almost like the old nokia phone i got from my wife

 

[joe bosak]

Do 1/4 frame cameras exist?

What about Minox 8mm, Kiev 16mm, Pentax/Minolta 110 cameras? Decent quality lenses, small film format. Not sure about film availability.

There's also the nimslo and nishika lenticular cameras, but they probably aren't what you want - assuming you want to choose each frame.

 

[Ambro51]

Yes. The View Master Personal Camera done that. Cheap on eBay, the special cutter costs 3x the camera! http://www.vmresource.com/camera/camera.htm

 

[luz_sandeman]

thanks for the tips! but i want to use 135 mm film since it is more readily and cheaply available, and mostly because it's a lot cheaper to develop and scan, because of the automation and standardisation i guess....


sorry maybe i should've specified that i want to use only 35 mm film :/

 

[luz_sandeman]

thanks!!

thanks!!

Yes. The View Master Personal Camera done that. Cheap on eBay, the special cutter costs 3x the camera! http://www.vmresource.com/camera/camera.htm

wow! maybe this is exactly what I'm looking for? will read about it more when I have time. it seems pretty advanced mechanism. Did you hear anything about the risk of malfunction? Any personal experience?

So it creates duplicates right? theres gonna be 2 identical small images from every shot, with just some parallax" difference due to the different lenses?

 

[Doug]

Tessina... Tiny twin-lens reflex that shoots 14x21mm on 35mm film, smaller than half-frame and not much larger than 110 film (14x17, which is essentially your quarter-frame size)
See some info at our RFF host's site.

https://www.cameraquest.com/tessina.htm

 

[luz_sandeman]

cool, but does it take normal film ?

cool, but does it take normal film ?

Tessina... Tiny twin-lens reflex that shoots 14x21mm on 35mm film, smaller than half-frame and not much larger than 110 film (14x17, which is essentially your quarter-frame size)
See some info at our RFF host's site.

https://www.cameraquest.com/tessina.htm

Thanks for the tip! this is a really cool camera! But...the main reason i wanna use 35 mm film is easy obtainment and cheaper price etc...and the main reason i want to shoot smaller frames is to get more exposures per film roll.


So I would like to ask (cant find the info easily):
- How many exposures would this Tessina get on a normal 36 frame 35 mm film roll?

- Do I need special film? It seems there is some special loader? So I have to buy this separatly and cut up the roll of film? :0 Does it take a lot of time?

 

[Phil_F_NM]

How about finding a Konica Auto-Reflex? The first one with the - in the name. It is a switchable full frame / half frame 35mm camera. Amazing lenses that range from 15mm up.
Aside from that, you could get a 16mm motion picture camera that does single frame for stop motion and get 4000 images per roll but you have to use 16mm film. Heck, even a 35mm MP camera like an Eyemo will still shoot half frame and you'll get ~1500 images per roll.
Phil Forrest

 

[zuiko85]

Is this for a project? To save on film? Just wondering what you are hoping to accomplish with the camera. The Action Sampler exposes all four frames with each shot so film is used at the same rate as usual.
If this is just about economy then half frame is the most practical. For most photography not having a rangefinder on half frame viewfinder type is usually not a problem with the short focal length lenses found on such cameras. I’ve seldom had out of focus shots on my Olympus Pen that has focusing by scale down to 2 feet on a 28mm f3.5 lens.

If you would like to focus closer and more accurately get a clean Olympus Pen F and the standard 38mm f1.8 that will focus down to 14 inches with reflex viewing.
The original Pen F has a plain matte focusing screen and is the easiest Pen SLR to focus accurately, in my opinion.

 

[zuiko85]

How about finding a Konica Auto-Reflex? The first one with the - in the name. It is a switchable full frame / half frame 35mm camera. Amazing lenses that range from 15mm up.
Aside from that, you could get a 16mm motion picture camera that does single frame for stop motion and get 4000 images per roll but you have to use 16mm film. Heck, even a 35mm MP camera like an Eyemo will still shoot half frame and you'll get ~1500 images per roll.
Phil Forrest

I have, and occasionally use Minolta 16 cameras. The 10x14mm frame is smaller than 1/4 frame but I never enlarge more than 12x on 5x7 paper. Yep, the prints are grainy, especially as I’m using Eastman 16mm Double-X. But, after obtaining enough cartridges over the years to amortize their cost, even paying $60 for a 100ft. roll, I’ll get over 60 rolls out of that so $1 per roll of 20 exposures.

And of course, I develop and print myself.

 

[sepiareverb]

Nimslo made 4 tall exposures across a slightly wider 35mm frame. But at the same time, so no film savings. Not the most stellar lens, but not really terrible.

 

[Tim Gray]

Nickelodeon Photoblaster. Can’t remember if it does 4 individual exposures of if they are chained together.

 

[wwfloyd]

Nimslo made 4 tall exposures across a slightly wider 35mm frame. But at the same time, so no film savings. Not the most stellar lens, but not really terrible.

4 tall exposures across 2 roughly standard 35mm frames -- essentially 4 half-frame images of the given scene.

 

[Ambro51]

You know, a Stereo Realist can be “single shot” and will give you 58 incredibly detailed images on one roll. 23x24 mm. The Realist is the BEST $50 camera on eBay.

 

[luz_sandeman]

single shot? why not 72 ?

single shot? why not 72 ?

You know, a Stereo Realist can be “single shot” and will give you 58 incredibly detailed images on one roll. 23x24 mm. The Realist is the BEST $50 camera on eBay.

Ah ok so it works with single shot? But still "only" produces 58 images? on a 36 frame roll?

Hmm in this case I think I would prefer a half frame camera since then u get 72 images on one roll?

Its all about getting a maximum amount of exposures on each roll, sorry maybe I should've been more clear about this.

This new camera I'm getting is for me taking pics of a friend's band and they ABSOLUTELY have to get analog pics (very hip yes) 😉. But the pics are only really for posting online, fb, instagram and so on. So that's why I think a smaller format will suffice well enough and even produce more of the grainy analog feel that they like.

 

[luz_sandeman]

I love the idea of this camera! 😀

I love the idea of this camera! 😀

Nickelodeon Photoblaster. Can’t remember if it does 4 individual exposures of if they are chained together.

Haha, I'm thinking now I really have to get a nickelodeon photoblast ! I read about it and it DOES make individual exposures, no change of settings though, but it has a flash...

Thanks for the tip man, maybe this is what I've been looking for, and i love the toy look of this camera, i mean - it IS a toy! Ironic...

 

[luz_sandeman]

The goal of this...

The goal of this...

Is this for a project? To save on film? Just wondering what you are hoping to accomplish with the camera. The Action Sampler exposes all four frames with each shot so film is used at the same rate as usual.
If this is just about economy then half frame is the most practical. For most photography not having a rangefinder on half frame viewfinder type is usually not a problem with the short focal length lenses found on such cameras. I’ve seldom had out of focus shots on my Olympus Pen that has focusing by scale down to 2 feet on a 28mm f3.5 lens.

If you would like to focus closer and more accurately get a clean Olympus Pen F and the standard 38mm f1.8 that will focus down to 14 inches with reflex viewing.
The original Pen F has a plain matte focusing screen and is the easiest Pen SLR to focus accurately, in my opinion.

Nice that you're curious 🙂 i will tell you!

Its all about getting a maximum amount of exposures on each roll, sorry maybe I should've been more clear about this.

This new camera im getting is for me taking pics of a friends band and they ABSOLUTLEY have to get analog pics (very hip yes)

. But the pics are only really for posting online, fb, instagram and so on. So that's why I think a smaller format will suffice well enough and even produce more of the grainy analog feel that they like.

I did it for 2,5 years now maybe 5-6 times. And I got this idea since i was sick of the cost of developing and scanning, we always did full frame before maybe 2-3 rolls every time...money money money....

Im thinking either getting this ridiculous nickelodeon photoblaster that was mentioned, or maybe yashica samurai cause i guess it will produce better pics...

Do you have any experience with above 2 mentioned cameras?

 

[luz_sandeman]

movie camera!?

movie camera!?

How about finding a Konica Auto-Reflex? The first one with the - in the name. It is a switchable full frame / half frame 35mm camera. Amazing lenses that range from 15mm up.
Aside from that, you could get a 16mm motion picture camera that does single frame for stop motion and get 4000 images per roll but you have to use 16mm film. Heck, even a 35mm MP camera like an Eyemo will still shoot half frame and you'll get ~1500 images per roll.
Phil Forrest

well this was a new thought, to actually use a movie camera to capture stills....but how would i scan so many pictures? i dont develop myself... i mean where can i buy this film roll that this eyemo could use? it must be a very very long roll? isnt that expensive? and the cost to develop and scan should be pretty high?

 

[Dralowid]

I have a cupboard full of movie cameras and yes, you would find processing and film costs high. Most labs offer frame by frame scanning too. The cameras, on the other hand, are mostly very, very cheap. A fairly common 16mm camera like a Bolex H16 is a wonderful thing but bulky. 8mm cameras are obviously much smaller but the image is hard to work with. There are plenty of specialists on the net.