[67comet]

Ran across this today.

Think I found my next project 😊

Hackaday DSLR in old SLR

[tranq78]

Very very interesting!

[photoaki]

I got one of these coming, someday I hope, project is way late. Will be used with my Leica and Pentax bodies.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/samellos/im-back-35-new-version-with-ma...ority-function

[UncleVanya]

Re: I’m back 35

Bear in mind that the sensor is a the size of the original Q sensor but it uses a focusing screen to resize the image so your lens projects onto a focusing screen then off a mirror. I’m guessing you lose a couple of stops of light and some resolution in the process compared to the Q.

https://petapixel.com/2020/04/13/the-im-back-35-lets-you-add-a-digital-sensor-to-your-old-film-camera/

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Last edited by UncleVanya; 07-17-2021 at 04:55 AM.

[Bob 256]

Raspberry has recently offered a "high quality camera" which utilizes the Sony IMX477 sensor. At 12.3 Mpx (4056x3040) it is a viable sensor for photography. One issue is that its size is much less than full frame (7.9mm diagonal) so using it in a full frame film camera would yield a large crop factor. The nice thing is it interfaces with a Raspberry Pi and the smaller versions of that microcontroller (e.g., the Pi Zero)) easily fit the profile of a typical FF camera so it could be tacked on the back. Utilizing the mechanical shutter is a bit problematic as the usual software incorporates an electronic shutter system. Still, one could probably find a workaround or just use the electronic shutter. In addition, the builder will have to incorporate an LCD screen if that's desired.

Not to discourage experimenters, it would be far easier to just purchase a small digital camera which nowadays would probably best the 12.3 Mpx resolution and offer much simpler operation and image capture without the need to create & navigate the software of the Pi. For those who want to learn or explore the image and video capturing capabilities of the Pi, this would be a worthwhile exercise. (Note: The high quality camera comes with a C mount and attaching a lens makes it roughly the same as using a camera body minus the shuttering and optical viewfinder mechanism.)

[Lowell Goudge]

Until they scale yup to FF I’ll pass.

[DWS1]

Kodak made the first commercial digital SLR around 1990 by putting a digital back on a Nikon F3 camera. Look how far we've come since then. Don't see a market for this product.

[lmd91343]

I got one of these coming, someday I hope, project is way late. Will be used with my Leica and Pentax bodies.

I'm Back® 35 - An 50's camera that takes digital photos? by Samuel Mello Medeiros ? Kickstarter

I got a previous version of this kit and I had a blast with it. It is fun. The IQ was better than I expected.

This has allowed me to use all my old RF lenses on my Canon 7 and all my FD lenses on my F1n.

The main problem I found was the bump in the center of the apparatus just beneath an SLR's eyepiece was in the way. With the Canon 7 I had a large viewfinder on the camera's left edge away from the bump. With the Canon F1n, I replaced the viewfinder prism with a speedfinder.
File:Canon F-1 with Speed Finder (4770306151).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

[AstroDave]

it would be far easier to just purchase a small digital camera which nowadays would probably best the 12.3 Mpx resolution and offer much simpler operation and image capture without the need to create & navigate the software of the Pi.

This ^^^^^

Although as a serious DIY-er, this looks interesting, if you are really after a small camera, Bob 256 has it right- there are any number of old point-n-shoots on Ebay for $20-30 or less!

[67comet]

Kodak made the first commercial digital SLR around 1990 by putting a digital back on a Nikon F3 camera. Look how far we've come since then. Don't see a market for this product.

No market intended, it's an experiment for DIY'ers (I've printed and made a plethora of things on my printers that were just for the pure enjoyment of seeing if I could make it work).

---------- Post added 07-16-21 at 08:43 PM ----------

Until they scale yup to FF I’ll pass.

It's not meant to replace the quality of 35mm or more modern DLSRs, it's meant to be something fun to experiment with. I've got a pile of Raspberry Pi's (from all eras) that I use for all kinds of things that are basically useless but they were fun to learn how to make (home security cameras, proxy servers for my home network, blue tooth speakers/players, multimedia streaming devices, network storage monitors, lawn sprinkler controllers (turned out awesome), garage door openers with proximity sensors for my phone so when I pulled in the driveway the door would open) .. lots of things that you CAN go out and buy, but as cheap as it all is, and all the info that is out on the YouTubes, you can hack them into all kinds of things just for the fun of it.

Not about quality, more about learning.

[Lord Lucan]

Good luck with the project, as long as you appreciate that the pictures will be a tiny centre crop of what the film camera would have taken. One comment on that link was that it was like the angle of view of a telescope [but without the quality]. This device joins a long list of schemes to convert old film cameras to digital, none of them very successful.

The link says

there’s a lot of high quality film cameras in the world that are gathering dust, but with a few pieces of equipment it’s possible to convert them to digital and get some more use out of them.

Maybe, but it is a very reduced and restricted use, but better than being used as a doorstop. The film era lenses are better used on a modern DSLR.

lots of things that you CAN go out and buy

I do a lot of DiY, but I usually make things because either you cannot go out and buy one, or they are better than you can buy. These days I often find I need to improve things I have bought because some are so poorly made. I recently made a metal throttle control for my lawn mower because the original plastic one disintegrated when it brushed the hedge next to the lawn. My metal one won't break. And here is an improvement I made to a flash unit: Anti-slip Studs in a Hammerhead Flash Bracket - PentaxForums.com. I could fill my time 5x over on jobs like that. But I could go out and buy a low resolution digital camera if I wanted one, so I wouldn't spend time making one.

[photoaki]

Not about quality, more about learning.

I’m with you there!
More specifically, gaining new skills.

If that’s the goal, having to learn and develop sw is not a chore or obstacle.




---------- Post added 07-17-2021 at 09:30 AM ----------

Re: I’m back 35

Bear in mind that the sensor is a the size of the original Q sensor but it uses a focusing screen to resize the image so your lens projects onto a focusing screen then off a mirror. I’m guessing you lose a couple of stops of light and some resolution in the process compared to the Q.

https://petapixel.com/2020/04/13/the-im-back-35-lets-you-add-a-digital-senso...d-film-camera/

Absolutely, image quality won’t be the best, but as noted in an earlier post, may be surprisingly good.

But I am really just looking forward to using my old film gear. I have lots of bodies/lenses that have gone unused for years. Started shooting film again, and will continue to do so, but this will provide additional opportunities.

[Wheatfield]

Ran across this today.

Think I found my next project 😊

Hackaday DSLR in old SLR

Silicon film just won’t die. Every few years the concept gets resurrected only to disappear until the next time.

[lmd91343]

Silicon film just won’t die. Every few years the concept gets resurrected only to disappear until the next time.

We all want to use our old favorite cameras.
questions:
1) will a 24x36mm sensor be thin enough and it's support system small enough to fit into a 35 cassette and film leader?
2) will this occupy a low enough price point?
3) can this be completed while those of us who fondly remember and used film are still alive and want to buy it?

[Not a Number]

Yes, definitely something just for fun. The crop factor limits the usability. Rather ingenious though.