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02-06-2017, 04:54 AM   #16
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This is where a drop-in digital cartridge/sensor/thingy would be SO handy, even if it only offered 6MP and spat out a basic JPG.

02-06-2017, 09:15 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by pathdoc Quote
This is where a drop-in digital cartridge/sensor/thingy would be SO handy, even if it only offered 6MP and spat out a basic JPG.
Yes! Was something like that ever made? I used to wish that there was a digital back that could replace the film door on the back of several common models of film SLR, though not having that has probably helped keep film alive.

I'm using a little selenium-cell light meter that seems to be reading correctly--much more convenient than carrying a second camera just for it's light meter. I'm also exposing the Fuji 100 at iso 80. I hate getting underexposed negatives, and prefer them being a little denser than too thin.

Interestingly, my Super-Tak is one of the lenses listed in the manual as not working with the ESII's auto-exposure feature, which was accommodated by the then new SMC lenses. But, since I am using the camera manually, I'm mainly concerned with whether the camera will close the iris to the set aperture when the shutter fires, or whether I have to switch the lens to M from A. I checked using the Bulb shutter speed, and the iris closes down perfectly fine, so I assume it is doing the same at the other speeds. The negs will verify, in any case.
02-06-2017, 09:24 AM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by goatsNdonkey Quote
I used to wish that there was a digital back that could replace the film door on the back of several common models of film SLR, though not having that has probably helped keep film alive.
There have been numerous attempts at a drop-in cartridge to go in any 35mm camera, but IIRC they have all failed due to the inherent problems not being able to be solved adequately by solo inventors, let alone having easy production capacity. Somebody recently has actually invented one which is a clamp-on thing that goes over the light box at the rear, but I think it may be brand specific. It can be found on YouTube. Either way, it's VERY bulky and alters the handling of the camera completely. In fact I'd say that in overall practical terms, testing the shutter and aperture at all combinations of speeds or demonstrating the effect they have to beginners is about all it's good for. It uses an intriguing but (in retrospect) obvious method of syncing the digital capture to the shutter firing, namely the PC sync port.
02-06-2017, 09:53 AM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by pathdoc Quote
There have been numerous attempts at a drop-in cartridge to go in any 35mm camera, but IIRC they have all failed due to the inherent problems not being able to be solved adequately by solo inventors, let alone having easy production capacity. Somebody recently has actually invented one which is a clamp-on thing that goes over the light box at the rear, but I think it may be brand specific. It can be found on YouTube. Either way, it's VERY bulky and alters the handling of the camera completely. In fact I'd say that in overall practical terms, testing the shutter and aperture at all combinations of speeds or demonstrating the effect they have to beginners is about all it's good for. It uses an intriguing but (in retrospect) obvious method of syncing the digital capture to the shutter firing, namely the PC sync port.
Considering how tiny point-n-shoot digital cameras are now, it is hard to understand why something like that would need to be bulky. I wonder if part of the problem is that film camera shooters would expect the new digital sensor in any drop-in or mount-on gizmo to be full-frame, but economic and design considerations push for it being smaller? And I guess Pentax (or others) wouldn't invent an accessory that would turn a old Spotmatic F or K1000 into a full-frame DSLR competing (even if at a way lower resolution) with a recent FF model.

02-06-2017, 11:23 AM   #20
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Unfortunately, the big engineering complication for a digital back on a film camera is that added focal place distance required by the chip packaging and glass cover on the sensor. The camera would no longer focus at infinity and the OVF's focusing screen would no longer work.

Perhaps someone could design a naked sensor, but it would be extremely fragile to the extent that it may not survive much use in a working camera.
02-15-2017, 10:45 PM   #21
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Well, back to the question of the shutter speeds of my purchased-as-broken Honeywell Pentax ESII -- I put my Super-Takumar f/1.8 55mm lens on it and loaded a roll of Fujicolor 100. Over a few different outings I shot the 24 exposures, using an external light meter. Over the course of the exposures, I tried all of the shutter speeds between 1/30 - 1/1000, and I also used the "Auto" setting on the shutter speed dial as if it were 1/2000 of a second--a guess, since the flash sync test showed the manual shutter speed at that setting WAS faster than that at the 1/1000 second setting. I sent the roll to Old School Photo Lab for development and 6mp scans. Today they made the scans available to me online.

The scans all look like good exposures, except for one of the ones taken of tracks in snow in the flat lighting in the midst of a snow storm! Most of the other snow pictures came out pretty well. In about a week, I'll get the negatives in the mail, and then I'll be able to see if they all look like good exposures on film or whether the scanning technician worked some magic with some of the more poorly exposed shots. Here are a few samples of shots I like:









I suspect that if the look of the negatives is consistent with the scans, as far as exposure accuracy is concerned, I will be able to use this ESII manually with reasonable faith in all of the marked speeds.



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Last edited by goatsNdonkey; 02-15-2017 at 10:56 PM.
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