EFILM 1.5 3 DOWNLOAD
Manases Blakemore
In the early days of digital photography a small American company, Imagek, started developing a digital sensor module that could be installed in film SLRs. The idea still generates excitement today, more than ten years after the company (by then named Silicon Film) failed. Photographer and blogger Olivier Duong has taken a look back at the promise and disappointment of the Silicon Film dream.
Duong says he hopes someone would attempt a crowd-sourced version (which, in turns out, someone is), overlooking the many potential problems and still wanting one, despite the drawbacks of the system, many of which were identified by Askey at the time.
The lack of battery space, the need to open the camera to change ISO, White Balance or any other image setting, and the need to indicate a crop in the viewfinder if anything less than a full frame sensor is used, are all difficult to get around, especially considering that this had to work in more than one model of camera. And that made the large assumption that many modern photographers would be willing to live without a rear LCD to check their images.
For a still-more detailed look at the challenges of creating a digital insert for existing film SLRs, read forum regular Joseph Wisniewski's posts about the physical challenges faced and the economics of why it's probably simpler to go out and buy a D600/EOS 6D, rather than wait for someone to breathe life back into your F6/EOS-1V.
2. It should be possible to build a sensor that can use the full (or nearly the full) film size. Connected to the board at the back or just at the sides left and right. Might be extremely expensive though.
Well if nothing else DigiPod has you talking, I created DigiPod, I did it for the same reasons I have a classic Mercedes Convertible (that I bought new!) and a Patek Phillippe watch, I appreciate great design, craftsmanship and quality. I don't seem to be able to buy Kodachrome anymore and found it difficult to get HP4 processed.
I have a cannon 600D that I use ( I still don't use all it offers after 2 years).
I didn't set out to put digipod on a crowdfunding site, I wanted one and no one made one! I have just updated the website and we now have 89 backers and just short of 12,000 in funding with 27 days left, will we make production, that will be up to the backers, we have a way to go, but every journey starts with a small step.
I hope you succeed James. The folks who have never owned a classic film camera and who are saying a DSLR would be cheaper and better just don't get it. Personally, I think making complete digital backs for certain popular SLRs like the OM-1 and FM2 would be a good place to start too. I see Nikon has a patent for one. But this would mean a smaller pool of "backers" to help fund it if going independent. Good luck.
Moreover, it is much more difficult to implement than you first think. In your video you showed a prototype. It was put in an open camera where the shutter was held open and then you pushed a button on the sensor package. Thats easy. Very easy. But, is that what you want?
Canon's affordable full frame cameras have made the whole project redundant. Since the original EOS 5D was launched, it has opened the door for all kinds of adapted lenses running on their original format, a bonus is that Canon's EF system allows for metering and function without a detected lens. Most of the major systems can mount to Canon EF with no optical modification, including Nikon F, Olympus OM, Pentax K, Leica R, M42, Contax/Yashica, and Rollei mounts. So you can faithfully reproduce the optical quirks that these various vintage lenses posess, without having to use the lens on it's native system.
Digipod: according to himself he need 1000 backers for a crop 4 sensor, 2000 backers for a crop 3 sensor and 5000 backers for a crop 2 sensor. He currently have 35 backers and a third of time has passed. It does not look good.
You can just shoot film and get the negs digitalized when you bring them to the lab to be processed. I get very good scans on dvd from my lab at fair price. The best of both worlds... I have the pleasure to shoot portra on leica m6, nikon F3 or hasselblad and get good scans in a few hours, less time that i usually spend on editing and processing raw files in LR. When i want or need digital, i use a digital camera.
The digital cartridge seems nice at first, but at the end wont be as good as an integrated digital slr. And a lot of the pleasure with film cameras is the delay between shooting and viewing the images.
I just can't understand why the major DSLR manufacturers have not developed some sort of digital back or insert for the old film cameras - they have for medium format film! Just imagine the buzz of being able to get digital images out of an old Nikon F, F2As or F3.
My gosh, you didn't even bother to READ the article did you, let alone Joe. S. Wisniewski's posts linked in the article before posting, did you? (basic manners!)
Go on & take a look, an interesting explanation.
Back in the day when we could get date back replacement upgrade for our camera; I suppose it'd still be possible with such data backs, thus having enough room for electronics (with some problem for nose area, photog needs to breath as well)
About electromechanical control/sensor, now that's another engineering problem.
Today?
2nd hand 6MP APS-C sized sensor DSLR can be bought for about 150 bucks, coupled with some basic lens.
If this device wish to compete with that, it should cost less than 100 bucks and still no more easier than that relic DSLR (and worse IQ).
I think that's what killed the Leica Modul-R. The day I first tried it, the unusually thick "digital back" and the limited eye-relief meant my nose was squashed painfully against the back of the camera. Even though the 1.3x crop added eye-relief, it still wasn't enough.
That same day, back in July of 2005, I tried the Nikon D2X. That experience totally convinced me that the whole idea of a modular DSLR was dead. (Although I subsequently tried to revive it. Long story).
Inconvenient, who cares. That's the point really. Film was, but now we can develop ourselves. Raw files (dng format especially) would be best then you don't have to worry about white balance. No preview of your images, just reliance on good photography fundamentals without the hassle of film after.
I'd go get one then go buy some more film cameras tomorrow. It's a great idea, soon as someone does one successfully its going to sell in boat loads and you'll probably see film camera prices go up too. Imagine using a Contax G2 with this. Oooooops!
For me, it would be a Hexar RF, Maxxum 7, and OM-1. It would be a total kick in the pants and I think it would be very successful even today. I do think it would be easier to replace the entire film back though for certain cameras like the OM-1. Having a LCD, slot for a battery and microSD card, and a few controls would be nice. That seems more possible to me.
I'm thinking ... if they incorporate all the technical bits into the "film cylinder" portion to mimic Sony's new idea, this might work - i'd pair my ole' Nikon FM2N with my Nexus 7" tablet or 5" smartphone
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I remember the news, the sceptism, vapour ware labelling and clear signals it was a no-go project...BUT, deep down, in the soul of thought I really wanted them to succeed. With 5 or 6 film bodies unused in years and just as many digital bodies bought and sold, I'd still love to have something to bring life back to life so many marvelous camera designs....that were built to last more than a couple of years!
It's a great concept, but they missed the boat by a few years. Most photographers from the film era have probably thrown away their film bodies by now, or they are so out-of-date with regard to autofocus and other features there's no point in using them.
The disadvantages made it doomed from the start IMHO. While the efilm team tried to solve the problems, large camera makers, like Nikon made cameras. Not so good and rather expensive cameras to begin with. But, the efilm team had the same problems and much more and not the same kind of muscles.
The only hope for the efilm team would be if the camera makers decided to go on concentrating on film cameras, and postpone their interest in digital cameras. But ... this would also mean a lack of suitable sensors.
Making a full camera would have been easier, but when we started a DSLR cost around $40,000. What's more, those early DSLRs really weren't very good cameras. Certainly they were inferior to the film SLRs that many people already owed and loved.
It already wasn't interesting in 2000. Canon announced D30, and in 2001 I got it.
Even if the company had perfectly working device in 1998, they would have had just 2 years to monetize that idea. In no event they could have made any profit worthy of investment. It had DUMB idea written all over it.
Speaking for yourself of course. It's still a great idea, soon as someone does one successfully its going to sell in boat loads and you'll probably see film camera prices go up. Imagine using a Contax G2 with this. Yeah it has no value, right.
Today, I would not go back to my beloved old F2As. It is now a piece of history. Even if someone produced a slipin FF Silicon Film cartridge, I could not be induced to buy it for anything. You would have to pry my D800E from my cold dead fingers.
I always thought the digital film idea was wishful thinking. Until all the electronics and battery of a digital SLR can be packaged to fit inside the cylindrical space enclosed by a 135 cassette it will be impossible. Why didn't anybody seem to think of that before throwing away so much money?
Blindingly obvious, from an engineering perspective, I would have thought.
I've looked at all sorts of financial info on these guys, and never could find where they'd spent any money on electronics design. They had an IC packaging designer (not much use, unless you can order in large enough quantities to get a sensor maker to implement your package design). They ended up in such debt to Quest Manufacturing, a plastics fabricator, that Quest ended up acquiring the defunct Silicon Film.
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