Community archive

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Optical camera--Digital film

0 helpful
5 replies

by mjd420nova

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

Acouple years ago I sam an article in the Popular
Science magazine that showed a device that looked like a roll of 35mm film but had a CCD
window that stuck out into the shutter area of a
35mm camera. What a deal I thought, I can keep
the optical advantages of my 35mm SLR but save
the photos digitally. The stated price was
$600. Where can I get one?? I'm not about
to give up my optical camera that I have invested
well over $3,000. with camera, and lenses and
flash attachments. I would settle for only
2 megapixels and USB output if it were available.

5 replies

by generalist

If you're shooting with some of the 'newer' Canon lenses, you could upgrade by getting a digital body. I suspect that something would work that way for the other big names.

If you are using an older camera with older lenses, the digital film 'roll' would probably be cheaper.

I took the alternative of going digital and making the leap to the Canon system, abandoning a film camera that had worked well for about ten years. The money I've saved on developing has been worth the ability to build a new collection using high end lenses.

by thechas

Kodak and other companies used to make digital imaging backs for some Pro level SLR cameras.

Usually you could only find backs for the top end Canon and Nikon bodies.

Even the best of these are no match for the current crop of 35MM digital SLR bodies.

If you have a Canon or Nikon autofocus system, just get the digital body of your choice.

I do believe that you can use some of the Nikon manual focus lenses on some of the digital bodies.

Chas

by guruofdos

to the idea of mounting an LCD transmissive panel in a 35mm slide mount and then slipping this into a Kodak or Elmo 35mm slide projector to display computer graphics!

Or buying a 12" TFT panel to drop over the top of an OHP.

All good ideas, but always a compromise on a purpose designed device. Why bother? You can get a half-decent 2MP camera for less than US$20 - I lay any money if a digital back is available, we are talking hundreds!!

by sleepin'dawg

A digital back for a Hasselblad is beaucoup bucks; somewhere in the region north of $5000. This will give you 8-9 megapixels but on a CCD that just blows away the best of Nikon or Canon's efforts, even if they are talking 14-16 megapixels because of the much larger CCD in the Hasselblad back (I believe they are supposed to be somewhere near the 2"X2" format which is close to the native 2 1/4"X2 1/4" format)

The same probably applys for large format cameras such as Linhofs and Sinars. I have no idea of current prices but 2 years ago, the price for a digital 4"X5" back was in the $35,000 area with resolutions of around 10-12 Megapixels. I have absolutely no idea of how large the CCDs on these monsters would be. I do know they are special order items with a 90-120 day lead time and an up front deposit of 1/3 of the price required.

God only knows what a digital back for an 8"X10" would be but they do exist. My curiosity wonders what the file sizes would be in RAW or TIFF. I would expect a 1 GIG SD card would be pushed beyond its limits and you'd require a 4 GIG microdrive or better yet a direct download to a 200 GIG drive on a lap top. I wonder what the download times would be and the time between shots?

Boggles the mind; doesn't it. Don't even think of the digital equivalent of 16mm, 35mm or 70mm cine cameras. Sticker shock for those just might kill you.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

This discussion is closed to new replies.