Photocritic prefers ales or bitters to lager.

Minolta 35mm to digital conversion

previous article: next article:

dslr.jpgI think this write-up by GPS aware is most likely to be a joke (the quality of the pictures doesn’t inspire much faith, anyway), but it seems to be a funny project anyway. It re-opens the ages-old discussion of “So, I have a great 35mm camera, why can’t I convert it into a digital camera?”.

There are, of course, commercial products available that will help you out, called Digital Backs, such as this one for Mamiya medium formats, and the legendary Phase One backs for Hasselblads, etc. These products will cost enough money that you could put down a deposit for a house and buy a car for the same money, and is therefore largely limited to commercial (advertising) photographers.

On the cheap, you are looking for a different approach. Such as GPS Aware, who took a broken Minolta and stuck a webcam to it.

Money made from this advert will be invested in prime lenses.
This post, "Minolta 35mm to digital conversion", is part of these categories: All articles, was posted by Haje Jan Kamps and saw the light of day on the 12th of May 2006. I hope you liked it.

Insights, suggestions and comments

By Paul on May 13th, 2006 (permalink)

funny idea.
there’s also this uncommon but apparently still available Silicon Film technology. i just re-encountered it for the first time after hearing about it about 5 years ago (when it was called E-Film. http://www.side.com/

By Gordon on May 27th, 2006 (permalink)

my old slr is heaver and slower than my cheap-0 pentax. but i do have an minolta that i miss.

By b on July 25th, 2007 (permalink)

Believe it or not, Phase One Digital backs are not as expesive as buying a mortgage for a house. The P20 is available for $7K which is just about the same price as a high-end DSLR. Also, there are refurbished units that are even less expensive.

By Victor on May 5th, 2008 (permalink)

Major camera manufacturers while making DC’s are fully available at the same time to supply digital backs to their good and legacy film camera. But they don’t simply because E-film backs would defeat their DC marketing plans!

Unfortunately I do not have the resources required, else I would produce generic E-film backs for all classic major 35MM cameras. Any deep-pocket investors out there? drop me a line, please!

Vic
(a patent holder of something else that has consumed all my pennies).

By Tom on May 19th, 2008 (permalink)

Has anyone found a link or know someone that has taken a cheap digital point and shoot and an old half-frame 35mm body and merged them together? I’m considering doing this myself, wanted to see if anyone has given it a shot.

By Baz on November 7th, 2008 (permalink)

Tom
That is a good idea. Provided you could make it light tight and have the same focus plane it would be a hoot. Did you have any luck? I have an old canon digital and an even older praktica i bought in Berlin before 1983.

By Rob Friedman on February 2nd, 2010 (permalink)

I’ld like to try that .. but with a rollei 35

 

Share your wisdom



Go on, click the button

Ludicrously over-the-top DIY projects (like building your own laser trigger are...
View Results

Get notified!

If you want to get a notification whenever Photocritic makes a new post, fill in the form below!

Email Address:

Powered by Feed My Inbox

I love this on Flickr

On the Book of Face

Photocritic on Facebook

It goes 'tweet'

  • • Portraiture is all about perspective: This great little 2-minute video from #Samsung rams home the point http://is.gd/acZbX (link)
  • • Lighting is crucial in photography - but shadows are the dark side. Check out these fantastic examples: http://is.gd/acy0E (link)
  • • @Frost_01 Looks like those coins are hand-made, so if you want 'em made, contact the shop! (link)
  • • Did you ever dream of being a spy? This will make your little face light up... http://is.gd/acgPm (link)
  • • Had a go at product photography of my new watch tonight. Jeebus, is that difficult... http://flic.kr/p/7JRbap #Flickr (link)
  • • RT @warandpeace Simple concept knocked out of the fucking park. This is my new desktop wallpaper! http://bit.ly/bdNr09 (link)
  • follow @photocritic on Twitter!

My books

Macro Photography Photo Workshop

Macro Photography Photo Workshop by Haje Jan Kamps My day job, if it can be called that, is being a writer. I've got one book out there so far and it's awesome, so go ahead and buy a copy! It's available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and most decent-sized bookshops, too!

To find out more, check out this post! If you want to know more about the 'being a writer' thing, check this site out.

Put another dime in the jukebox

Put another dime in the jukebox In front of you, five hyperactive men with guitars, drums, and microphones. Behind you, five thousand fans. In your hands, a camera... You're going to need more than just a little bit of good luck to pull this one off. That's where this book comes in.

With nearly a hundred fantastic gig photos, and a ton of info about how to get involved in taking photos like this yourself, you can't go wrong. Buy this book. Grab your camera. Good luck.

Street Photography: London

Street Photography: London Take a Canon EOS 450D. Attach a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. Hit the streets of London. See what happens.

Sounds simple - but the results are anything but. Moving, intense, and personal, Street Photography: London is a great collection of the people of London, their passions, and their dreams. Look for yourself!


About

This site is all about learning more about photography, from the incredibly insightful (rarely) to the dreadfully mundane (also, hopefully rarely) via just about everything in between.

If this website seems a little whimsical and random, then that's because the author of this blog, who for the occasion is confusing himself by writing about himself in the third person, is slightly whimsical and random himself.

Enjoy!

- Haje