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This looks interesting


t._zenjitsuman

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<p>Do you think this could be used to substitute for a film camera pressure plate to digitize <br>

old film cameras?<br>

<a href="http://thenewcamera.com/sony-smart-lens-to-be-launched-on-august-2013-rumor/">http://thenewcamera.com/sony-smart-lens-to-be-launched-on-august-2013-rumor/</a><br>

I know not this exact item, but it must be possible to do now.<br>

You could remove the whole back door of the camera and put in a monitor and sensor.</p>

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<blockquote>

<p><em>"I know not this exact item, but it must be possible to do now."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>It's been possible for more than a decade. Just never economically worthwhile apparently. Google "silicon film".</p>

<p>To wit:<br /> http://www.dpreview.com/news/2001/09/17/siliconfilmvaporizes<br>

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2002/09/19/siliconfilmagain</p>

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<p>Silicon film was seriously going to be my dream come true until the bubble burst. I envisioned my trusty M Leica and the lenses I had picked up over a 30 year period doing double duty. Not so. It was over 10 years after the Silicon Film debacle that Leica finally came out with a digital body to use those lenses, but it cost more than all those pieces put together, so it was a no-go for me. What a shame....I still have a bunch of high end RF cameras begging for a reasonably priced, simple digital solution. My chances of winning the lottery are much greater than encountering the long hoped for solution.</p>
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<p>Kent - I know you get better support for non-telecentric lenses with the offset microlenses, but is the M8 really worth it compared with an Epson or something like a Fuji X1? I quite like rangefinders (not that my Bessa R is quite in the build quality of an M), but I see the big advantage of the latest Ms being that they're full frame.</p>
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<p>It's not possible to get a digital sensor anywhere near to the film plane of an old 35mm camera. Most sensors need a transparent covering of some sort - IR filter and AA filters are commonly fitted. A "bare" sensor surface wouldn't last 5 minutes, and where do you make space for the interconnects and supporting PCB?<br /> That SiliconFilm idea was always going to be vapour ware or require expensive modification to the film camera.</p>

<p>T., that Sony SmartLens is exactly what it says - a lens with a digital sensor stuck on the back. I.e. a complete digital camera. How would you fit that into a film camera? And forget the 1" stated sensor size - that's advertising hype-speak for "no bigger than your little fingernail".</p>

<p>"I know not this exact item, but it must be possible to do now." - What makes you think that?<br /> Let's see what's required: A full-frame size sensor, or close to it; no thicker than 0.7mm; robust enough to withstand gentle touching and flexing, and remain hermetic; sensor face planar with rest of circuitry; adequate IR rejection; built in processing; built in wireless interface or storage interface, which would also need to be compact enough to fit inside a camera back; able to automatically detect when it was exposed to light and be self-resetting after image capture; able to operate from a battery no bigger than a film cassette; cheap enough to make it commercially viable.</p>

<p>If such an item was possible and existed, don't you think we wouldn't already have full-frame digital cameras at the price of compacts?</p>

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<p>Before we dismiss this entirely, I should bring to people's attention <a href="http://www.jku.at/cg/content/e152197/e198594/oe-21-4-4796.pdf">a poster from last year's SIGGRAPH</a>. Some work is still required, but it's interesting technology.<br />

<br />

Otherwise... well, there might be a photochemical solution possible that automatically scans on film rewind (especially for those

cameras that wind into the cannister). I wouldn't worry about it being affordable any time soon. (You don't need to detect exposure,

though - you could detect wind-on.) I imagine that someone might eventually - with enough nanotech - be able to make something

like this for collectors of old film cameras. For general use, I really doubt it'll happen - there are much cheaper ways to make a

sensor than trying to match 135 form factor, and much easier ways to provide a decent interface. Though how it would work with

the old Leica "cut a chunk out of the film" feed mechanism makes me cringe.</p>

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