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Convert Your Old Film SLR Into a Digital Camera with the DigiPod
PETAPIXEL ^ | August 16, 2013 | DL Cade

Posted on 08/16/2013 8:38:01 PM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER

The idea of fitting electronics into a film SLR in order to capture digital photos with it is not new. The thing is, most of the ideas we’ve shared ranged from April Fools jokes to promising concepts that never seem to advance beyond that.

The DigiPod is the first product we’ve seen actually become a reality. It’s a digital cartridge that fits inside your old film SLR, and if it makes it to market, it could be quite groundbreaking.

(Excerpt) Read more at petapixel.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Chit/Chat; Hobbies; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: 35mm; camera; cameras; digipod; digital; photography
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To: Vision Thing

I had an AE-1P (a great and not terribly expensive camera in its time) and now I have an A-1 in a bag gathering dust, with its very good lenses. I think that there will have to be a lot of compromises made in this design but it would be nice to use my old camera usable again. I just hope that no one is getting their hopes up. It should be able to take pictures, but having the exposure controls is going to be non-existent or very, very tricky and cumbersome. IMO, without a near full size image sensor or some genuinely amazing optics, it’s just going to be a curiosity. I hope he gets enough commitments.


21 posted on 08/16/2013 10:54:39 PM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day.")
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

bookmark


22 posted on 08/16/2013 11:57:34 PM PDT by GOP Poet
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Hmmm...I have two Nikons from the late 1970s/mid 1980s...and lots of lens to go with them...very interesting...


23 posted on 08/16/2013 11:57:38 PM PDT by Nepeta
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To: 43north
It will be great if this comes to fruition. I’ve got a big collection of vintage Nikons and some legendary Nikkor lenses. DSLRs never appealed to me because they seem so complicated. I understand film, shutter speeds, F-stops, and mechanical cameras. I have trouble wrapping my mind around digicams but if one of my old cameras could “go digital” I’d sure be willing to try it. In the meantime, I’ll stick with film.

You should consider getting a newer Nikon dSLR because some of them will mount your old lenses. I have a Nikon D5000 that will mount even the pre-AI lenses. Everything is manual, even the exposure, but they are loads of fun. I also have a Nikon D7000 that will mount every Nikon SLR lens from AI to present day and the D7000 will vary the shutter speed to get the right exposure (use aperture priority).

My favorite lens is a Vivitar Series 1 with a Nikon AI mount, 28-90mm, f2.8 dating from the early 1980s. A nice bonus is all the weight training you can get in while taking photos!

24 posted on 08/17/2013 3:36:38 AM PDT by 109ACS (If this be Treason, then make the most of it. Patrick Henry, May 1765)
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To: Army Air Corps

I have the 1000 TL, along with a variety of M42 screw mount lenses, and some old Practica bodies, too.

Plus, a cherry Nikon FM2n that was my dads, and has barely seen any use.

It’d be sweet to get one (or all) of these cameras running again. Occasionally, I’ll buy a roll of film and run through one of them, but it’s just easier to grab the DSLR.

Hope this makes it to market and is reasonably priced. If they make one for the Zenit, I’ll definitely be picking one up on eBay...


25 posted on 08/17/2013 3:58:10 AM PDT by FLAMING DEATH (I'm not racist - I hate Biden too!)
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To: 43north

Nice thing about DSLRs is that you can experiment on the fly and see your results without having to wait for a contact sheet.


26 posted on 08/17/2013 4:02:24 AM PDT by Cvengr (Adversity in life and death is inevitable. Thru faith in Christ, stress is optional.)
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To: Slump Tester
Prototype of the Canon FT (and later FTb), not the ‘automatic electronic’ AE1 featuring one of the first SLRs with a plastic body. Search for a picture of the Canon FT or FTb, you'll see they're very similar.
27 posted on 08/17/2013 4:57:06 AM PDT by disclaimer
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

For later


28 posted on 08/17/2013 5:09:55 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Don't fire until you see the blue of their helmets)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER
Convert Your Old Film SLR Into a Digital Camera with the DigiPod
From the article:Nevermind.
29 posted on 08/17/2013 5:28:40 AM PDT by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: castlebrew

Would love to revive my two Pentax SPII’s with a digital upgrade.

Nothing like that old “Ka-Chunka!” when you trip the shutter.


30 posted on 08/17/2013 5:34:03 AM PDT by elcid1970 ("The Second Amendment is more important than Islam.")
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To: 43north

A lot of the DSLRs on the market have those features especially the models that have a full manual mode where you set the shutter speed, ISO, f-stops, etc.


31 posted on 08/17/2013 5:40:19 AM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Mastador1

The company was driven into bankruptcy by a couple of employees that were ex Kodak, you figure out why.


I spent quite a bit of time in Rochester when I was working for a Swiss based machine supplier. Working on getting our equipment “qualified” with Kodak to potentially supply machines to them for mass production of their Photo CD product (dye based CD-R technology). You know how the Photo CD worked out...

In any event, they were always so proud to claim that they had the largest amount of PhD’s working for the company. Their demise was never a surprise...


32 posted on 08/17/2013 6:38:58 AM PDT by Hotlanta Mike ("Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it." Lao Tzu)
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To: 109ACS

I have that same Vivitar Series 1. GREAT lens! When I use it I don’t need to go to the gym for a couple of days... I have the 600mm Solid Cat too - compact but DENSE LOL!


33 posted on 08/17/2013 8:49:09 AM PDT by 43north (BHO: 50% black, 50% white, 100% RED)
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