BRADFORD, U.K. – Independent inventor James Jackson is looking for funding via crowdfunding website Indiegogo to mass produce and market a prototype “Digipod” he has crafted that is said to turn old film cameras into digital ones.
The Digipod is an insert adapter that drops into the back of a 35mm film-based SLR, “and some of the mechanical non- SLR viewfinder 35mm cameras (like Leica, Olympus trip and Rolli.”
Photographers get full control of their camera’s focus and aperture controls while capturing images in digital format.
The Digipod has its own shutter, which is triggered by the camera’s shutter release.
The Digipod includes an image sensor that is smaller than the full 35mm frame, so a proposed Digipod kit would include a mask enabling the viewfinder to match the sensor area.
The sensor is said to measure 8.8mm by 6.6mm, which is roughly a quarter the size of the film frame.
But Jackson said in his posting that with 5,000 backers, he could amass a budget to develop a larger 18mm by 13.5mm sensor. Backers who put up the requested $311to purchase one of the first products have no guarantees that such a sensor will be possible.
Jackson said he needs a minimum of 1,000 backers to proceed.
The proposed Digipod sensor would be of the CMOS variety, and is predicted to have an ASA range of 24 to 3,200.
Of course, the converted digicams would lack a viewscreen, eliminating the instant gratification of seeing an image immediately after it is taken.
For further information, see Indiegogo.com/Projects/Digipod.
