Dust off those old film bodies!

[vinman]

And check this out!

http://re35.net/index.html

It's either an elaborate hoax, or I'm getting my old F5 back...

 

[PeteZ28]

May have to go buy an F5 before they go up in price! :wink:

 

[ArtO]

That will be a fantastic boon to shooters everywhere. With the prices of the film cameras so low and the quality so high adding digital capability is just WOW!

 

[vulturetec]

Supposedly it's fake. It's a joke/promo for a design company, not a promo for a real product (or so they're saying). http://www.popphoto.com/news/2011/04/re-35-will-not-turn-your-35mm-film-camera-digital

The same "technology" was started a long time ago by Silicon Film, but their estimated cost of their 1mp sensor was up around $700 and although it was "real" it never really went anywhere.

 

[MurByrne]

I believe it's just an april fools joke. I just got really excited about this

 

[Mike66]

The domain re35.net is registered to Rogge & Potte GbR in Germany, which has an April Fools link on its main website that includes the RE-35:

http://www.roggeundpott.de/input-output_de/#1652

The RE-35 appears to be a April Fools joke and was listed in a ZDNet blog and Photography Blog sites.

 

[vinman]

I read about in on Gizmodo. They've really turned the "Quality" knob to 0 recently. Some posted that it might be fake, but some suggested some validity. Seems like, based on Silicon Film's groundwork and better, more appropriate parts available today, it would be doable.

 

[camerapapi]

If such a product exists it would be a godsend although the immediate reward of looking at the LCD and a histogram, among other things, are still missing.
I could be different to others but I am perfectly happy scanning negatives to a CD.

William Rodriguez
Miami, Florida.

 

[Julien]

All of this is, sadly, still wishful thinking… :frown:

 

[Kisatchie]

I'd NEVER put a digital back on my F2 and F3HP bodies. Not a chance.

 

[Julien]

I'd NEVER put a digital back on my F2 and F3HP bodies. Not a chance.

Whereas I'd love to transform my MP into a digital camera when I feel like it!

 

[Smiert Spionam]

I remember reading about the Silicon Film vaporware on photo.net over ten years ago. In retrospect, it seems like an impossibly complex and expensive bit of retrofitting, but the idea is still seductive. I'd love to pop one in an FE2, and a QL17, and a Barnack, and....

 

[vinman]

I remember reading about the Silicon Film vaporware on photo.net over ten years ago. In retrospect, it seems like an impossibly complex and expensive bit of retrofitting, but the idea is still seductive. I'd love to pop one in an FE2, and a QL17, and a Barnack, and....

I can imagine back in the 90's when Silicon Film made a go of this it was an amazing feat of engineering (there were a few working samples). Today, with the extreme miniaturization of all the components that would make this product, it should be easy - just not cheap to get into production.

Here's a fun fantasy that I came up with while waiting at the dentist office a little while ago...

With this type small self-contained device, you'd need to be able to adjust things like iso sensitivity. There could be the standard software that comes in the box to enable these adjustments on the computer, but to make it more "mobile friendly", there could also be an iOS and Android app that also gives adjustability. Just plug the cord into the device and adjust and dowload in the field!

I sent an email to the company listed on the website pleading for clarity regarding the validity of this device, but haven't gotten a reply. My guess is that it's yet another marketing ploy meant to go viral - yet I have no idea what benefit this type stunt would have for anyone...

 

[Martytoof]

I would pay a lot of money for this product. No lie.

 

[ritewinger]

I would pay a lot of money for this product. No lie.

The problem is there are a lot of people like me, that would not pay a lot for this. I have already invested (spent) lots of cash on digital cameras.....

 

[Sysyphus]

Don't know if I'd pay a lot, but it would be great to implement. Just think of the possibilities.
Dedicated B&W with much higher dynamic range would be a huge plus.
IMHO the preview and histogram wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker to the film guys.
Imagine having to meter and make sure everything was right, BEFORE taking the shot.
The RAW file could be DNG so as to be universal.
All those cameras saved from the landfills.
I really don't see a downside.
We can dream......

 

[sambo.]

i doubt such a beast would simply be a film cartridge type deal. more likely you'd remove the film back on, say, the F5 and replace it with a digi back.

pity it's a hoax.

IMHO the preview and histogram wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker to the film guys.

it woudn't worry me in the slightest. especially if it revives my $5k paperweight and gives it a new lease on life.

 

[Seneca]

I would never go back to film. That's like going back to an old boyfriend that you really didn't like anyway. I like my new boyfriend...a lot!

 

[Mad Hatter]

I would pay a lot of money for this product. No lie.

I'd happily pay a grand for something like this. Throw it in a bessa or something like that and go. Forget your m9. Something like this would open a whole new world of possibilities.

 

[sambo.]

I would never go back to film. That's like going back to an old boyfriend that you really didn't like anyway. I like my new boyfriend...a lot!

while i don't plan on shooting film anytime soon (or ever again) i keep my F5 for two reasons:

1: i couldn't bear to sell it for such a miserly fraction of what it cost, and it has sentimental value as it still has an official News Media Approved sticker from teh Sydney 2000 Olympics on the baseplate.

and

2: Sod's Law dictates that as soon as i sell it, i'll get a phone call offering a very lucrative job on the proviso i shoot it on film.

but a digi-conversion kit that gave it a new lease of everyday use life, i'd be onto that like a shot.

i wonder if Nikon will ever bring out an EN-EL4 battery adaptor for the F5..... (i doubt it, AAs all the way i suspect)