Another Way Forward.... Perhaps.

I've wondered for years why no one has made a "slip-in" 35mm sensor for film cameras (similar ish to a 126 cartridge) Just a 12mp or something. It seems odd no ones thought of making those cameras an upgrade....
 
Many years ago - about 1998 I think - there was an American firm that claimed to be producing a 35mm "film cassette" that would fit any 35mm camera and convert it to digital. It never happened, but the rumour persisted for a few years, with various people claiming that they were about to make a breakthrough.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I've wondered for years why no one has made a "slip-in" 35mm sensor for film cameras (similar ish to a 126 cartridge) Just a 12mp or something. It seems odd no ones thought of making those cameras an upgrade....
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As Garry says, there were several attempts that proved essentially to be vapourware. IIRC none of them were full frame.

The engineering challenge is to make a digital sensor that is the same thickness as 35mm film. That's quite a tall order.

Otherwise you have replace the whole back of the camera, which starts to limit your market opportunities to people who have that particular model. You have no electronic connection with the host camera, so readying the sensor for each exposure becomes, er, interesting.

There was perhaps a window of opportunity in the late 90s and early 00s, but sourcing sensors of any suitable size in what would likely be quite small volumes would have been prohibitively expensive. Much after that people who wanted a digital camera could already buy one at an affordable price. The good film bodies went into drawers and charity shops.
 
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Musicman said:
e2a: The comments are worth reviewing before you send them your money, though
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I always thought that these "digital film" gadgets were never going anywhere without the backing of a big company.

Manufacturing to the tolerances required is only economic in large quantities and which manufacturer will invest the resources required? Still, people keep trying...

petapixel.com

3D Printed Cartridge Turns Any 35mm Film Camera into a Digital Camera

Make any old 35mm film camera into a digital camera!
petapixel.com petapixel.com
 
Think as already said before this is something that sounds a good idea but isn’t feasible in practice
as far as I understand the sensor itself and the associated gubbins are a significant percentage of the manufacturing cost of a camera
it would be nice though to have a digital back for my Canon A1 :)
 
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