1 April Is Getting Closer

[Mike Farley]

I am not entirely sure what to think about this.* Do I mock it for being an absurd idea or praise the ingenuity of the inventor? It is a system called "I'm Back" intended for taking digital pictures with an analogue film camera. There are two problems so far as I can see. The first is that the supplementary system is of a substantial size. The other issue that the film camera is no longer acting as a conventional camera. Instead it is relegated to being a viewing device. A separate camera of the digital variety which is housed within the accessory back takes a photograph of the image created at the film camera's focussing plane. The diagram below shows how it works.



All in all, it seems like a lot of inconvenience and trouble to which to go, simply to resurrect old cameras. The system is currently available via a Kickstarter campaign, which has more details. There is only one sample image on the Kickstarter page and the quality does not look too impressive. At around £200, at least it is not too expensive but I cannot help thinking that the money could be put towards better uses. Such as film and a scanner, if someone really wants to use an old camera.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sa ... escription

* Actually, that is untrue. In this age where snowflakes abound everywhere, it is a pathetic attempt to avoid causing offence. This is a preposterous creation.