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Posted by Doug Clifford on June 02, 2002 at 07:46:10:
In Reply to: nikon digital back posted by rob on June 01, 2002 at 15:42:51:
: a couple of years ago there was an outfit in southern
california that made the first aftermarket digital camera back...
: it was for the F3HP, was 2.x something pixels and cost around
$795.00..US
: I called them and they had another version, also for the F3HP
coming out in about six months from then, which was in the high
3.x (close to 4.0) pixel range and the estimated cost was to be
in the mid $900.00 range...
: I was on their e-mail annoucement list at that time..but cannot
recall their name...I believe I may have the information in an
old computer with another e-mail address that i no longer
use...that is probably why I have not heard from them
: I will try to look that up...and also ask some of my more
dedicated photo friends and see what i can come up with..as I am
also interested in this higher pixel range back...
: you can of course, use all of your nikon lenses with this
back..having all the versitility of your normal camera but with
the modern technology of digital
: the back just dropped into where the canister normally
goes..and i believe you even used your original cover door but
not sure of that
: hope i helped some..and did not create more of a mystery by not
being able to recall the company name
The company's name was Silicon Film Technologies, and the so-called digital backs for 35mm cameras NEVER existed beyond the demo prototype units shown at trade shows. The product was known as the EFS-1 Electronic Film System. This Southern California based company raised and spent MILLIONS of investor dollars on a product which never went into production despite repeated claims by management that modules for specific 35mm cameras were only a few months from release to the general public. This company gathered the names and e-mail addresses of believers on their web site, published product specifications, and was very adept at releasing frequent press releases. This went on for more than 3 years. The company suspended operations in September 2001 in anticipation of bankruptcy. See http://www.dpreview.com/news/0109/01091702siliconfilmvaporizes.asp for complete details.
To fully utilize 35mm cameras design, the CMOS chip would have had to be 1"x1-1/2" in size. The 1/2" chip proposed for the EFS-1 would only capture the center area seen in your viewfinder and you'd always be guessing whether you captured the shot or not. Consumers are lucky this product never reached the market place.
You can buy a very decent 3-4 megapixel digital camera for less than the proposed $795 price for the EFS-1.
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