Getting a bit bored so bought a book on RaspBerry Pi. So now I’m looking for a project.

One I’d like to do is build a camera back with a very large sensor – something I could stick on the back of a medium format camera – eg Fuji680 or Bronica 645. I know it’s not a sensible thing to do, I just want to know if anyone has already figured this out, or can give pointers.

Failing that, building a phone. 🙂

The expensive bit of a large format camera is the sensor, so the pi doesn’t help you there. Also way too slow io for all that data.

However, you might be able to do something with a scanner , sure I’ve seen something like that…

Also way too slow io for all that data.

It’s got camera interfaces that should be good for processing at several hundred megapixels per second. The problem is more one of how to write a camera driver for your chosen sensor if one doesn’t exist already.

That would be quite an interesting project. Hmmmm…..

oldnpastit – Member
…The problem is more one of how to write a camera driver for your chosen sensor if one doesn’t exist already.

I’m anticipating that would be the fun bit…

It’s too general-purpose for that job, really – my camera can convert five raw images to JPG every second, it takes a decently powerful PC several seconds to do the same job. That’s the difference between custom chips and multi-purpose chips.

Plus, as IA says, large sensors are expensive, very expensive – it costs a lot to make a flawless piece of silicon that big.

The Raspberry Pi has a hardware block for doing the JPEG encode, so it should be reasonably quick. It will certainly be much faster than several seconds.

That won’t help with the expensiveness of large sensors of course.

I wasn’t particularly worried about the expense of the large sensors.

It would be nice to get some use out of my old film cameras, especially the Fuji 680 with its beautiful lenses.

Can’t be arsed doing my own processing any more.

I wasn’t particularly worried about the expense of the large sensors.

eh? You mean you hadn’t considered this, or you’re happy to pay the money (thousands) for one? In which case it’ll come with processing hardware.

You could try and build something like this:
http://www.stockholmviews.com/diyphotogear/scannercamera.html

My spare one opens up the VPN tunnel between home and the office.

IA – Member
eh? You mean you hadn’t considered this, or you’re happy to pay the money (thousands) for one? In which case it’ll come with processing hardware…

Considered it, figured it would still be cheaper than buying a medium format digital back – which as far as I know are not available for the cameras I mentioned.

I like the scanner project but the idea is to resurrect my cameras – which haven’t been getting much use these days. Processing 6x8cm and 6×4.5cm colour negs is a PITA once you’ve had the convenience of digital.

figured it would still be cheaper than buying a medium format digital back

I don’t think so. I know of folk that have effectively made bespoke medium format backs (computational photography stuff) and it probably cost waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more.

which as far as I know are not available for the cameras I mentioned.

Minimal googling:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=60247.0

http://kapturegroup.com/solution/two.html

I found this, but it’s just an iPhone mod and I don’t want a Hasselblad.

Yes, I have already googled, but STW is an amazing repository of arcane knowledge, which is why I asked here.

And I’m not expecting it to be cheap, just not keen on paying £15-20,000 for a back. The secondhand stuff is way cheaper but has less resolution than my SLR, so that doesn’t appeal. The whole point of a big camera is to get big pics 🙂

Thanks for the links – those didn’t come up in my search.

It may be worth having a look at the Raspberry Pi Magazine MagPi

just not keen on paying £15-20,000 for a back

But making a custom back of similar resolution I’d expect be be 10x that. One off technology is always more expensive – where would the cost savings be? Just buying a sensor, if you can, will be very expensive – as you increase the area of silicon the yield goes way down and it’ll get way more expensive.

IA – Member
just not keen on paying £15-20,000 for a back
But making a custom back of similar resolution I’d expect be be 10x that. One off technology is always more expensive – where would the cost savings be? Just buying a sensor, if you can, will be very expensive …

It’s not purely for any savings. Part of the fun is the project, both construction and programming. I’m a bodger, I like one-off technology. (I do have some experience making computers and programming, although that dates from the days when I used to solder extra memory chips on and pray it wouldn’t bork the board, and I’ve some experience in new fangled languages like Algol68).

I’m not expecting to find a large sensor cheap, but the major problem seems to be getting them in quantities less than thousands…

It looks like I could buy a secondhand back for the 645 camera at a reasonable price so I’ll get one for that anyway.

The 680 though, I want mucho megapixels. 🙂

The most useful sites are the amateur astronomers – there’s a few useful homemade cameras there and a lot of useful info (not necessarily directly usable, but a good guide to direction).