DIY digital back TLR

[yongfei]

I finally made a digital TLR. The camera is a baby 4x4 Primo Jr which has a 60/2.8 lens. So it becomes a 90mm standard lens for 36x36mm digital back.

This is a prototype that is able to take pictures and prove the concept.

There are still quite a few issues: The shutter speed is not accurate (old camera), the infinite focus is not achieved, and therefore the focusing is not accurate. Also, the back frame (Kiev 88) is not permanently glued to the body yet, so the light sealing is not tight.

But it is a fun project. And hope that it gives some idea to the DIY/MF community so that someone may eventually come up with something better and more professionally made.

 

[yongfei]

 

[gsking]

Well done. It would be fun to try this with one of my Autocords, but since my sensor is 24x36, it would be a bit of a waste of time. Plus, since mine is tethered, I lose quite a bit of portability. ;-)

 

[yongfei]

Well done. It would be fun to try this with one of my Autocords, but since my sensor is 24x36, it would be a bit of a waste of time. Plus, since mine is tethered, I lose quite a bit of portability. ;-)

The waste of time is mine The lens has a lot of flare due to old design and scratch. So it has a strong Holga effect. Originally I intended to use it as a travel camera. Good idea, bad approach.

Outdoor picture test (with lens shade)

The romatic French Semflex TLR::thumbup:

 

[s.agar]

As a hobbyist and collector of cameras, the 4X4 Primo-JR is a very interesting camera. However it's Topcor 60/2.8 lenses may not be the world's best lenses. I would still expect much better results, so I guess there may be internal fog too. Does it?

On the other hand, the photos have a different feel, and I congratulate you for your efforts as a hobbyist.

Seyhun

 

[yongfei]

There are a few deep surface scratches, with some internal fog/haze. Maybe I should open it up and try to clean the lens and repair the shutter. I will do some research on the TLR　repair. Thanks.

 

[Felipe]

This is a really interesting project! Have you tried to add more contrast to the images in Photoshop?

Philipp

 

[yongfei]

This lens has a strong soft filter effect. I can still use it for special effect portrait if I can fix the lens flare, shutter speed, and focus accuracy issues.

I used a PC laptop for tethered capturing. So I only adjusted the color temperature, nothing else. Here is a comparison between this camera and the Bronica 105/3.5MC lens:

Below is the same scene from Bronica, looks much "normal":