The Silicon Film revival, apparently incomplete as of now, is likely due to
some elements of their concept being a good idea. Don't forget that whatever
the technological or theoretical merits, it *has* to make sense as a
business proposition too. Nobody will fund a company to throw their money
away... Silicon Film's proposed product has to be able to be produced and
sell for a profit. So -- what kind of a product could make business sense?
Technologically, I don't think sensors are available yet that can replace
film at the thickness and cubic size constraints of the 35mm cartridge. You
just can't get a 1/5mm thick CCD sensor and a 35mm cartridge-sized
electronic array with sufficient processor and memory to function as the
original Silicon Film design was supposed to...
So I think a more feasible and practical current-technology choice would be
a digital replacement back. A replacement back could be slightly thicker
than one containing only a pressure plate, allowing room for processing
electronics (always getting smaller...) and sufficient battery capacity (not
getting any smaller lately...) and a proper ergonomic interface (fingers
aren't getting any smaller either...) With a good design, only the
camera-specific part of the back would need to be changed for different
models/manufacturers of cameras. This would enable a standard digital back
to be used with different camera-body interfaces on Olympus, Minolta, Nikon,
Canon, etc...
Using the now available 24mm x 36mm sensor would open the market for buyers
to go digital with full use of their existing lenses. I don't think there is
much market feasibility for using a smaller sensor, it compromises too many
other factors. Canon has confirmed that they are using a 24mm x 36mm sensor
on their newest digital body offering... as production volume of these
larger sensors ramps, costs should drop. A larger sensor generates a lot of
data, so housing it in a digital back-unit, with room for interchangable
memory, compact hard disks, etc. is required. This back-unit would likely,
like Silicon Film's illustrations, curl under the bottom of the camera,
similar in concept to a motor drive unit. It would mount onto the camera
body like a replacement back (easier with interchangable-back designs, but
doable on many camera bodies with slight tool usage.) An LCD display and
controls for the back could be incorporated.
What is the market potential for this device? Camera users with large
investments in existing camera systems for which a compatible digital SLR of
equivalent capability is not offered. Also, digital backs for film users
looking to preserve their investment in and familiarity with their existing
Nikon or Canon equipment. Could Silicon Films digital back compete with
Nikon and Canon? Yes, depending on their cost. If you already own an F5 and
some lenses, and can buy an F5 digital back for ~$1000-$1500, or an D-100
for $3000, which will you do?
The real potential market is the Pentax, Olympus, older Canon, older Nikon,
and Minolta owners, who have a substantial investment in lenses (where the
true investment is for many owners) and have no OEM digital body available.
A digital back for my OM-4 that lets me use the two dozen OM lenses I
already have, along with the already owned OM body, and is appealing if the
cost is less than buying into a D-100 or EOS-1d with new lenses, especially
if the digital quality it yields is equivalent. Would many of us here pay
$1000-$1500 to buy an OM back that was a 6-7MP add-on for digital
capability? I'd have to consider it seriously... if it was 11MP it becomes
even more compelling.
Can this device be designed for this cost? The key is the 24mm x 36mm
sensor, and I suspect that right now it is too costly... but consider that a
temporary condition, electronics costs fall constantly and quickly. Look at
the prices for LCD displays... The rest of the design is straightforward. A
digital back doesn't need a shutter mechanism, a focusing mechanism, a lens,
or an exposure system. You would want selectable ISO settings, but
effectively the digital back *would* be *digital film* for existing camera
designs. Connection to the PC terminal, hotshoe, (or through the existing
dateback contacts in the OM's) would tell the digital back to record the
image on the sensor... everything else is done by the existing camera body.
This seems like a very feasible concept, given the few technology
constraints apparent. The business constraints are more daunting, but if the
cost of the full-frame sensor comes down enough to make the rest of it
sensible I think the idea has pretty good potential, enough to attract
backing. We may not see it for a couple years, but it may emerge someday.
--
Jim Brokaw
OM-1's, -2's, -4's, (no -3's yet) and no OM-oney...
on 9/21/02 8:05 AM, Joe Gwinn at joegwinn@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> I guess my bottom-line reaction is that silicon film, while possible, isn't
> likely to be economically practical, and one would be better off buying a real
> digital camera.
>
> The great white hope would be for somebody to make a digital back for elderly
> cameras. I don't know that the market for OM digital backs will be large
> enough to make it practical for somebody to manufacture such a thing, unless
> it can be made as a minor mechanical mod to something intended for some other
> camera, or the product is pitched to multiple camera brands at once, with
> suitable adapters (or instructions on modification of existing backs). Given
> the price of full-frame 35mm CCDs, it won't be for some time.
>
>
> Joe Gwinn
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