Mamiya c330 digital back conversion

[kuvaharrastaja]

Hi, i am new here and wanted to share my recent project, modding a beat up c330 camera to be used with digital backs.
Ive cast and machined adapter plates from aluminium, and digital back holder is made from welding wire and house box parts, like latch and hinges.
Both digital backs are 22 megapizels and 48x36mm ccd sensor, and the sinarback is infrared modded.
Camera has also rotating back feature.
What do you think?

 

[miha]

This is the freakiest camera I've ever seen!

 

[Paul Howell]

Nice work, never thought of a digital TLR. Can you post an image taken with it?

 

[grahamp]

So the camera back was milled down, one part of the alloy mount added, then the other alloy mount on the digital back is clamped to that. This puts the focus in the equivalent plane to the focus screen? Or did you have to modify that?

The wind on won't be cocking the shutter (and I see much of that mechanism is gone), so you must be doing a manual cock.

I suppose the standard focal length for that format would be around 48mm, making most of the lenses on the long side.

It's a bit more extreme than some long roll Mamiya TLR conversions i have heard of, but if it fills a need, go for it.

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

Thank you! The mamiya tlr was chosen because i had such a bad luck shooting film with other medium format film cameras. m645 and kiev88, both shutter failed, so i got c330 with reliable shutter.
Here's some pictures taken with it, the leaf wi22 back was used. Original files are 123mb tiff. These are pretty compressed.

 

[Chuck1]

Very nice work

 

[mshchem]

This is great!

 

[Cholentpot]

This is amazing, can we see more results?

 

[AnselMortensen]

Ingenious!
Congratulations!

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

So the camera back was milled down, one part of the alloy mount added, then the other alloy mount on the digital back is clamped to that. This puts the focus in the equivalent plane to the focus screen? Or did you have to modify that?

The wind on won't be cocking the shutter (and I see much of that mechanism is gone), so you must be doing a manual cock.

I suppose the standard focal length for that format would be around 48mm, making most of the lenses on the long side.

It's a bit more extreme than some long roll Mamiya TLR conversions i have heard of, but if it fills a need, go for it.

Yes, camera was actually first cut in a lathe, where i could get my cutting done in absolutely same plane than the original film plane, so i woudnt get tilting for the digital back. Rest of the material was milled off.

Focus was calibrated with taking close focus test photos, and seeing if the wiewfinder focus matches the photo. Then i disassemble my adapter plate, and took some material off with lathe.
I had to do this 3 times, but now focus is spot on, and all the focus screen parts and front standard are original!

The cocking mechanism is only half way removed, it might be possible to fit to this once again, but ill have to manage with manual cock action for now

I think the 80mm lens in this is equilevant to 57mm in 35mm camera. A bit longer for sure! But its okay, i have the 55mm lens also.

Btw the adapter plates used to be my friends car rim It was cut down and cast to a 125mm axle (that is in the last photo) and machined from there to make the plates.

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

Very nice work

Thank you!

 

[steve reilly]

Very cool one of those things I have wondered if anyone had made. Now we know. Steve

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

This is amazing, can we see more results?

Thank you! Here is couple of pics taken with infrared modded sinarback, and orange colour infrared filter on lens. No editing was done on these photos, so they are "straight out of camera".
I have worked on the colour calibration features for infrared to get more neutral results, at least getting rid of any color casts or hue.

I wish it would be more colourful for these tests, but everything is just dark tones and whites in winter.

 

[Cholentpot]

Thank you! Here is couple of pics taken with infrared modded sinarback, and orange colour infrared filter on lens. No editing was done on these photos, so they are "straight out of camera".
I have worked on the colour calibration features for infrared to get more neutral results, at least getting rid of any color casts or hue.

I wish it would be more colourful for these tests, but everything is just dark tones and whites in winter.

When I started my photography journey I started by looking online if there was such a thing as a digital TLR. Turns out there is one now. I'll never get my hands on it but it's good to know that I'm not the only one with the idea.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hi, i am new here and wanted to share my recent project, modding a beat up c330 camera to be used with digital backs.
Ive cast and machined adapter plates from aluminium, and digital back holder is made from welding wire and house box parts, like latch and hinges.
Both digital backs are 22 megapizels and 48x36mm ccd sensor, and the sinarback is infrared modded.
Camera has also rotating back feature.
What do you think?



View attachment 363865 View attachment 363868 View attachment 363869 View attachment 363882

That is an interesting approach which I never considered. Welcome to Photrio!

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

That is an interesting approach which I never considered. Welcome to Photrio!

Thank you!

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

Some more photos. They are leaf valeo 22wi back images as well. I haven't found very many sample pictures on internet taken with similar 2004 year digital back.
It starts to be kinda vintage for digital, but still i think if exposed correctly, image quality is comparable even on some pretty modern full frame cameras.

The railway track pic was taken with full aperture and handheld with 1/30s. And first photo has glow on left and right sides, that because at time the shiny adapter plates were not painted black yet.

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

Again some more shots. brown one is taken with infared modded sinarback and 720nm filter on the camera.
Then some shots using smoke effect in old abandoned house.
On the laptop photo you can see the setup, how i mounted macbook to tripod. Its handy with these old digital backs that has to be shot tethered to computer.
As shooting experience this is almost like large format, but its digital. 16bit per channel, 22mp, 36x48mm ccd sensor on the camera.

 

[glbeas]

Wish I had one to fit a Phase One P25 back.

 

[kuvaharrastaja]

Here some more things.

First pic shows how leaf valeo is connected to digital magazine/battery, and also been connected to ipaq (handheld computer device from 2003) with bluetooth.
There in the wiwiew app, some previewing can be done for exposure and composition. The pictures does not save on ipaq, but on the digital magazine that has 10gb 1.8" hdd inside, same hdd that early ipod's had.

Also the 250mm lens... and all that craziness mounted on worlds flimsiest tripod, Its because I did go on location with bicycle and everything had to fit my backpack, lol.

Second picture is spring water stream in forest where evening sun shines from pretty low and golden. Its taken on 110mm lens f3.5 iso 200 and 1/30s. So every setting adjustable is pretty much at maximum there, because i was shooting handheld. Still pretty nice quality, and is of course better in the original 122mb file with original resolution and not packed so much.

I ordered a 45 degree prism finder for the camera too, I will try to make it work. I didn't want to get porrofinder with mirrors, and couldn't afford original prism finder, so i got an hasselblad nc2 finder.