Modify a 35mm SLR to make square images?

[BetterSense]

I have a Pentax ME Super that I modified into a moving-slot panoramic camera (like a Cirkut). I just used black construction paper and clear tape to make the mask for the slit. You could do the same thing and just make the slit 24mm wide. It would have large spaces between frames however. I'm not sure I see the point considering you can just crop...

 

[Sirius Glass]

Buy a good pair of scissors and cut the negative. A low cost, low tech solution.

 

[Rick A]

Find an intact Yashica 635 with the 35mm adapter parts.

 

[ntenny]

I find myself wondering what would happen if you snipped off 1/3 of the teeth on the wheels that advance the film. For 2/3 of its stroke, the advance lever would be pulling the film along as expected; for the remaining 1/3 it should be turning the rest of its mechanism, but not advancing the film (the sprocket holes should just sit there while the toothless portion of the sprocket goes by). Obviously this only works if the sprocket goes through a full rotation per frame, though, and it's not obvious if the teeth would pick up the sprocket holes cleanly when they came back around.

Perhaps worth a try if someone has a 35mm junker to test on. I'm not convinced it will work well, but I don't immediately see why it shouldn't at least "sorta-kinda" work.

-NT

 

[Matthew Rusbarsky]

I've thought about removing sprocket teeth, but I don't think that would work. Here is how I would go about it. Take a simple camera like and Argus A or C series. The film transport on these is very simple as winding on and cocking the shutter are two separate operations. The star wheel is set up so that it makes one full rotation every time a frame is advanced. On the top of the star wheel there is a little pin that engages the film catch on the top deck. That little pin prevents you from advancing more than one frame when you wind on. If you drill another hole in the star wheel and install another pin 180deg opposed to the first one, you have a half frame camera. Converting to square frame would involve installing two pins, both 120 deg opposed from the first. Then, when you wind on, the film will advance 1/3 of a 35mm frame. Advancing twice would give you a square frame.

 

[Bob-D659]

The film sprocket teeth usually prevent the film from moving more that one frame, as there is a slip clutch in the takeup spool so it will slip after winding up one frame on an ever increasing diameter spool.