LCD on a 35mm Film Camera?
September 8, 2010 2:53 PM Subscribe
Is there a 35mm film camera that also has an LCD? My mother likes the idea of looking at an LCD instead of using the view finder, but doesn't want to depart from the world of 35mm film!
She just needs a point-and-shoot, nothing fancy (under ~$150).
Does such a hybrid camera exist?
I've never heard of anything like that for any price, much less cheap.
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:06 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:06 PM on September 8, 2010
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/08/vivitars-new-full-frame-35mm-film-camera/
Vivitar's new full frame 35mm film camera
You hear a lot lately about bringing high-end DSLR functionality to the consumer, mostly thanks to the wild new world of Micro Four Thirds, but Vivitar is really breaking the price barrier with its new $10 point and shoot. The camera shoots to full frame 35mm film (there's even a 24 shot roll included, roughly equivalent to 512MB), and yet its single button operation and automatic motorized advance should make the high-end shooter accessible to the novice photogs among us. Of course, a built-in flash and auto focus will appeal to the feature hungry enthusiasts as well. The best news? If you buy one of these today, you can actually get a second camera and second roll of film for free!
Amazing timing. (video in link shows off LCD screen)
posted by 2bucksplus at 3:06 PM on September 8, 2010
Vivitar's new full frame 35mm film camera
You hear a lot lately about bringing high-end DSLR functionality to the consumer, mostly thanks to the wild new world of Micro Four Thirds, but Vivitar is really breaking the price barrier with its new $10 point and shoot. The camera shoots to full frame 35mm film (there's even a 24 shot roll included, roughly equivalent to 512MB), and yet its single button operation and automatic motorized advance should make the high-end shooter accessible to the novice photogs among us. Of course, a built-in flash and auto focus will appeal to the feature hungry enthusiasts as well. The best news? If you buy one of these today, you can actually get a second camera and second roll of film for free!
Amazing timing. (video in link shows off LCD screen)
posted by 2bucksplus at 3:06 PM on September 8, 2010
Response by poster: I got the idea from an infomercial for a Vivitar 35mm Film camera with LCD. I think this is it:
Vivitar PZ3815DB Compact 35mm Power Zoom Camera
http://www.amazon.com/Vivitar-PZ3815DB-Compact-Power-Camera/dp/B00022VZ0A/ref=sr_1_16?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1283983491&sr=1-16
Search that Amazon page for "LCD" and you'll see the bullet.
I'm looking for any similar products :)
posted by thankyoumuchly at 3:08 PM on September 8, 2010
Vivitar PZ3815DB Compact 35mm Power Zoom Camera
http://www.amazon.com/Vivitar-PZ3815DB-Compact-Power-Camera/dp/B00022VZ0A/ref=sr_1_16?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1283983491&sr=1-16
Search that Amazon page for "LCD" and you'll see the bullet.
I'm looking for any similar products :)
posted by thankyoumuchly at 3:08 PM on September 8, 2010
The camera the 2bucksplus linked to doesn't have an image LCD. It's the same as any other old point-and-shoot 35mm film camera. That preview image that you see from the video is showing a "hard to use" digital camera.
And the LCD in the camera on Amazon probably is just a simple readout showing how many pictures are left on the roll.
posted by zsazsa at 3:29 PM on September 8, 2010
And the LCD in the camera on Amazon probably is just a simple readout showing how many pictures are left on the roll.
posted by zsazsa at 3:29 PM on September 8, 2010
There are a number of reasons for someone to stick with film over digital. However, IMHO, very few of them apply to the type of person who would be in the market for a $150 point and shoot camera. The most compelling one I can think of is that the person doesn't have a computer, and only wants to deal with prints. However, even that is fairly easy with digital these days since most labs will let you put your memory card right in their kiosk. I think she'll get much better results by just buying a digital camera.
posted by sharding at 3:30 PM on September 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by sharding at 3:30 PM on September 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure thAt it's even possible, let alone cheap.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 3:31 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 3:31 PM on September 8, 2010
If you go to the actual vivitar link from the engadget link, you can see a video that shows an LCD screen on the camera....
That said ... seems too good to be true ... but my Mom would love it.
Cheap enough to check out for someone who is really interested ... I will stick with my digital though, gave the SLR to son in law that despises digital ...but then he doesnt use computers either.
posted by batikrose at 3:40 PM on September 8, 2010
That said ... seems too good to be true ... but my Mom would love it.
Cheap enough to check out for someone who is really interested ... I will stick with my digital though, gave the SLR to son in law that despises digital ...but then he doesnt use computers either.
posted by batikrose at 3:40 PM on September 8, 2010
If you actually watch the video, it shows a normal old 35mm camera with no fancy LCD screen. Any LCDs in the video are on normal digital cameras that the people are frustrated with.
posted by zsazsa at 3:44 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by zsazsa at 3:44 PM on September 8, 2010
Yeah, 2bucksplus, that's not what thankyoumuchly is looking for. But that infomercial was really *awesome* -- I look forward to the followup where they explain to backwards-baseball-cap-skateboard-riding "youths" what film is.
When you think about the two kinds of cameras, think about the guts of the thing. One is analog, with room for film and a winder and a piece of glass and a flash with a battery to operate it. The other needs digital guts for storage and auto-focus and all the other fancy gee-gaws that you get with a digital camera. I recently bought a pretty nice Sony that has a live-view (LCD) *and* a view finder. The explanation for why that's cool is pretty extensive but to have that with a film camera would be prohibitive and, I imagine, would be a pretty large camera.
Have you taken your mum down to Wal-mart or Walgreens or anywhere with photo processing and shown her how to get prints from her photo card? There are so many digital cameras that are so cheap right now -- some that have a large LCD and no viewfinder (which I actually prefer for my point-n-shoot) if visibility is what is hampering her.
posted by amanda at 3:46 PM on September 8, 2010
When you think about the two kinds of cameras, think about the guts of the thing. One is analog, with room for film and a winder and a piece of glass and a flash with a battery to operate it. The other needs digital guts for storage and auto-focus and all the other fancy gee-gaws that you get with a digital camera. I recently bought a pretty nice Sony that has a live-view (LCD) *and* a view finder. The explanation for why that's cool is pretty extensive but to have that with a film camera would be prohibitive and, I imagine, would be a pretty large camera.
Have you taken your mum down to Wal-mart or Walgreens or anywhere with photo processing and shown her how to get prints from her photo card? There are so many digital cameras that are so cheap right now -- some that have a large LCD and no viewfinder (which I actually prefer for my point-n-shoot) if visibility is what is hampering her.
posted by amanda at 3:46 PM on September 8, 2010
Advantix Preview Camera if you can find one. The combo camera concept didn't have a long life once full digital cameras became better and more affordable. You're not likely to find a new one.
posted by katillathehun at 3:50 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by katillathehun at 3:50 PM on September 8, 2010
The Vivitar camera in the video and on the Amazon page definitely does not have an LCD screen. If you watch the Engadget video (in 2bucksplus' link) closely, they show someone loading 35mm film into the camera at 1:05 and you can see the back - no LCD. From the Amazon link, "multi-function LCD display" almost certainly refers to a counter display.
posted by ella wren at 3:55 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by ella wren at 3:55 PM on September 8, 2010
Former photographic printer here. The main problem we had with older people and digital cameras was that they didn't understand that SD cards weren't disposable. Transferring their photos to a computer or CD and then wiping and re-using the card was a HUGE hassle to them. They'd tell us they just wanted a new one, then they'd baulk when we said that'd cost $80.
Fortunately, the price of flash memory has gone down since then, so while it's not quite cheap enough to be disposable, you can certainly give your mother the illusion that it is:
Get her a cheap digital camera and a dozen very low-capacity SD cards, say 512mb or smaller. Teach her to remove the card from the camera and tell her it's just like "digital film". She can drop the card at the printers and get real paper photos in return, just like she always has. And every now and then, you can collect the old cards, back them up, wipe them and return them to her supply.
Once she's no longer frightened of using her new camera, then you can show her the backups you've kept and start teaching her about exciting possibilities like editing or emailing her photos.
posted by embrangled at 4:03 PM on September 8, 2010 [9 favorites]
Fortunately, the price of flash memory has gone down since then, so while it's not quite cheap enough to be disposable, you can certainly give your mother the illusion that it is:
Get her a cheap digital camera and a dozen very low-capacity SD cards, say 512mb or smaller. Teach her to remove the card from the camera and tell her it's just like "digital film". She can drop the card at the printers and get real paper photos in return, just like she always has. And every now and then, you can collect the old cards, back them up, wipe them and return them to her supply.
Once she's no longer frightened of using her new camera, then you can show her the backups you've kept and start teaching her about exciting possibilities like editing or emailing her photos.
posted by embrangled at 4:03 PM on September 8, 2010 [9 favorites]
Seeing as you can shove a decent digital camera into the same compartment as a smart phone (iPhones, Droids and the like), it seems that you could probably shove a film camera and a digital display together somehow.
Except, why would you want to? If you're looking for "nothing fancy," a hybrid camera is anything but that. Of course it could take a representation of what might be on the film, but there are so many things to take into consideration when trying to approximate what was captured on a film camera. Considering the advancement of digital cameras, the only reason I could see for a hybrid would be the storage of the media. The idea of having a "safe" negative copy you could file away, where any photo on your harddrive could be deleted by accident or lost in a computer crash. Archival CDs or DVDs aren't something most folks think about, if digital things are foreign to the point that photos on film is more comforting.
Note: if Advantix sounds appealing, it's an expensive alternative to standard film, as the cameras are no longer produced and fewer labs can process the film.
Talk to your mom and figure out why she likes 35mm film. If it's because she is uncomfortable with computers, there are photo kiosks in many pharmacy-plus places like CVS or Walgreens. You can plug the little camera cards into the machines and choose which pictures you want printed. If she wants them backed up in some other way, she could mail them to you with suitable packaging (or somehow get them to someone with suitable computer knowledge) and have burn back-up CDs or DVDs, returning blank camera cards. You can even make back-up discs she can watch with a DVD player (through various methods).
posted by filthy light thief at 4:14 PM on September 8, 2010
Except, why would you want to? If you're looking for "nothing fancy," a hybrid camera is anything but that. Of course it could take a representation of what might be on the film, but there are so many things to take into consideration when trying to approximate what was captured on a film camera. Considering the advancement of digital cameras, the only reason I could see for a hybrid would be the storage of the media. The idea of having a "safe" negative copy you could file away, where any photo on your harddrive could be deleted by accident or lost in a computer crash. Archival CDs or DVDs aren't something most folks think about, if digital things are foreign to the point that photos on film is more comforting.
Note: if Advantix sounds appealing, it's an expensive alternative to standard film, as the cameras are no longer produced and fewer labs can process the film.
Talk to your mom and figure out why she likes 35mm film. If it's because she is uncomfortable with computers, there are photo kiosks in many pharmacy-plus places like CVS or Walgreens. You can plug the little camera cards into the machines and choose which pictures you want printed. If she wants them backed up in some other way, she could mail them to you with suitable packaging (or somehow get them to someone with suitable computer knowledge) and have burn back-up CDs or DVDs, returning blank camera cards. You can even make back-up discs she can watch with a DVD player (through various methods).
posted by filthy light thief at 4:14 PM on September 8, 2010
My apologies - misunderstood what the camera offered.
posted by 2bucksplus at 4:22 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by 2bucksplus at 4:22 PM on September 8, 2010
...so while it's not quite cheap enough to be disposable...
4-Pack of Kodak Gold 200 film, 24 pictures per film, total 96 pictures: 9.75$ at Amazon.com
2gb Kingston SD Card: 6.75$ at Amazon.com
Let's generously assume 5mb per picture, making 400 pictures for the SD Card.
Film is about 5 times as expensive as digital storage.
What sharding said. Show her how easy it is to get prints directly from SD card.
posted by roerek at 4:40 PM on September 8, 2010
4-Pack of Kodak Gold 200 film, 24 pictures per film, total 96 pictures: 9.75$ at Amazon.com
2gb Kingston SD Card: 6.75$ at Amazon.com
Let's generously assume 5mb per picture, making 400 pictures for the SD Card.
Film is about 5 times as expensive as digital storage.
What sharding said. Show her how easy it is to get prints directly from SD card.
posted by roerek at 4:40 PM on September 8, 2010
I can't even think of how such a camera would even be physically possible.
posted by schmod at 7:54 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by schmod at 7:54 PM on September 8, 2010
I can't even think of how such a camera would even be physically possible.
Possible but not likely. It would not be a through the lens digital sensor - more likely a tiny cell phone sized sensor and lens next to the main film lens. There would be a slight framing/parallax error but no worse than most 35mm P&S cameras' traditional view finders.
But really not much really reason or market for one, especially considering the extra cost for the camera and the cost and life of film.
For the original poster: what are the reasons your mother wants to stick with film?
posted by cftarnas at 10:06 PM on September 8, 2010
Possible but not likely. It would not be a through the lens digital sensor - more likely a tiny cell phone sized sensor and lens next to the main film lens. There would be a slight framing/parallax error but no worse than most 35mm P&S cameras' traditional view finders.
But really not much really reason or market for one, especially considering the extra cost for the camera and the cost and life of film.
For the original poster: what are the reasons your mother wants to stick with film?
posted by cftarnas at 10:06 PM on September 8, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I think not. (Not even for expensive.)
posted by amanda at 3:00 PM on September 8, 2010