/dev/nikc/blog

What if you could pick up that old gear you used to love photographing with, but just can’t be bothered to use because of the hassle of using film over digital? Surely a thought that has crossed the minds of many of us who think that all that really was essential in a camera body had already peaked by the late 70’s.

Well, there was actually an attempt at a concept enabling you to do just that. Back in 1998 a company called Imagek (later Silicon Film) introduced a digital film concept.

Dpreview hosts an article, dated 1999, containing images of a prototype and the specs. A digital film cassette than can store 24 images, designed to fit common professional and prosumer camera bodies and equipped with a sensor boasting a whopping 1.3 megapixels!

A post on photo.net from 2004 includes a brochure like image for yet another prototype mockup. The thread also contains a good summation describing the general atmosphere surrounding the project:

It isnt vaporware; more like no taxes; peace in the middle east; the 100MPG carburetor; the paperless office or paperless bathroom; a woman who has only one pair of shoes; kids who dont ask for money; etc.

Whether or not it was ever more than a joke is hard to say, but, sadly, this dream will probably never be a reality.