Mating digital photography with film seems to me an alluring yet ultimately quixotic endeavor; who doesn’t love the idea of a camera that combines the weight and handling of a 35mm SLR with the convenience and precision of a digital one? Yet it has never been done, and likely never will be. Reflex is the latest to try[1], though, with a brand new 35mm camera built for the modern, smartphone-toting photographer.
The idea behind the crowdfunding campaign was to create a sort of system-agnostic film SLR. The Reflex’s modular build means you can swap out the lens mount for any of the majors: Canon, Nikon, Pentax and so on. Bigger lens selection is always good, but is that enough to make people want to buy in?
To sweeten the pot, the project is offering as Kickstarter rewards (in addition to the camera, of course) refurbished off-brand (but still well-known) lenses: a Helios-44 56mm f/2 and a Pentacon 50mm F/1.8. It’s a fun bonus and the results should be interesting.
The film back is removable as well, but you have to stick to 35mm; you can’t swap in 120 or something.
In front you have a regular flash but also an LED illuminator that gives a steady light. That’s definitely not something you found on SLRs in the ’70s, but it could prove useful.
The most modern component has to be the Bluetooth unit. If the project hits £150,000, an app will be developed that the camera will sync its settings to, letting you know exactly what settings you had for a given shot. I would have preferred an electronically activated shutter for time-lapse, app-triggered exposures, and so on — but maybe that proved too hard to implement.
...