Although the latest camera technologies have allowed both professional and amateur photographers to have more control than ever over their photography techniques, many of today’s camera body designs lack a particular timeless charm that analog film cameras once had and – more often than not – leave a lot to be desired in the material department, too.

After being awarded a “generous amount of money” from the Arkwright Scholarship Fund, young design engineer and photographer Oliver Baker decided to take an old film camera (a 1973 Konica Auto S3 to be exact) and ‘digitize it’ using components taken out of a Sony NEX-5 digital camera – a model that offers both small components and a reasonably-sized sensor for the sake of the project. The result is the FrankenCamera

Armed with a set of calipers and SolidWorks, Baker modeled the camera body and designed an entirely new internal support structure to contain the digital components within the Konica’s body, which was 3D printed using an SLS 3D printer to maintain the resolution and quality of the original camera parts.

“I decided to replace the original back of the camera with a completely 3D printed part, which is shaped to mate with the camera perfectly and to be hinged at one end with a clasp at the other to work with the original locking mechanism,” says Baker.

“I designed it in two parts, the bottom part holding the SD card slot, the sensor, the motor, cogs and battery. The top part holds the screen and buttons, and the main circuit-board is held between the two parts. In my final design there were also small covers for the cog assembly and to support the buttons.”

While many manufacturers – including Leica and Fuji – have done an exceptional job of packaging their latest mirrorless technologies into camera bodies that would look right at home next to a collection of ‘vintage’ film camera bodies, the cost of these models are far more than most amateur photographers are willing to pay – many of which cost upwards of $2,000 and up for a complete kit. In comparison, a conversion such as Baker’s could cost well under a quarter of that if using sourced used parts.

Example Shots

For those looking to create their own conversions, Baker is offering build instructions and the necessary STL files for a small fee. Check out the build process in-full by heading over to Baker’s Frankencamera blog.