Point And Shoot In A Classic Camera Body

If you think there’s a gun inside that camera you’ve been fooled. We just like the juxtaposition of the 1940’s era camera with the iconic sidearms. What you see is a point-and-shoot cameras inside of the classic Leica II body (this is actually a Zorki 1 knockoff). It is much like the Canon AE-1 hack but this time there’s plenty of build details.

Digital camera makers try to get the smallest form factor possible and consequently the inside of those things is a nightmare of tiny parts and intricate connections.The Sony DSC-WX1 is no exception, and even the battery is disassembled to fit inside. See the final product and its features in the video after the break.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJDtmcWiaVM]
[Thanks Dennis]

39 thoughts on “Point And Shoot In A Classic Camera Body

  1. The article clearly states that the host camera is a Zorki. A Leica clone. And who says that hacks have to be in English? Some of the best hacks on this site come from non-english speaking countries.

  2. @Mikey

    Seriously? The camera is engraved Luftwaffen. The Germans issued Leica cameras to their troops, hence the picture along with the P08 Luger and what appears to be an airshit Sturmgewehr 44 (?).

  3. So he busted an expensive Leica clone. I wouldn’t do that to my old cameras, but so what? It’s a nice case mod, looks rather authentic until the lens motor kicks in.

    If he had left the m39 mount, and put a hollow lens over it, it would fool more people.

  4. To all of those saying “great hack”, I think you all would cheer “hacking” a great painting into a seat cover or torching a vintage Jag into a boat anchor.

    WTF causes someone to think it is a good idea to take one of the worlds great camera designs, drill a hole in it, and glue a disposable plastic pocketcam in it?

    If someone had actually put in a small beamsplitter and Cds cell and related circuitry to make the old camera BETTER by integrating auto-metering or something I would applaud.

    This is just vandalism.

  5. Stop whining. I see cameras like that all the time at my local Goodwill. At least it’s getting used.

    /No, I’m not the collector type.
    //No, I have no clue how much it’s worth.
    ///No, I don’t care.

  6. @Quin
    That’s what I was thinking. I have an old kodak siting here that could work really well as something like this.

    Lemme get some feedback from you really kind folks on this idea; take an older (broken, non-reparable) camera that has the swinging mirror arrangement, and place the LCD screen there, so as to eliminate the LCD screen on the back. My micrometer tells me that the LCD is roughly 41mm on the diagonal, so I think it could work. Opinions?

  7. @Ramon, I was thinking more along the lines of the 1954 camera gun below, but digital and without the magnesium powder capsules (they are very bullet like) being used as a flash.

    http://translate.google.ie/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffoto.microsiervos.com%2Fcamaras%2Fcamara-pistola-japonesa-doryu.html&sl=es&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

    Something with everything totally hidden inside the shape of the gun. Maybe with a laser sight and the trigger takes the photo. The CCD inside the barel and maybe the OLED inside a scope. That is starting to sound really good, but of course you would probably end up being thrown in jail everytime you tried to snap a killer photo.

  8. At least it wasn’t a real Leica.

    And will someone please figure out how to do this but retain the ability to use the Leica glass? That would be most good.

  9. @Eric
    If by swinging mirror you mean a 35 mm SLR, you are in for a challenge. The mirror in those is usually not set at the focal plane, but just redirects the still not focused light onto a screen that is set at the correct location. You view that screen through, in good cameras, a pentaprism that corrects for the lens projecting the image upside down.

    If you have a bigger format, or something like a TLR, you might be able to fit the lcd in the camera in place of the focus screen. More details, and I will be glad to offer any insight.

    @vmspionage
    Put the CCD at the focal plane of the camera, where the film sits. Get it right to a very small tolerance, or you will lose near or infinity focus. Problem is, tiny digital cameras have a rather small CCD compared to the size of the film a Leica would shoot. You would need extra glass inbetween the lens and the sensor to adjust the light, and those are probably going to be custom ground. Or, scavenge a larger sensor from a DSLR. Or just get an adapter ring to mount M39 or Leica M lenses to the DSLR. Both would work.

    @alex
    Not just the goodwill. I got an isolette for a dollar from a tag sale. It’s not an every week find, maybe just a once a year ‘omg look at that’ event. But get friendly with the people at the thrift stores, and the people who go to yard sales every week, and tell them that if they find an old camera you would really like to take a look at it.

    @stunmonkey
    I might be upset that someone trashed a real Jag. But, I see people making purses out of vinyl records I would love to add to my collection, and there are always stories of people with classic painting just sitting in the attic. But those are beside the point. If someone trashed a Jag-lookalike kit car, I wouldn’t care one bit.

  10. Gee guys, ignorance and hostility make a dangerous mix.

    As clearly stated at the article, the camera is Zorky, Soviet-made Leica clone. Yes, it has Luftwaffe marking on it. Some people make a living from buying Zorkys, engraving them with Leica stuff and selling off ebay.

    And this is the most awaited mod for WWII reenactment crowd. I personally have been waiting for something like this to appear since 2006.

  11. Chill, biatches!
    The Ruskies made about 800 zillion of these cameras. I got one on ebay for about $20, as a wreck and its now a great working camera.
    I’ve always loved seeing classic cars restored too, but I can appreciate a ’34 Ford that’s been rodded as well.
    It’s just stuff.

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