Since 2016, the company I’m Back has been reworking its concept of digital “film”, its way of “bringing historic cameras back to life” and integrating them into the digital world.
Its previous attempt, the soon-to-be-sold-out 2023 I’m Back Film, featured a film cartridge equipped with a 20 MP Micro Four Thirds sensor instead of actual film, inserted into a 35mm film camera – you can see how it works in this post on the company’s Instagram.
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Well, the aptly named company is back this week, with Samuel Mello Medeiros, the company’s founder, lifting the lid on plans for an updated version; this time with a larger APS-C format digital sensor that can be mounted inside a 35mm camera in seconds.
The idea, just as with its (somewhat clunky) predecessors, is that photographers can continue to use their analog camera bodies, which may have been sitting in the back of a cupboard in recent years, by equipping them with digital intelligence.
Beyond simply allowing photographers to capture digital images with the 35mm film cameras they already own, some of which may even be very valuable, I’m Back hopes to bring some of the unique charm of film photography to the digital age.
“The goal of this project is simple: to allow photographers to return to the cameras they love while adopting a contemporary digital workflow. No external screen. No visible modules attached to the camera,” says Medeiros, whose comments on the product’s Kickstarter page also point to some awareness of past failures and problems many people had with early prototypes.
“Everything stays inside [the camera]. The only external element is a small Bluetooth remote control which allows you to synchronize the shutter.
Currently, other details are a little thin on the ground, outside of the aforementioned sensor size, photo formats, and video cuts. However, we do know that the roller will feature internal storage, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, as well as a rechargeable and removable battery, rather than an integrated unit.
Interestingly, the Kickstarter page also references the inclusion of presets, which impart the picture styles of iconic movie types. In the post-Fujifilm era of film simulation, this makes sense, and there is probably no imaging device more appropriate for presenting such image styles.
Ten years of work
I’m Back first attempted its digital film concept about 10 years ago. The first model was anything but compact and featured a modest 16 MP resolution, squeezed onto a tiny 1/2.33 sensor. Of course, ideas have to start somewhere, but they have generated considerable interest, paving the way for further development.
In 2020, the I’m Back movie was revealed, featuring a larger 20 MP Micro Four Thirds sensor. Although half the size of full frame, it was a step in the right direction and Yashica showed interest in the project.
Next came 2023’s I’m Back Film, which sought to compress the system into a real body the size of a film cartridge, helping to preserve the original handling properties of the host camera. It was much smaller than previous models, but still required a base unit.
The arrival of the I’m Back ‘Roll’ with APS-C sensor marks the biggest change yet, removing the base image unit and potentially bringing quality in line with some of today’s best entry-level and enthusiast digital cameras.
I’m curious which APS-C sensor is used – whether I’m Back played it safe with a resolution dated from 18MP to 20MP, or a resolution bumped to 24MP or higher. I hope the latter.
“I’m Back Roll does not aim to replace analog photography or compete with modern digital cameras. Its aim is to offer a new possibility: to bring historic cameras back to life and allow them to continue to tell new stories,” explains Medeiros.
I’m keeping my eyes open to see if the final product can do either. The latest effort is still under consideration, with its crowdfunding page launching soon (note that the previous version was delivered to backers quite a while after its crowdfunding page went live).
It may still not have a full-frame sensor to match the size of a single frame in a roll of 35mm film, but with its truly compact setup, I’m Back’s latest product has convinced me more than ever to try digital film deployment, in the hopes that I can resurrect my 35mm camera collection with some practical digital intelligence. What do you think of the project? Let me know in the comments below.
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