Since 2016, the company I’m Back has been tinkering with its digital ‘film’ roll concept, its way of ‘bringing historical cameras back to life’, and into the digital world.
Its previous attempt, the soon-to-be-sold-out 2023 I’m Back Film, consisted of a film canister fitted with a 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor instead of actual film placed inside 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 has returned this week, with Samuel Mello Medeiros, the company’s founder, unveiling plans for an updated version; this time with a larger APS-C format digital sensor that can be fitted inside a 35mm camera in seconds.
The idea is, as with its (slightly clunky) predecessors, that photographers can continue to use their analogue camera bodies, which may have languished in the back of a cupboard in recent years, and instead equip them with digital smarts.
Beyond simply allowing photographers to take digital photos with 35mm film cameras they already own, some of them possibly even quite valuable, I’m Back hopes to bring some of the unique charm of film photography into the digital age.
“The goal of this project is simple: allow photographers to return to the cameras they love while embracing a modern digital workflow. No external screen. No visible modules attached to the camera,” says Medeiros, whose comments on the dedicated Kickstarter page for the product also highlight some awareness of the previous mistakes and the problems many people had with early prototypes.
“Everything stays inside [the camera]. The only external element is a small Bluetooth remote used to synchronize the shutter.”
At the moment, further details are a bit thin on the ground, besides the aforementioned sensor size, photo formats and video clips. However, we do know that the roll will have internal storage along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and a rechargeable, removable battery instead of a built-in device.
Interestingly, the Kickstarter page also refers to the inclusion of Presets, which provide the image styles for iconic movie types. In the post-Fujifilm film simulation era, this makes sense, and there probably isn’t a more appropriate imaging device to display such image styles.
Ten years in the making
I’m Back first attempted its digital film concept about 10 years ago. The first model was anything but compact, sporting a modest 16MP resolution squeezed onto a tiny 1/2.33 sensor. Of course, ideas have to start somewhere, nevertheless it gained considerable interest, paving the way for further development.
In 2020, I’m Back Film was unveiled, with a larger 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor. Although it was 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 attempted to compress the system into a true film canister-sized package that helped preserve the host camera’s original handling characteristics. It was much smaller than previous models, but it still required a base unit.
The arrival of the I’m Back ‘Roll’ with APS-C sensor marks the biggest step change to date, removing the base unit from the picture and potentially bringing the quality in line with some of the best entry-level and enthusiast digital cameras today.
I’m curious as to which APS-C sensor is used – whether I’m Back has played it safe with a dated 18MP to 20MP or increased resolution to 24MP or higher. I hope for the latter.
“I’m Back Roll does not aim to replace analogue photography or compete with modern digital cameras. The aim is to offer a new opportunity: to bring historic cameras back to life and allow them to continue telling new stories”, says Medeiros.
I’ll keep my eyes open to see if the final product can do any of that. The latest effort is still on the drawing board, and its crowdfunding page will launch soon (note, the previous version was delivered to backers some time after its crowdfunding page went live).
It still may not have a full-frame sensor to match the size of a single image in a roll of 35mm film, but with its truly compact setup, the latest I’m Back product has me more convinced than ever to try out the digital film roll in the hope that I might be able to revive my collection of 35mm cameras with handy digital smarts. What do you think of the project? Let me know in the comments below.
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