Most photography nerds have dreamed of putting a digital sensor into the guts of their favorite 35mm film body but--unlike us lazy dreamers--designer Joel Pirela actually went and did it.
The body of his "DigiLomo" is hand-built from aluminum and wood, the guts come from a "craptastic 5 megapixel Vivitar Vivicam" and the lens mount is an Olympus OM, letting you put pretty much any old Olympus glass on the front.
With a list of tools that includes screwdrivers and a saw, you know that you're going to get something crafty and simple. The walnut body has been carved out to fit the electronics and lens mount, and the AA batteries were replaced with something smaller. Currently the bottom plate needs to be unscrewed to get to the batteries and SD card, but Joel plans to add a USB port for charging, and use an Eye-Fi card that can beam the photos wirelessly to a waiting computer.
The photos are just what he expected: blurry, with light leaks and vignettes, just like using Instagram. The added advantage is that the finished result looks gorgeous, although I can't seem to spot a shutter release.
But best of all, this proves that its possible to build your own digicam, which might inspire a tinkerer like me to have a crack at it. Or maybe I'll just buy a retro-looking wooden case and an iPhone 4S.
