TankArchives' 1940s Camera Is Period-Appropriate for Re-Enactment — But Hides a Digital Surprise

Pseudonymous maker and historical re-enactor "TankArchives" has built a digital upgrade for a classic film camera from the 1940s, using a Raspberry Pi Zero W single-board computer (SBC) and a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera Module — and it's fully reversible.

"I do re-enacting and wanted a 1940s camera so I can take photos without breaking authenticity, but film is expensive and working 40s cameras are even more expensive," TankArchives explains of the project's origins. "Enter the Raspberry Pi. No modifications were made to the original camera."

TankArchives' build is based around an Argus A 35mm film camera, first released in 1936. To this, the maker added a Raspberry Pi Zero W with an HQ Camera Module sensor, a modern M12-mount 16mm lens to sit between the sensor and the camera's original lens, the Adafruit Joy Bonnet for control, and a lithium-polymer battery plus boost converter for running the device on-the-go.

"I went out and purchased the components relatively blindly," the maker explains. "If I was going to so this again, I would probably start out with a different camera module, one that has a smaller board and autofocus. I had to saw off a part of the HQ camera to fit into the lens hole. The focus is also manually adjusted and it's a bit of a pain since I have to screw off the entire lens to do so and adjust the intermediate lens, then screw the whole thing back on to check.

TankArchives isn't the only tinkerer who fancies the look and feel of a vintage film camera with the convenience of digital but is unwilling to damage original hardware: earlier this year Michael Suguitan showed off the Leica MPi project, which reversibly upgraded a Leica M2 camera to digital using a replacement back — and that, like TankArchives' version, used a Raspberry Pi Zero W SBC as the driving hardware.

"The whole thing is quite slow and takes about a minute to start up and a few seconds to take each photo," TankArchives writes of the experience of using the gadget. "A good 450mAh battery lasts for about an hour, cheap ones from AliExpress last about 35-40 minutes. The photo quality is not great. Without very good lighting the photos turn out very dark/noisy. Thankfully, re-enacting usually happens in broad daylight, so those mostly come out fine."

More information on the project is available in TankArchives' Reddit post, with sample photographs available on Imgur.