crackpot idea for 35mm sensor on 4x5 camera

[Endeavour]

Winter is here, and if temps drop to their usual -35oC then my enthusiasm for going outdoors shooting will be limited.

So Ive been thinking about DIY mods as fun little projects. One thing I thought about attempting, was to extract the guts from a damaged DSLR (i.e. a busted canon 5d) which otherwise works fine.
And custom mounting the sensor on the back of my 4x5 view camera.

Now if I can:

• Get the camera working without its casing
• line up the sensor with the film plane
• Get the sensor working with the extracted LCD screen

Would I be able to get a clear image with this sensor? I am thinking predominantly as a very crude (and ultra cheap) digital back for the purposes of focusing via liveview rather than image capture.

Is there fundamentally a technical/physical reason why this wouldn't work? I have a donor body which would be perfect to try it with - and no great loss if its a failed experiment - its only useful for parts anyway.

I've seen people creating custom mounts for 35mm DSLRs for view cameras, but because of the body they suffer from the sensor's image plane being a lot further back than the film plane on the rear standard. And as I want use this contraption for focusing with live-view I need to get the sensor being on the same plane as the film I will eventually shoot on.

any thoughts?

[NancyP]

You don't plan to use the sensor to capture images, just to get live view?
I can't see any problem in managing to put the sensor at the view camera film plane - and remember, the tolerances of view cameras are way larger than those for smaller cameras. The one problem I can see is that you are essentially going to be operating the live view in only one location on the image plane, so you can't check focus in the corners or on a critical feature, the way you would if you had a ground glass. (On the other hand, you can actually see something, which isn't necessarily true for a d-i-m ground glass image). Now it would be nice if you had xy control of the sensor so you could shift it to the area of interest - not the easiest design. And any way you look at it, the small sensor is going to sample only a tiny amount of the image, so that for composition, it's back to the d-i-m ground glass.

[Endeavour]

You are absolutrely right, composition would be using the gg
I appreciate it would be a very small part of my overall image I am able to view - the centre point being the most logical. But if it works, then perhaps stage 2 would be some form of movement in X & Y

[NancyP]

I daresay the experience would be somewhat like using 10x magnification in live view for critical focusing on a DSLR - steering your tiny field back and forth between important elements. I tend to do that a lot for landscapes.

[AFairley]

I daresay the experience would be somewhat like using 10x magnification in live view for critical focusing on a DSLR - steering your tiny field back and forth between important elements. I tend to do that a lot for landscapes.

I.e., the same experience as focusing on the gg under the cloth using a jeweler's loupe screwed into your eye, the way I used to do it back when. 

Could be a fun project, though.

[Endeavour]

I.e., the same experience as focusing on the gg under the cloth using a jeweler's loupe screwed into your eye, the way I used to do it back when. 

Could be a fun project, though.

true, except I'd potentially be able to crank up the ISO on liveview to get a better idea of whats going on. my gg on the shen-hao isnt so bright

[SZRitter]

I thought about doing this years ago for stitching purposes. My idea was to custom make a carrier with an f-mount on it, mounted to rails mounted horizontal, and thos mounted to rails going vertical. You, of course, would need to add something to make it lock down on the rails. A lot of people (on Photo.net at the time) seemed to think I was bonkers. I still think it is a great idea, as you are not changing the entrance pupils position for the stitch, just the digital back.

[lowep]

Could you not just use an adapter like this to mount the whole Canon 5D on the back of your 4x5 -- though maybe such a prosaic solution would spoil the fun?

[MarkL]

Which 4x5 is it? I'd be leery about the alignment and rigidity of non-technical cameras for a high MP 35mm sensor. The lens may also be an issue, use of Rodenstock digital lenses would be preferred.