Sonnikon, the Franken-camera project

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Frankenstein’s monster is real in the form of a camera. A craftsman, called Brendan Taylor, has combined pars of a Nikon SLR and Sony mirrorless camera in order to build a unique device, called Sonnikon.

All hail, you photo geeks of the world! We bring before you Brendan’s Sonnikon, the Franken-camera!

Brendan Taylor is possibly one of the first people that have managed to transform a film SLR into a digital Micro Four Thirds camera. Taylor’s receipt is very simple: take an old, nonfunctional Nikon Nikkormat EL 35mm manual SLR and begin disemboweling it. After this, take a perfectly working Sony NEX-5N mirrorless camera and transplant its inner parts into Nikon’s case.

sonikon-camera Sonnikon, the Franken-camera project Photo Sharing & Inspiration

Sony NEX-5N camera is housed inside the Nikkormat EL body.

Just like Taylor found out, you will see that they fit snugly inside the Nikkormat body. With its back door missing, the Nikon body will accommodate pretty easy Sony’s LCD backpanel. Next, fit in NEX’ electronic viewfinder. Nikon’s optical one will do no good, as the mirror is removed and NEX-5N is a mirrorless camera.

With a few adjustments, Taylor was also able to fit the lens onto the body. The photographer hopes that, if the surgery will be a success, the Nikon SLR will spring back to life with the working insides of the NEX-series APS-C camera. This way he will have a vintage looking, focus peaking but manual focusing camera. Anyone interested in the progress of his project, feel free to visit his page.

Sony replaced the NEX-5 with the NEX-5N back in August 2011 with a new 16-megapixel APS-C sensor and a similar body design. The camera shoots full HD videos and offers manual controls for photographers who enjoy taking matters into their own hands.

Nikkormat EL was a manual focus SLR, manufactured in Japan by Nikon. It featured a full metal body and was Nippon Kogaku’s first electronic exposure camera. The body was manufactured from 1972 until 1976. It came in two color variations: black with chrome trim and full black.

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