Question for any of you techies/DIY experts out there...

I'm fairly sure that this isn't a stupid question, but please forgive me if it is. Here goes:

Exactly what can be removed from a dSLR (or any digital camera, really) without rendering it nonfunctional?

What I would like to do, you see, is basically take an old dSLR and strip it down until nothing is left but the sensor, controls, LCD, card slot, and battery slot. This would mean removing the shutter, the prism, the viewfinder, the flash, the mount, and, of course, almost all of the body itself. I basically want to end up with a fully functioning, photo-taking sensor with an attached LCD screen.

Given that all of this stuff is integrated, though, I'm assuming that it's going to be virtually impossible to remove ANYTHING electronic without getting some sort of error message (or even complete camera death). If it's impossible to completely remove these things, could I at least remove the parts of them with no electronics? Is there some way to hack the firmware (as if I know how to hack firmware) to make it ignore parts of the camera that no longer exist?

I'm thinking that it might actually be easier to do this with a Sigma DP1 or, MUCH easier, with a Sony NEX...but I don't even feel like dropping $200 on a throw-away Rebel XT, let alone a $500 Sony. Someone tell me I'm crazy before I spend any money in an incredibly stupid manner!

cptrios wrote in post #11795004
I'm fairly sure that this isn't a stupid question, but please forgive me if it is. Here goes:

Exactly what can be removed from a dSLR (or any digital camera, really) without rendering it nonfunctional?

What I would like to do, you see, is basically take an old dSLR and strip it down until nothing is left but the sensor, controls, LCD, card slot, and battery slot. This would mean removing the shutter, the prism, the viewfinder, the flash, the mount, and, of course, almost all of the body itself. I basically want to end up with a fully functioning, photo-taking sensor with an attached LCD screen.

Given that all of this stuff is integrated, though, I'm assuming that it's going to be virtually impossible to remove ANYTHING electronic without getting some sort of error message (or even complete camera death). If it's impossible to completely remove these things, could I at least remove the parts of them with no electronics? Is there some way to hack the firmware (as if I know how to hack firmware) to make it ignore parts of the camera that no longer exist?

I'm thinking that it might actually be easier to do this with a Sigma DP1 or, MUCH easier, with a Sony NEX...but I don't even feel like dropping $200 on a throw-away Rebel XT, let alone a $500 Sony. Someone tell me I'm crazy before I spend any money in an incredibly stupid manner!

You're crazy!

Errr, why??

NinetyEight wrote in post #11795015
Errr, why??

+1

I would pretty much bet everything is intergrated, my guess, when you turn on a camera it runs through a quick post like a computer checking that everything is in working order...

To take a picture, though, you will need at least the shutter, otherwise you would most likely have minimally exposure issues and maximally all kinds of streaking/blurring that the shutter would have prevented. I think you would also end up with a bunch of parts that were needed, just kinda scattered around and not in as neat a package as the original DSLR body.

You probably could remove the flash shoe/popup flash, LCD (might throw codes though, however, people have been able to shoot with a broken LCD panel before), the prism (but would need the AF sensor area), etc. You could probably reduce the overall package down to 50% of its space today, as a guess. A point and shoot camera would be better for this kind of butchery though, wouldn't it, and it wouldn't have a shutter to worry about either.

I am curious what kind of imaging techie project you are working on.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #11795416
To take a picture, though, you will need at least the shutter, otherwise you would most likely have minimally exposure issues and maximally all kinds of streaking/blurring that the shutter would have prevented. I think you would also end up with a bunch of parts that were needed, just kinda scattered around and not in as neat a package as the original DSLR body.

You probably could remove the flash shoe/popup flash, LCD (might throw codes though, however, people have been able to shoot with a broken LCD panel before), the prism (but would need the AF sensor area), etc. You could probably reduce the overall package down to 50% of its space today, as a guess. A point and shoot camera would be better for this kind of butchery though, wouldn't it, and it wouldn't have a shutter to worry about either.

I am curious what kind of imaging techie project you are working on.

Aha! Well, you see, that's part of the point. My plan (if you can call it a plan) is to shoehorn the guys of a dSLR (or anything with at least a 1.6 crop sensor) into either a Pentax Spotmatic or a Canon AE-1 (I'd love to do a rangefinder instead, but I just don't think there'd be enough real estate inside the camera body. We'll see though.)

What the hell is the point, you ask? I dunno really. I guess it's a combination of me loving the aesthetics of classic cameras and just wanting to see if it can be done. The end result would most likely be clunky, and at best would have to rely on a "Hit a bulb exposure on the SLR then press the film camera's shutter" method of use...but wouldn't it just be cool?

Of course I dig the upcoming X100, but it's expensive and has a fixed lens. No good at the moment.

cptrios wrote in post #11795615
Aha! Well, you see, that's part of the point. My plan (if you can call it a plan) is to shoehorn the guys of a dSLR (or anything with at least a 1.6 crop sensor) into either a Pentax Spotmatic or a Canon AE-1 (I'd love to do a rangefinder instead, but I just don't think there'd be enough real estate inside the camera body. We'll see though.)

What the hell is the point, you ask? I dunno really. I guess it's a combination of me loving the aesthetics of classic cameras and just wanting to see if it can be done. The end result would most likely be clunky, and at best would have to rely on a "Hit a bulb exposure on the SLR then press the film camera's shutter" method of use...but wouldn't it just be cool?

Of course I dig the upcoming X100, but it's expensive and has a fixed lens. No good at the moment.

Ha, gut out a Nikon and put the Canon parts in it, or vice versa!

It would be the talk of the internet, a guy that loved both Nikon and Canon, so he stuck them together!

I could see where if somebody had the time on their hands and the funds/ingenuity, they could really do something neat.

Why not just invest in this new model!
http://www.dpreview.co​m/previews/fujifilmx10​0/

mrgooch wrote in post #11795852
Why not just invest in this new model!
http://www.dpreview.co​m/previews/fujifilmx10​0/

Notice this comment.... ??

cptrios wrote in post #11795615
Of course I dig the upcoming X100, but it's expensive and has a fixed lens. No good at the moment.