Plastic Camera Slit Scan Conversion

convert a basic point and shoot film camera into a slit scan camera.

it records the colours and luminosity of a line in space if the line moves there is a scan of the space between the points. or if something passes past the line it is recorded and distorted to the extent of its speed, against a background of bands of static colour.

TOOLS and MATERIALS, small screwdriver,and things to poke around in the camera with, things to cut the inside of the camera and your sheet material, i used the blowtorch to heat the sheet metal to stick it in the camera, you could use glue if you like. if your using a camera with flash you might want to insulate the capacitor with electrical tape of you could short it to discharge it.some thin easy to cut sheet material, im using aluminium. you could use card (but it has a fluffy edge). and a CAMERA:-

      notes on selecting a camera.

rule of thumb, auto-focus means finicky electrics. look for fixed focus, or focus free..

look inside the camera at the sprocket that pull the film through.
if you want sprocket holes on your images you will need a camera with this sprocket to the side of the frame(black camera in image) instead of above the frame (pink camera in image)

motor drive or non motor drive.

motor drive, have a fixed film speed(variable depending on how tight or old the film is) header image is example of this type.if you cover the lens and advance to the end you can make a continuous shot through all the film with the rewind.
look for a sliding rewind  switch on the base of the camera and a mechanical film sensing switch inside,they are clues to simple electronics inside.

manual wind on. easier to work on , trickier to use. start by covering the lens winding and clicking to the end of the film. then holding rewind tab in, shoot by turning rewind lever, putting a bigger handel on makes it easier.

remove the battery where necessary, and open the camera , then discharge the capacitor, (by shorting it with something metal.

then you can poke around to find the shutter, most of the time you just remove the single leaf shutter(think thats the right term for it) other times its run off a gear which you can jam,

cut away plastic as shown. bit by bit , there are often electric or mechanical components behind so look out for them . for best results keep it central to the lens.

i used aluminum because its thin, and when heated , i could push it in an it sinks to the level of the original film mount surface, (so hopefully not affecting the focus)
i cut a basic square , cut that in half trimmed out the bits for the sprocket and film sensing switch. heated and pressed into place so that it was level with the other side(not yet with metal on it)
then putting the other bit of metal in lining it up with depth of the other piece , i keep the slit width under 1mm but no less that a half mm, at thinner slits higher iso film is needed ,or slower picture taking, or a brighter environment.
feel for any sharp bits that may scratch or snag the film and sand file or cut them off.

pipe clips for 15mm copper pipe are inexpensive and easy to cut to fit , then you can put a stick through to turn as slowly or smoothly as you like.
i used hot glue to fix it in place because the epoxy glue i have at the moment is not brilliant (but it was cheap)

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looks like the course will be delayed due to uncontrollable forces, give me a message with any suggestions of what you might like to do ,or price you can afford,and i can take it into the next workshop plan. thanks. G.

One day course , that will blow your mind. I will give you a camera to break down, then you will hack into slit scan mode, test it to see the results,and you then take it home and keep forever.
you will also have the rare oppotunity to play with some of my exclusive hacked cameras.