The world of photography seemed to be facing a challenge of stagnation, with mirrorless technology having reached its best ability to date. However, all is not lost. We may seem to hit a break, but there are some camera brands that are trying to provide newer solutions to age-old challenges. For instance, can you make a film camera shoot digitally? It may sound like we are bluffing, but Escura, a company that launched products like InstantSnap and SnapRoll, is back again with a new innovation. And it will certainly blow your minds.
All images are screenshots taken from the Kickstarter page
The company, founded in 2018, has promised to eliminate “film development anxiety” by providing an instant digital twin of every frame captured on film. How so? Here comes Escura’s latest development, Ligar, a compact 40g cube that can be mounted on any vlogging camera of your choice. All you need to do is attach the cute on a standard hot shoe, and it turns classic systems like the Nikon FM2 or Yashica Electro 35 into hybrid cameras.
With a single press of the film shutter, Ligar also captures a 12MP digital image. This ensures that if your film roll fails during development, the photographer will still have a high-quality digital record of the moment.
But despite being a second device, Ligar is also capable of working as a standalone camera. Here is a look at its specs:
- Image Sensor: 12-Megapixel CMOS (Interpolated)
- Video Resolution: 1440 x 1440 (Square format) at 30fps in MOV format
- Display: 1.3-inch color LED (240 x 240)
- Lens: 3.2mm f2.8 with a 17mm thread for external filters
- Focus Range: 0.3m to infinity
- Zoom & Optics: Includes 5x Digital Zoom and a 0.45x Wide Angle Lens to match 35mm focal lengths
- Storage & Power: Supports Micro SD up to 128GB with USB-C charging
- Weight: An ultra-portable 40g
- Battery Life: Up to 1 hour
The company is now on Kickstar, and about $6,400 has been raised by 43 backers at the time of writing this article. In fact, by February, they hope to have a revised design with a 1.3-inch LCD display. In fact, the device is the first of its kind, and it has a 5x built-in digital zoom that can deliver shots from 28mm to 105mm!
In addition, the camera can also record videos leading up to, during, or after the shutter press to create a narrative memo. It also has a Time Capsule filter to provide the color science of every decade from the 1950s to the saturated tones of the 2010s.
Those who are interested in investing in the product will also get early bird offerings ranging from $125 to $500. Moreover, one can also create a separate box set for Ligar if they do not wish to use it with a film camera. Either way, this technology is certainly first of its kind, and allows a lot of breathing room for a challenging format like film.