# Is there such thing as a digital/film camera? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904 "2011-10-26T21:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904/1 "2011-10-26T21:17:46Z")
Back when I was in high school photography class - this would have been around 2002, when digital SLRs were really still at an early stage - I remember our teacher telling us, “there are some cameras that shoot digital _and_ film.” I can’t remember if those were the exact words she used. Maybe it was something like “there are digital cameras that can also take film.” To this day, I have never heard of such a thing. _Unless_ she was talking about digital _backs_ for film cameras, but she didn’t say anything about that specifically. Were dual film/digital SLR cameras ever made? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904/2 "2011-10-26T21:23:45Z")
Yeah, IIRC the expensive large format cameras had replaceable backs, and several were monstrous (for he time) backs with 20Mp or 40Mp. Hasselblad is the big name for these. Typically, you were spending n the $10,000 range to get this sort of camera configuration. > **[Digital camera back](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_camera_back)** > > A digital camera back is a device that attaches to the back of a camera in place of the traditional negative film holder and contains an electronic image sensor. This lets cameras that were designed to use film take digital photographs. These camera backs are generally expensive by consumer standards (US$5,000 and up) and are primarily built to be attached on medium- and large-format cameras used by professional photographers. > Two sensor back types are commonly used: single shot back (non-scanni... I have never seen a hybrid in the SLR or consumer markets, and I was quite into digital cameras when they first became available. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904/3 "2011-10-26T21:32:05Z")
Medium format cameras like the Mamiya 645 line can also take both digital and film backs. I don’t think there are any 35mm-sized SLRs with interchangeable backs, though I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904/4 "2011-10-26T21:35:07Z")
There was a company talking about “digital film” that would drop in like a regular roll of film in existing film cameras, but they were all vaporware and never produced anything. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904/5 "2011-10-26T21:46:22Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Yeah, IIRC the expensive large format cameras had replaceable backs, and several were monstrous (for he time) backs with 20Mp or 40Mp. Hasselblad is the big name for these. Typically, you were spending n the $10,000 range to get this sort of camera configuration. > > [Digital camera back - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_camera_back) > > I have never seen a hybrid in the SLR or consumer markets, and I was quite into digital cameras when they first became available. The original Kodak DCS cameras were Nikon SLR bodies with a Kodak digital back. The cameras were probably not completely stock, but they weren’t very different from the film versions. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904/6 "2011-10-27T01:26:05Z")
I had a Polaroid that shot digital and film (I remember it used Polaroid 500 film instead of the more popular 600). If you liked the digital image, you pushed a button and the print came out. This wasn’t the PoGo, which had a built-in printer. This used actual Polaroid film. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-digital-film-camera/600904/7 "2011-10-27T03:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] Medium format cameras like the Mamiya 645 line can also take both digital and film backs. I don’t think there are any 35mm-sized SLRs with interchangeable backs, though I could be wrong. [/QUOTE] About 15 years ago, someone was making noise about developing a digital back for the Minolta X-700, which greatly intrigued me as I had an X-700 at the time. The X-700 had a readily removed back - there was an option for a “data” back that would print time and date and maybe something short like your name on the edges of the neg. Sadly, nothing ever became of the digital back. I think “real” digital cameras were starting to hit a critical mass in the market and this thing would have been a niche item at best.