On Mar 1, 2006, at 7:38 AM, Vic Mortelmans wrote:
Indeed, that's the logic. Now the other way around, I was wondering about digital SLR. I never saw one on the inside, but since the detector is smaller than the 35mm film area, the mirror also will be smaller. Nevertheless, they use the same lenses as 35mm film SLR's... what's all the superfluous flange distance used for? Just empty space?
Some have smaller mirrors, some don't. In the case of those with smaller mirrors, yes there is just some unused empty space. Changing the flange to sensor distance would have required a whole new set of lenses, and the original idea was to maintain lens compatibility. Minolta, in their original DSLR, used a shorter distance and made the camera compatible with the lenses for their APS film SLR cameras. Bad move. Photographers wanted to use lenses they already had, not buy a whole new set. Canon got it right by keeping the same lens mount and flange distance in their 35mm SLR cameras, their APS film SLR cameras, and their digital cameras. My normal lens these days on my EOS 10D is the same 24 to 85 zoom that I originally got with a Canon IX film SLR for APS film. Perfect for digital with APS size sensor!!
Bob
