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Old 11-07-2005   #3 (permalink)
scoundrel1728
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Default Re: Improvements to SLR camera design digital makes possible

Quote:
Originally Posted by Narsuitus
All of these great improvements makes me wonder why we have not seen more digital rangefinder type cameras.
By this, do you mean more cameras with optical rangefinders for manual focusing such as Leica was famous for? If so, I can think of several reasons why such a system is a lot less popular now than it used to be, especially with cameras with interchangeable and/or zoom lenses, automatic focusing capability, and lens materials whose optical properties vary somewhat with temperature. Each of these would cause a problem for a rangefinder optically separate from the lens.

However, I remember the old Canon AE-1 having microprisms and a split image rangefinder in the middle of the screen that seemed to work well enough. Most of the problems that would interfere with the functionality of a separate optical rangefinder wouldn't apply to such a system.
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