Are there any diferences between different SLR cameras?

[andremartins]

Arpeggio, I think that has to do with how close the lens is to the camera's mirror... but, then again, I'm the newbie here ^^

[TPF Sponsor]

[O|||||||O]

Rangefinders don't have mirrors. The way most leaf shutters work, at fast shutter speeds I think the middle of the frame would get slightly more light than the edges. That would cause some vignetting. With most lenses you'll usually get some vignetting wide open too (not just rangefinders).

One advantage of them though, is that they don't have the 'traveling slit' that focal plane shutters have. That means that flash can be synced at any speed. The shortest shutter speed is generally much longer than SLRs though. 1/500th is usually the top shutter speed, compared to 1/8000th or 1/4000th on SLRs. That's 3-4 stops difference... IMO, that kinda negates the x-sync advantage.

[compur]

So, could we say that all the fuzz that photographers make around Leica cameras is kind of exaggerated?

Yes and no.

"Yes" in that one certainly does not need a Leica to take high quality images.

"No" in that once you have used a number of other 35mm cameras and then you pick up, say, a Leica M-series camera, you may just see what all the fuss is about.

[andremartins]

Indeed... My Kiev-19's shortest shutter speed is 1/500th and that gets a bit in your way when you're using 200 ISO film rolls in a sunny day (which is what's currently happening to me :S).
This would be okay if my lens' aperture "level" wasn't stupid and let me change the aperture without having to disattach the lens -.-

[Destin]

I wonder why digital photogs have so much trouble reading?

Maybe a picture will help ...




This is a FILM forum!

Because your "film" forum happens to roll through the new/active topics section on the site, right in with all the digital stuff. I read the title and the question, and answer accordingly. Not once did the OP say the word "film" in their title or question.

The ONLY way to see that it was a film question was to look at what subsection it's in, which most of us rarely look at because the question is usually all the information we need. It's not our fault that the OP didn't put the word film in the question, even once.

[O|||||||O]

LOL! Why should you have to put a "film disclaimer" in your title in the FILM SECTION? It's not our fault that you don't read the name of the forum before entering. I do...

It just takes a quick glance to the right side of the title to see which forum it's in. For example, I see a catchy title, look over and see that it's in the HDR forum - I'll usually skip that thread over because HDR just doesn't really interest me.

[compur]

...
Because your "film" forum happens to roll through the new/active topics section on the site, right in with all the digital stuff. I read the title and the question, and answer accordingly. Not once did the OP say the word "film" in their title or question.

And just to the right, in the "Forum" column it says ...

The ONLY way to see that it was a film question was to look at what subsection it's in, which most of us rarely look at because the question is usually all the information we need. It's not our fault that the OP didn't put the word film in the question, even once.

Yes, I know it's a lot to ask of a digital photographer to move his eyes a few inches to the right and read the word "Film" and that is why we exercise the patience that we do.

[dxqcanada]

Differences that affect the quality of the exposed image ?

Common factors:

Internal meter - accuracy, precision (avg, central, spot, etc).
Shutter speed range - I am talking about availability of higher speed range including flash sync speed.
Film format

Other things:

MF camera - Quality of the focusing screen - brighter ones make accurate focusing easier
AF camera - accuracy of the AF system.

Contax had some camera's with a vacuum system to ensure the film is flat the moment it is exposed.

Lens mount type - the quality of the lenses that are available to a specific mount