Just an idea (sensor flip)

[Timppa]

Now a days, everyone takes pictures on there phone or watches other pictures on them.
So many pictures are vertical...
Since turning a big and heavy dslr always on its side can be a hassle for some (even with a handy grip, what makes your dslr also bigger...).
Would it be possible and a good idea to have a sensor that turns 90° with a press on a button?
Or would this be an impossible feature causing more problems (like with lenses..)?

Just an idea ^^, I know in the field many times I forgot I can turn the camera and without a grip it is not so easy to handle, like for wildlife photography

Perhaps easier to apply in a mirrorless

 

[Derrel]

The viewing system would also need to change positions...this is one reason the square format was popular.

 

[JBPhotog]

All long lenses for wildlife worth their salt have a rotating tripod collar on them so rotating is a cinch. I don’t think the size the modern DSLR is an issue, my Nikon F2A with a motor drive was quite a bit larger back in the late seventies, lol.

The Mamiya RB67 has a rotating film back but as far as a rotating digital sensor, I think the alignment issues could be quite challenging for internal sensor designs.

 

[waday]

I love the thought experiment on this!

For me, it’s easy enough to turn my phone sideways to look at a photo full screen. I personally want the photographer to take the best picture they can, and I have to view it as they saw it best. I’d personally rather not see people change photography just so that I can be lazy and not turn my phone sideways.

How often do you find yourself listening to people complain about landscape photos on a portrait screen?

Just some thoughts: Such a system would make the camera even larger, heavier, louder, more expensive, increase time lags (which I imagine is unacceptable for nature photos), eat up battery, and would even introduce potential future fail points in the camera. The customer base for this would probably be exceedingly small (read as not cost effective to produce), since other cheaper and free options are available on both the photographer and viewer ends.

 

[Soocom1]

Make a round sensor to fill the image circle.

Or, triangular...
Or any other polygon...

Just sayin

 

[Designer]

Or would this be an impossible feature causing more problems (like with lenses..)?

Not impossible. Anything is possible with enough money, but why not just hold the camera differently?

This is such a basic fundamental manipulation that every beginner should develop the automatic reflex of turning the camera every time he wants a vertical orientation. I say no big deal to turn the camera.

 

[waday]

Make a round sensor to fill the image circle.

Or, triangular...
Or any other polygon...

Just sayin

Noooo... then I’ll need a round phone!

 

[Soocom1]

Make a round sensor to fill the image circle.

Or, triangular...
Or any other polygon...

Just sayin

Noooo... then I’ll need a round phone!

Too late...

 

[Derrel]

George Eastman's early 100-shot "Kodak" shot round images...

 

[Timppa]

A round sensor doesn't sound so bad, and perhaps you can choose in camera if you want to crop out a horizontal or vertical. So that is what you would see in the viewfinder. Or use the whole circle and decide afterwards ^^

 

[snowbear]

I'll just flip the camera. That's why I have a grip with handle and controls for that orientation.

 

[RVT1K]

It could be implemented via software with no need to rotate the camera. But you would need a EVF to see it.

 

[waday]

It could be implemented via software with no need to rotate the camera. But you would need a EVF to see it.

This is interesting, and I don’t think I’m following. Could you elaborate a bit on this?

Doesn’t seem like it would be utilizing the entire sensor? But, I guess you’d have to give something up.

Also, I remember way back when I had an APS film camera, I had the option of various crops, which would alter the OVF. I’d imagine they could do something similar?

 

[RVT1K]

It could be implemented via software with no need to rotate the camera. But you would need a EVF to see it.

This is interesting, and I don’t think I’m following. Could you elaborate a bit on this?

Doesn’t seem like it would be utilizing the entire sensor? But, I guess you’d have to give something up.

Also, I remember way back when I had an APS film camera, I had the option of various crops, which would alter the OVF. I’d imagine they could do something similar?

With a traditional DSLR, what hits the sensor is (essentially) what you see in the viewfinder which is why the camera needs to be rotated. But with an electronic viewfinder what you are seeing is "created" from the digital output. It would be simple to modify that digital output before it was sent to the EVF. Like any picture-viewing software that will rotate the image with a single command. The entire sensor would be utilized but the output file would be cropped to fit the aspect ratio.

 

[waday]

It could be implemented via software with no need to rotate the camera. But you would need a EVF to see it.

This is interesting, and I don’t think I’m following. Could you elaborate a bit on this?

Doesn’t seem like it would be utilizing the entire sensor? But, I guess you’d have to give something up.

Also, I remember way back when I had an APS film camera, I had the option of various crops, which would alter the OVF. I’d imagine they could do something similar?

With a traditional DSLR, what hits the sensor is (essentially) what you see in the viewfinder which is why the camera needs to be rotated. But with an electronic viewfinder what you are seeing is "created" from the digital output. It would be simple to modify that digital output before it was sent to the EVF. Like any picture-viewing software that will rotate the image with a single command. The entire sensor would be utilized but the output file would be cropped to fit the aspect ratio.

I guess I still don’t understand. The sensor would need to be turned to portrait orientation to utilize the entire sensor for a portrait orientation shot, no? Otherwise, you’re taking a landscape shot and cropping it into portrait, thus not using a portion of the sensor (the sides)?

I don’t see how using the entire sensor is possible without physically turning the sensor.

For example, say I want to take a portrait of my daughter. I want to keep the camera in landscape position, but she’s too close. This results in me cropping off the top of her head. If I want portrait with her full head, I’d need to turn the camera sideways. If I’m trying to avoid turning the camera AND I want to use a landscape oriented sensor for portrait, I’d need to change my position through zooming out with the lens or my legs so that her head is fully in the shot, and then crop the landscape picture to portrait.

In your scenario, how are handling this?