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130-559: The Konica Hexar RF accepts lenses designed for the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount" a copy of the Leica M-mount . Because of this, the Hexar RF can mount and focus lenses designed for the Leica and other compatible M-mount cameras or, when used with an adapter, the earlier Leica thread mount lenses (note that due to physical constraints there is no adapter to allow bayonet mount lenses to be fitted to

260-429: A lens -coupled "split-image and double image rangefinder " with illuminated, parallax -corrected, brightline framelines. As such it is very similar to the viewfinder/rangefinder of Leica M-mount cameras (if, perhaps, not as bright). The brightline framelines that show in the viewfinder are selected from one of three frameline pairings, depending on the lens (or lens adapter) mounted on the camera: These pairings are

390-571: A Leica screw-mount camera). When first released there was some controversy and discussion about whether the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount" of the Hexar RF was, in fact, fully compatible with the Leica M-mount . Some earlier testers reported problems using Leica lenses on Hexar RF cameras. Konica made no comment on the issue, and continued to refer to their lens mount by their own name, with no reference to Leica. Other testers found no problems, and suggested that early reports may have related problems with early-production samples or to cameras at one end of

520-428: A PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic film base. Films with a triacetate base can suffer from vinegar syndrome , a decomposition process accelerated by warm and humid conditions, that releases acetic acid which is the characteristic component of vinegar, imparting the film a strong vinegar smell, accelerating damage within the film and possibly even damaging surrounding metal and films. Films are usually spliced using

650-475: A UV coating to keep out the ultraviolet light that could taint color. Most modern optical cements for bonding glass elements also block UV light, negating the need for a UV filter. However, this leaves an avenue for lens fungus to attack if lenses are not cared for appropriately. UV photographers must go to great lengths to find lenses with no cement or coatings. A lens will most often have an aperture adjustment mechanism, usually an iris diaphragm , to regulate

780-447: A certain filter, assume ISO 25 under daylight and ISO 64 under tungsten lighting"). This allows a light meter to be used to estimate an exposure. The focal point for IR is slightly farther away from the camera than visible light, and UV slightly closer; this must be compensated for when focusing. Apochromatic lenses are sometimes recommended due to their improved focusing across the spectrum. Film optimized for detecting X-ray radiation

910-419: A color film, the by-products of the development reaction simultaneously combine with chemicals known as color couplers that are included either in the film itself or in the developer solution to form colored dyes. Because the by-products are created in direct proportion to the amount of exposure and development, the dye clouds formed are also in proportion to the exposure and development. Following development,

1040-408: A complex development process, with multiple dyeing steps as each color layer was processed separately. 1936 also saw the launch of Agfa Color Neu, the first subtractive three-color reversal film for movie and still camera use to incorporate color dye couplers, which could be processed at the same time by a single color developer. The film had some 278 patents. The incorporation of color couplers formed

1170-435: A compound lens made up of a number of optical lens elements is required to correct (as much as possible) the many optical aberrations that arise. Some aberrations will be present in any lens system. It is the job of the lens designer to balance these and produce a design that is suitable for photographic use and possibly mass production. Typical rectilinear lenses can be thought of as "improved" pinhole "lenses" . As shown,

1300-406: A doublet (two elements) will often suffice. Some older cameras were fitted with convertible lenses (German: Satzobjektiv ) of normal focal length. The front element could be unscrewed, leaving a lens of twice the focal length, and half the angle of view and half the aperture. The simpler half-lens was of adequate quality for the narrow angle of view and small relative aperture. This would require

1430-424: A faster film. A film with a particular ISO rating can be push-processed , or "pushed", to behave like a film with a higher ISO, by developing for a longer amount of time or at a higher temperature than usual. More rarely, a film can be "pulled" to behave like a "slower" film. Pushing generally coarsens grain and increases contrast, reducing dynamic range, to the detriment of overall quality. Nevertheless, it can be

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1560-435: A feature that was eventually adapted by all camera and film manufacturers. DX encoding provides information on both the film cassette and on the film regarding the type of film, number of exposures, speed (ISO/ASA rating) of the film. It consists of three types of identification. First is a barcode near the film opening of the cassette, identifying the manufacturer, film type and processing method ( see image below left ). This

1690-465: A few special applications as an alternative to the hazardous nitrate film, which had the advantages of being considerably tougher, slightly more transparent, and cheaper. The changeover was completed for X-ray films in 1933, but although safety film was always used for 16 mm and 8 mm home movies, nitrate film remained standard for theatrical 35 mm films until it was finally discontinued in 1951. Hurter and Driffield began pioneering work on

1820-599: A floating system; and Hasselblad and Mamiya call it FLE (floating lens element). Glass is the most common material used to construct lens elements, due to its good optical properties and resistance to scratching. Other materials are also used, such as quartz glass , fluorite , plastics like acrylic (Plexiglass), and even germanium and meteoritic glass . Plastics allow the manufacturing of strongly aspherical lens elements which are difficult or impossible to manufacture in glass, and which simplify or improve lens manufacturing and performance. Plastics are not used for

1950-521: A linear response through the effective exposure range). The sensitivity (i.e., the ISO speed) of a film can be affected by changing the length or temperature of development, which would move the H&;D curve to the left or right ( see figure ). If parts of the image are exposed heavily enough to approach the maximum density possible for a print film, then they will begin losing the ability to show tonal variations in

2080-462: A number of disadvantages as a scientific detector: it is difficult to calibrate for photometry , it is not re-usable, it requires careful handling (including temperature and humidity control) for best calibration, and the film must physically be returned to the laboratory and processed. Against this, photographic film can be made with a higher spatial resolution than any other type of imaging detector, and, because of its logarithmic response to light, has

2210-400: A pinhole "lens" is simply a small aperture that blocks most rays of light, ideally selecting one ray to the object for each point on the image sensor. Pinhole lenses have a few severe limitations: Practical lenses can be thought of as an answer to the question: "how can a pinhole lens be modified to admit more light and give a smaller spot size?". A first step is to put a simple convex lens at

2340-462: A reference for the Japanese Ministry of Industry as the benchmark against other manufacturers' lenses . Production of M-Hexanon lenses seems to have ceased around the same time as Konica's Hexar RF production was terminated (2003). Konica produced rangefinder lenses for the Leica mount in the 1950s and produced a series of so-called "L-mount" lenses, in limited quantities, for the same mount in

2470-421: A removable bottom plate and flip-up camera back, with film advance and rewind using manual levers and rewind cranks. The Konica Hexar RF has a metal , vertical travel, focal plane shutter with digital electronic control of shutter speed . There is no provision for non-electronic shutter release: charged batteries are always required for shutter operation. Shutter speeds between 16 seconds and 1/4000th of

2600-571: A result, the relative tonal values in a scene registered roughly as they would appear if viewed through a piece of deep blue glass. Blue skies with interesting cloud formations photographed as a white blank. Any detail visible in masses of green foliage was due mainly to the colorless surface gloss. Bright yellows and reds appeared nearly black. Most skin tones came out unnaturally dark, and uneven or freckled complexions were exaggerated. Photographers sometimes compensated by adding in skies from separate negatives that had been exposed and processed to optimize

2730-603: A rubberised cover and slightly raised hand-grip. The chassis of the Hexar RF appears to be identical to that used by the Contax G2 , with different top and bottom plates and similar but not identical film transport and shutter mechanisms. While the Hexar RF appears in some ways similar to the earlier auto-focus Konica Hexar camera, it seems to share few if any components with that camera. Major controls, including shutter release button, surrounding off/mode switch, film-speed/exposure-compensation dial and shutter speed dial are located on

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2860-401: A second (continuous) are supported in aperture priority auto- exposure metering mode. Shutter speeds from one second to 1/4000th of a second (in discrete steps) may be selected in manual exposure mode. A bulb (B) mode is also supported (the shutter remains open while shutter release is activated). Shutter release modes (and film advance) are controlled by a 4-position switch surrounding

2990-436: A simple pinhole lens, but rather than being illuminated by single rays of light, each image point is illuminated by a focused "pencil" of light rays . From the front of the camera, the small hole (the aperture), would be seen. The virtual image of the aperture as seen from the world is known as the lens's entrance pupil ; ideally, all rays of light leaving a point on the object that enter the entrance pupil will be focused to

3120-433: A single color of light and allow all others to pass through. Because of these colored couplers, the developed film appears orange. Colored couplers mean that corrections through color filters need to be applied to the image before printing. Printing can be carried out by using an optical enlarger, or by scanning the image, correcting it using software and printing it using a digital printer. Kodachrome films have no couplers;

3250-467: A single photon striking a grain (based on the size of the grains and how closely spaced they are), and density is the proportion of grains that have been hit by at least one photon. The relationship between density and log exposure is linear for photographic films except at the extreme ranges of maximum exposure (D-max) and minimum exposure (D-min) on an H&D curve, so the curve is characteristically S-shaped (as opposed to digital camera sensors which have

3380-430: A special adhesive tape; those with PET layers can be ultrasonically spliced or their ends melted and then spliced. The emulsion layers of films are made by dissolving pure silver in nitric acid to form silver nitrate crystals, which are mixed with other chemicals to form silver halide grains, which are then suspended in gelatin and applied to the film base. The size and hence the light sensitivity of these grains determines

3510-427: A tolerance range matched with lenses at the other, and so claimed there was no systemic problem. The latter seems to have become the consensus view. Many users report using Leica and Konica lenses and cameras interchangeably with good results, including lenses of longer focal length or wider maximum aperture where problems are more likely to be encountered. The Konica Hexar RF camera uses a viewfinder combined with

3640-464: A triangle with or without clipped edges; this type of crystal is known as a T-grain crystal or a tabular grain (T-grains). Films using T-grains are more sensitive to light without using more silver halide since they increase the surface area exposed to light by making the crystals flatter and larger in footprint instead of simply increasing their volume. T-grains can also have a hexagonal shape. These grains also have reduced sensitivity to blue light which

3770-870: A useful tradeoff in difficult shooting environments, if the alternative is no usable shot at all. Instant photography, as popularized by Polaroid , uses a special type of camera and film that automates and integrates development, without the need of further equipment or chemicals. This process is carried out immediately after exposure, as opposed to regular film, which is developed afterwards and requires additional chemicals. See instant film . Films can be made to record non- visible ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) radiation. These films generally require special equipment; for example, most photographic lenses are made of glass and will therefore filter out most ultraviolet light. Instead, expensive lenses made of quartz must be used. Infrared films may be shot in standard cameras using an infrared band- or long-pass filters , although

3900-455: A wider dynamic range than most digital detectors. For example, Agfa 10E56 holographic film has a resolution of over 4,000 lines/mm – equivalent to a pixel size of 0.125 micrometers – and an active dynamic range of over five orders of magnitude in brightness, compared to typical scientific CCDs that might have pixels of about 10 micrometers and a dynamic range of 3–4 orders of magnitude. Special films are used for

4030-412: A wider field of view than longer focal length lenses. A wider aperture, identified by a smaller f-number, allows using a faster shutter speed for the same exposure. The camera equation , or G#, is the ratio of the radiance reaching the camera sensor to the irradiance on the focal plane of the camera lens. The maximum usable aperture of a lens is specified as the focal ratio or f-number , defined as

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4160-531: Is 1/125th of a second. The default flash is the Konica HX-18W. The Konica Hexar RF was sold either "body only" or as a set in a presentation box containing the Konica Hexar RF camera , an M-Hexanon 50 mm f2 lens and an HX-18 electronic flash unit (along with a manual and accessories including a camera strap, body cap and front and rear lens caps). The original release of the Konica Hexar RF camera

4290-543: Is also similar to photographic film. There are several types of photographic film, including: In order to produce a usable image, the film needs to be exposed properly. The amount of exposure variation that a given film can tolerate, while still producing an acceptable level of quality, is called its exposure latitude . Color print film generally has greater exposure latitude than other types of film. Additionally, because print film must be printed to be viewed, after-the-fact corrections for imperfect exposure are possible during

4420-481: Is an advantage since silver halide is most sensitive to blue light than other colors of light. This was traditionally solved by the addition of a blue-blocking filter layer in the film emulsion, but T-grains have allowed this layer to be removed. Also the grains may have a "core" and "shell" where the core, made of silver iodobromide, has higher iodine content than the shell, which improves light sensitivity, these grains are known as Σ-Grains. The exact silver halide used

4550-483: Is automatically advanced to the next frame (and the shutter cocked) after each shutter activation. Shutter release and film advance are as described under shutter below. When the end of a film is reached (or the manual rewind button pressed), the film is wound back into the film canister, with a brief pause to allow the film to be removed "leader out" if desired. Film transport is very different from Leica M-mount film cameras, which require manual film handling through

4680-612: Is believed to be the Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 , which was designed and made specifically for the NASA Apollo lunar program to capture the far side of the Moon in 1966. Three of these lenses were purchased by filmmaker Stanley Kubrick in order to film scenes in his 1975 film Barry Lyndon , using candlelight as the sole light source. The complexity of a lens — the number of elements and their degree of asphericity — depends upon

4810-403: Is blue light). The sensitizing dyes are absorbed at dislocations in the silver halide particles in the emulsion on the film. The sensitizing dyes may be supersensitized with a supersensitizing dye, that assists the function of the sensitizing dye and improves the efficiency of photon capture by silver halide. Each layer has a different type of color dye forming coupler: in the blue sensitive layer,

4940-539: Is commonly used for medical radiography and industrial radiography by placing the subject between the film and a source of X-rays or gamma rays, without a lens, as if a translucent object were imaged by being placed between a light source and standard film. Unlike other types of film, X-ray film has a sensitive emulsion on both sides of the carrier material. This reduces the X-ray exposure for an acceptable image – a desirable feature in medical radiography. The film

5070-414: Is done by making couplers with a ballast group such as a lipophilic group (oil-protected) and applying them in oil droplets to the film, or a hydrophilic group, or in a polymer layer such as a loadable latex layer with oil-protected couplers, in which case they are considered to be polymer-protected. The color couplers may be colorless and be chromogenic or be colored. Colored couplers are used to improve

5200-401: Is due to the statistics of grain activation: as the film becomes progressively more exposed, each incident photon is less likely to impact a still-unexposed grain, yielding the logarithmic behavior. A simple, idealized statistical model yields the equation density = 1 – ( 1 – k ) , where light is proportional to the number of photons hitting a unit area of film, k is the probability of

5330-940: Is either silver bromide or silver bromochloroiodide, or a combination of silver bromide, chloride and iodide. Silver iodobromide may be used as a silver halide. Silver halide crystals can be made in several shapes for use in photographic films. For example, AgBrCl hexagonal tabular grains can be used for color negative films, AgBr octahedral grains can be used for instant color photography films, AgBrl cubo-octahedral grains can be used for color reversal films, AgBr hexagonal tabular grains can be used for medical X-ray films, and AgBrCl cubic grains can be used for graphic arts films. In color films, each emulsion layer has silver halide crystals that are sensitized to one particular color (wavelength of light) vía sentizing dyes, to that they will be made sensitive to only one color of light, and not to others, since silver halide particles are intrinsically sensitive only to wavelengths below 450 nm (which

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5460-439: Is generally used to image close-up very small subjects. A macro lens may be of any focal length, the actual focus length being determined by its practical use, considering magnification, the required ratio, access to the subject, and illumination considerations. It can be a special lens corrected optically for close up work or it can be any lens modified (with adapters or spacers, which are also known as "extension tubes".) to bring

5590-431: Is no major difference in principle between a lens used for a still camera , a video camera , a telescope , a microscope , or other apparatus, but the details of design and construction are different. A lens might be permanently fixed to a camera, or it might be interchangeable with lenses of different focal lengths , apertures , and other properties. While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in practice

5720-532: Is not known whether Sony acquired other photographic assets such as rangefinder camera designs or whether those are retained by Konica Minolta . Whatever the case, none of the involved companies has expressed any interest in renewed production of rangefinder cameras or lenses. Konica Minolta has since announced "Konica Minolta ceased the entire customer services for Konica Minolta cameras and related products, as of 31 December 2010." It appears that services such as downloads for camera manuals were withdrawn at roughly

5850-566: Is not true that all lenses with plastic elements are of low photographic quality. The 1951 USAF resolution test chart is one way to measure the resolving power of a lens. The quality of the material, coatings, and build affect the resolution. Lens resolution is ultimately limited by diffraction , and very few photographic lenses approach this resolution. Ones that do are called "diffraction limited" and are usually extremely expensive. Today, most lenses are multi-coated in order to minimize lens flare and other unwanted effects. Some lenses have

5980-490: Is selected by setting the shutter speed dial to either the AE or AE lock position. Manual exposure is set by selecting a specific shutter speed on the shutter speed dial (there is a central interlock button to prevent accidentally moving the dial from the AE modes to a manually selected shutter speed). Exposure metering is through-the-lens ( TTL ) and thus accounts for the aperture set on the lens in use. (Unlike SLR lenses, where

6110-405: Is the different distances from which a subject can be framed, resulting in a different perspective . Photographs can be taken of a person stretching out a hand with a wideangle, a normal lens, and a telephoto, which contain exactly the same image size by changing the distance from the subject. But the perspective will be different. With the wideangle, the hands will be exaggeratedly large relative to

6240-464: Is used by photofinishing equipment during film processing. The second part is a barcode on the edge of the film ( see image below right ), used also during processing, which indicates the image film type, manufacturer, frame number and synchronizes the position of the frame. The third part of DX coding, known as the DX Camera Auto Sensing (CAS) code, consists of a series of 12 metal contacts on

6370-495: Is usually placed in close contact with phosphor screen(s) and/or thin lead-foil screen(s), the combination having a higher sensitivity to X-rays. Because film is sensitive to x-rays, its contents may be wiped by airport baggage scanners if the film has a speed higher than 800 ISO. This property is exploited in Film badge dosimeters . Film optimized for detecting X-rays and gamma rays is sometimes used for radiation dosimetry . Film has

6500-569: The ASA speed and the DIN speed in the format ASA/DIN. Using ISO convention film with an ASA speed of 400 would be labeled 400/27°. A fourth naming standard is GOST , developed by the Russian standards authority. See the film speed article for a table of conversions between ASA, DIN, and GOST film speeds. Common film speeds include ISO 25, 50, 64, 100, 160, 200, 400, 800 and 1600. Consumer print films are usually in

6630-464: The Box Brownie 's meniscus lens, to over 20 in the more complex zooms. These elements may themselves comprise a group of lenses cemented together. The front element is critical to the performance of the whole assembly. In all modern lenses the surface is coated to reduce abrasion, flare , and surface reflectance , and to adjust color balance. To minimize aberration, the curvature is usually set so that

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6760-610: The K-14 process , Kodacolor, Ektachrome , which is often processed using the E-6 process and Fujifilm Superia , which is processed using the C-41 process . The chemicals and the color dye couplers on the film may vary depending on the process used to develop the film. Film speed describes a film's threshold sensitivity to light. The international standard for rating film speed is the ISO scale, which combines both

6890-498: The Leica M2 onwards, with .58x and .85x as options on more recent models including the current M7 and MP models.) The Konica Hexar RF is similar in form-factor to Leica M-mount cameras , being slightly larger than the archetypal Leica M3 design in all dimensions, and just slightly heavier when batteries are fitted. Body construction is a cast- aluminium chassis with titanium top and bottom plates, finished in flat black, with

7020-528: The Lumière Brothers introduced their Lumière Panchromatic plate, which was made sensitive, although very unequally, to all colors including red. New and improved sensitizing dyes were developed, and in 1902 the much more evenly color-sensitive Perchromo panchromatic plate was being sold by the German manufacturer Perutz . The commercial availability of highly panchromatic black-and-white emulsions also accelerated

7150-538: The Pentax K mount are found across multiple brands, but this is not common today. A few mount designs, such as the Olympus/Kodak Four Thirds System mount for DSLRs, have also been licensed to other makers. Most large-format cameras take interchangeable lenses as well, which are usually mounted in a lensboard or on the front standard. The most common interchangeable lens mounts on the market today include

7280-513: The angle of incidence and the angle of refraction are equal. In a prime lens this is easy, but in a zoom there is always a compromise. The lens usually is focused by adjusting the distance from the lens assembly to the image plane, or by moving elements of the lens assembly. To improve performance, some lenses have a cam system that adjusts the distance between the groups as the lens is focused. Manufacturers call this different things: Nikon calls it CRC (close range correction); Canon calls it

7410-511: The bellows had to be extended to twice the normal length. Good-quality lenses with maximum aperture no greater than f/2.8 and fixed, normal, focal length need at least three (triplet) or four elements (the trade name " Tessar " derives from the Greek tessera , meaning "four"). The widest-range zooms often have fifteen or more. The reflection of light at each of the many interfaces between different optical media (air, glass, plastic) seriously degraded

7540-679: The contrast and color saturation of early lenses, particularly zoom lenses, especially where the lens was directly illuminated by a light source. The introduction many years ago of optical coatings, and advances in coating technology over the years, have resulted in major improvements, and modern high-quality zoom lenses give images of quite acceptable contrast, although zoom lenses with many elements will transmit less light than lenses made with fewer elements (all other factors such as aperture, focal length, and coatings being equal). Many single-lens reflex cameras and some rangefinder cameras have detachable lenses. A few other types do as well, notably

7670-447: The infrared (IR) region of the spectrum . In black-and-white photographic film, there is usually one layer of silver halide crystals. When the exposed silver halide grains are developed, the silver halide crystals are converted to metallic silver, which blocks light and appears as the black part of the film negative . Color film has at least three sensitive layers, incorporating different combinations of sensitizing dyes. Typically

7800-482: The light sensitivity of photographic emulsions in 1876. Their work enabled the first quantitative measure of film speed to be devised. They developed H&D curves, which are specific for each film and paper. These curves plot the photographic density against the log of the exposure, to determine sensitivity or speed of the emulsion and enabling correct exposure. Early photographic plates and films were usefully sensitive only to blue, violet and ultraviolet light . As

7930-445: The 28 mm frameline (the largest). This also allows for generous amounts of "outside the frame" space in the viewfinder for other focal lengths, which can aid photographic composition . However, the reduced apparent size of the viewfinder image can make composing and accurate focus more difficult when using longer focal length lenses . (Note, by way of contrast, that the "standard" Leica viewfinder magnification has been .72x from

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8060-730: The Canon EF , EF-S and EF-M autofocus lens mounts. Others include the Nikon F manual and autofocus mounts, the Olympus / Kodak Four Thirds and Olympus/Panasonic Micro Four Thirds digital-only mounts, the Pentax K mount and autofocus variants, the Sony Alpha mount (derived from the Minolta mount) and the Sony E digital-only mount. A macro lens used in macro or "close-up" photography (not to be confused with

8190-452: The Hexar RF camera. In 2002 a dual focal length lens , the "M-Hexanon Dual Lens 21-35mm/F3.4-4" was introduced. Altogether, the range of "Bayonet Konica KM-mount" lenses produced consists of: Konica's Leica-mount Hexanon lenses (whether Leica M-mount or Leica thread mount ) are considered to have optical and build qualities of a high standard: not dissimilar to those produced by Leica and Carl Zeiss . Konica's lenses were even used as

8320-429: The ISO 100 to ISO 800 range. Some films, like Kodak's Technical Pan , are not ISO rated and therefore careful examination of the film's properties must be made by the photographer before exposure and development. ISO 25 film is very "slow", as it requires much more exposure to produce a usable image than "fast" ISO 800 film. Films of ISO 800 and greater are thus better suited to low-light situations and action shots (where

8450-484: The Mamiya TLR cameras and SLR, medium format cameras ( RZ67 , RB67 , 645-1000s)other companies that produce medium format equipment such as Bronica, Hasselblad and Fuji have similar camera styles that allow interchangeability in the lenses as well, and mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras . The lenses attach to the camera using a lens mount , which contains mechanical linkages and often also electrical contacts between

8580-432: The active dynamic range of most films, the density of the developed film is proportional to the logarithm of the total amount of light to which the film was exposed, so the transmission coefficient of the developed film is proportional to a power of the reciprocal of the brightness of the original exposure. The plot of the density of the film image against the log of the exposure is known as an H&D curve. This effect

8710-425: The amount of light that passes. In early camera models a rotating plate or slider with different sized holes was used. These Waterhouse stops may still be found on modern, specialized lenses. A shutter , to regulate the time during which light may pass, may be incorporated within the lens assembly (for better quality imagery), within the camera, or even, rarely, in front of the lens. Some cameras with leaf shutters in

8840-415: The angle of view, the maximum aperture, and intended price point, among other variables. An extreme wideangle lens of large aperture must be of very complex construction to correct for optical aberrations, which are worse at the edge of the field and when the edge of a large lens is used for image-forming. A long-focus lens of small aperture can be of very simple construction to attain comparable image quality:

8970-465: The aperture open until the instant of exposure to allow SLR cameras to focus with a brighter image with shallower depth of field, theoretically allowing better focus accuracy. Focal lengths are usually specified in millimetres (mm), but older lenses might be marked in centimetres (cm) or inches. For a given film or sensor size, specified by the length of the diagonal, a lens may be classified as a: A side effect of using lenses of different focal lengths

9100-436: The aperture, but in general these three will be in different places. Practical photographic lenses include more lens elements. The additional elements allow lens designers to reduce various aberrations, but the principle of operation remains the same: pencils of rays are collected at the entrance pupil and focused down from the exit pupil onto the image plane. A camera lens may be made from a number of elements: from one, as in

9230-752: The back of the film base in triacetate film bases or in the front in PET film bases, below the emulsion stack. An anticurl layer and a separate antistatic layer may be present in thin high resolution films that have the antihalation layer below the emulsion. PET film bases are often dyed, specially because PET can serve as a light pipe; black and white film bases tend to have a higher level of dying applied to them. The film base needs to be transparent but with some density, perfectly flat, insensitive to light, chemically stable, resistant to tearing and strong enough to be handled manually and by camera mechanisms and film processing equipment, while being chemically resistant to moisture and

9360-439: The back of the film, it also serves to prevent scratching, as an antistatic measure due to its conductive carbon content, and as a lubricant to help transport the film through mechanisms. The antistatic property is necessary to prevent the film from getting fogged under low humidity, and mechanisms to avoid static are present in most if not all films. If applied on the back it is removed during film processing. If applied it may be on

9490-597: The barrel or pressing a button which activates an electric motor . Commonly, the lens may zoom from moderate wide-angle, through normal, to moderate telephoto; or from normal to extreme telephoto. The zoom range is limited by manufacturing constraints; the ideal of a lens of large maximum aperture which will zoom from extreme wideangle to extreme telephoto is not attainable. Zoom lenses are widely used for small-format cameras of all types: still and cine cameras with fixed or interchangeable lenses. Bulk and price limit their use for larger film sizes. Motorized zoom lenses may also have

9620-614: The basis of subsequent color film design, with the Agfa process initially adopted by Ferrania, Fuji and Konica and lasting until the late 70s/early 1980s in the West and 1990s in Eastern Europe. The process used dye-forming chemicals that terminated with sulfonic acid groups and had to be coated one layer at a time. It was a further innovation by Kodak, using dye-forming chemicals which terminated in 'fatty' tails which permitted multiple layers to coated at

9750-409: The blue and green sensitive layers and a yellow filter before the red sensitive layer; in this way each layer is made sensitive to only a certain color of light. The couplers need to be made resistant to diffusion (non-diffusible) so that they will not move between the layers of the film and thus cause incorrect color rendition as the couplers are specific to either cyan, magenta or yellow colors. This

9880-399: The blue-sensitive layer is on top, followed by a yellow filter layer to stop any remaining blue light from affecting the layers below. Next comes a green-and-blue sensitive layer, and a red-and-blue sensitive layer, which record the green and red images respectively. During development, the exposed silver halide crystals are converted to metallic silver, just as with black-and-white film. But in

10010-495: The chemicals used during processing without losing strength, flexibility or changing in size. The subbing layer is essentially an adhesive that allows the subsequent layers to stick to the film base. The film base was initially made of highly flammable cellulose nitrate, which was replaced by cellulose acetate films , often cellulose triacetate film (safety film), which in turn was replaced in many films (such as all print films, most duplication films and some other specialty films) by

10140-479: The color filter mosaic layer absorbed most of the light passing through. The last films of this type were discontinued in the 1950s, but Polachrome "instant" slide film, introduced in 1983, temporarily revived the technology. "Color film" in the modern sense of a subtractive color product with a multi-layered emulsion was born with the introduction of Kodachrome for home movies in 1935 and as lengths of 35 mm film for still cameras in 1936; however, it required

10270-435: The color reproduction of film. The first coupler which is used in the blue layer remains colorless to allow all light to pass through, but the coupler used in the green layer is colored yellow, and the coupler used in the red layer is light pink. Yellow was chosen to block any remaining blue light from exposing the underlying green and red layers (since yellow can be made from green and red). Each layer should only be sensitive to

10400-453: The compositional term close up ) is any lens that produces an image on the focal plane (i.e., film or a digital sensor) that is one quarter of life size (1:4) to the same size (1:1) as the subject being imaged. There is no official standard to define a macro lens, usually a prime lens , but a 1:1 ratio is, typically, considered "true" macro. Magnification from life size to larger is called "Micro" photography (2:1, 3:1 etc.). This configuration

10530-411: The coupler forms a yellow dye; in the green sensitive layer the coupler forms a magenta dye, and in the red sensitive layer the coupler forms a cyan dye. Color films often have an UV blocking layer. Each emulsion layer in a color film may itself have three layers: a slow, medium and fast layer, to allow the film to capture higher contrast images. The color dye couplers are inside oil droplets dispersed in

10660-408: The cover for the batteries and a tripod socket. The Konica Hexar RF has a hinged, swing-open, camera back with cut-out view window to show the film loaded in the camera . Film loading, advance and rewind is motorised and automatic. A button to manually trigger film rewind is also provided. Film sensitivity can be detected via standard DX encoding or the ISO value can be selected manually. Film

10790-460: The date, shutter speed and aperture setting are recorded on the negative directly as the film is exposed. The first known version of this process was patented in the United States in 1975, using half-silvered mirrors to direct the readout of a digital clock and mix it with the light rays coming through the main camera lens. Modern SLR cameras use an imprinter fixed to the back of the camera on

10920-428: The diaphragm controlling lens aperture is generally closed only at the time of shutter release, rangefinder camera lenses close or open the diaphragm directly as the aperture control is applied). The Konica Hexar RF has an ISO 518 -compatible hot shoe with X flash synchronisation for an electronic flash . Flash operation is manual-only: more modern TTL flash metering is not supported. Flash synchronisation speed

11050-463: The discovery that certain dyes, called sensitizing dyes, when adsorbed onto the silver halide crystals made them respond to other colors as well. First orthochromatic (sensitive to blue and green) and finally panchromatic (sensitive to all visible colors) films were developed. Panchromatic film renders all colors in shades of gray approximately matching their subjective brightness. By similar techniques, special-purpose films can be made sensitive to

11180-466: The dyes are instead formed by a long sequence of steps, limiting adoption among smaller film processing companies. Black and white films are very simple by comparison, only consisting of silver halide crystals suspended in a gelatin emulsion which sits on a film base with an antihalation back. Many films contain a top supercoat layer to protect the emulsion layers from damage. Some manufacturers manufacture their films with daylight, tungsten (named after

11310-494: The early 20th century. Although color photographs of good quality were being made by the 1890s, they required special equipment, separate and long exposures through three color filters , complex printing or display procedures, and highly specialized skills, so they were then exceedingly rare. The first practical and commercially successful color "film" was the Lumière Autochrome , a glass plate product introduced in 1907. It

11440-443: The emulsion around silver halide crystals, forming a silver halide grain. Here the oil droplets act as a surfactant , also protecting the couplers from chemical reactions with the silver halide and from the surrounding gelatin. During development, oxidized developer diffuses into the oil droplets and combines with the dye couplers to form dye clouds; the dye clouds only form around unexposed silver halide crystals. The fixer then removes

11570-400: The emulsion, which can be chemically developed into a visible photograph . In addition to visible light, all films are sensitive to ultraviolet light, X-rays , gamma rays , and high-energy particles . Unmodified silver halide crystals are sensitive only to the blue part of the visible spectrum, producing unnatural-looking renditions of some colored subjects. This problem was resolved with

11700-508: The end of 2003. Konica and Minolta (who had previously manufactured the Leitz/Minolta CL and Minolta CLE M-mount cameras) merged to form Konica Minolta in 2003. In 2006 Sony acquired photographic assets from Konica Minolta , with the latter company withdrawing from all photography-related activity. The targets of the acquisition by Sony were the designs and tooling for Minolta / Konica Minolta SLR cameras and accessories. It

11830-432: The film backing plate. It uses a small LED display for illumination and optics to focus the light onto a specific part of the film. The LED display is exposed on the negative at the same time the picture is taken. Digital cameras can often encode all the information in the image file itself. The Exif format is the most commonly used format. In the 1980s, Kodak developed DX Encoding (from Digital indeX), or DX coding ,

11960-428: The film cassette, which beginning with cameras manufactured after 1985 could detect the type of film, number of exposures and ISO of the film, and use that information to automatically adjust the camera settings for the speed of the film. Source: e.g., Kodak "Advantix", different aspect ratios possible, data recorded on magnetic strip, processed film remains in cartridge The earliest practical photographic process

12090-619: The film's sensitivity to light – or speed – the film there will have no appreciable image density, and will appear on the print as a featureless black. Some photographers use their knowledge of these limits to determine the optimum exposure for a photograph; for one example, see the Zone System . Most automatic cameras instead try to achieve a particular average density. Color films can have many layers. The film base can have an antihalation layer applied to it or be dyed. This layer prevents light from reflecting from within

12220-575: The film, increasing image quality. This also can make films exposable on only one side, as it prevents exposure from behind the film. This layer is bleached after development to make it clear, thus making the film transparent. The antihalation layer, besides having a black colloidal silver sol pigment for absorbing light, can also have two UV absorbents to improve lightfastness of the developed image, an oxidized developer scavenger, dyes for compensating for optical density during printing, solvents, gelatin and disodium salt of 3,5- disulfocatechol. If applied to

12350-462: The film. Film is typically segmented in frames , that give rise to separate photographs . The emulsion will gradually darken if left exposed to light, but the process is too slow and incomplete to be of any practical use. Instead, a very short exposure to the image formed by a camera lens is used to produce only a very slight chemical change, proportional to the amount of light absorbed by each crystal. This creates an invisible latent image in

12480-420: The final print. Usually those areas will be considered overexposed and will appear as featureless white on the print. Some subject matter is tolerant of very heavy exposure. For example, sources of brilliant light, such as a light bulb or the sun, generally appear best as a featureless white on the print. Likewise, if part of an image receives less than the beginning threshold level of exposure, which depends upon

12610-400: The focal plane "forward" for very close photography. Depending on the camera to subject distance and aperture, the depth-of-field can be very narrow, limiting the linear depth of the area that will be in focus. Lenses are usually stopped down to give a greater depth-of-field. Some lenses, called zoom lenses , have a focal length that varies as internal elements are moved, typically by rotating

12740-428: The focus, iris, and other functions motorized. Some notable photographic optical lens designs are: Photographic film Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the crystals determine the sensitivity, contrast, and resolution of

12870-479: The head. As the focal length increases, the emphasis on the outstretched hand decreases. However, if pictures are taken from the same distance, and enlarged and cropped to contain the same view, the pictures will have identical perspective. A moderate long-focus (telephoto) lens is often recommended for portraiture because the perspective corresponding to the longer shooting distance is considered to look more flattering. The widest aperture lens in history of photography

13000-415: The infrared focal point must be compensated for. Exposure and focusing are difficult when using UV or IR film with a camera and lens designed for visible light. The ISO standard for film speed only applies to visible light, so visual-spectrum light meters are nearly useless. Film manufacturers can supply suggested equivalent film speeds under different conditions, and recommend heavy bracketing (e.g., "with

13130-501: The laboratory, but in 1883 the first commercially dye-sensitized plates appeared on the market. These early products, described as isochromatic or orthochromatic depending on the manufacturer, made possible a more accurate rendering of colored subject matter into a black-and-white image. Because they were still disproportionately sensitive to blue, the use of a yellow filter and a consequently longer exposure time were required to take full advantage of their extended sensitivity. In 1894,

13260-462: The late 1990s through 2001. The range of Leica thread mount lenses produced by Konica includes: 1950s 1990s - 2001 Konica produced a chrome-finish Hexar RF Limited camera , targeted for the year 2001 (the new millennium ) in a limited release of 2001 units, supplied in a boxed set including a new M-Hexanon 50 mm f1.2 lens and HX-18 flash. The lens was only manufactured for this set, so examples are unavailable except in conjunction with

13390-456: The lens and camera body. The lens mount design is an important issue for compatibility between cameras and lenses. There is no universal standard for lens mounts, and each major camera maker typically uses its own proprietary design, incompatible with other makers. A few older manual focus lens mount designs, such as the Leica M39 lens mount for rangefinders, M42 lens mount for early SLRs, and

13520-421: The lens omit the aperture, and the shutter does double duty. The two fundamental parameters of an optical lens are the focal length and the maximum aperture . The lens' focal length determines the magnification of the image projected onto the image plane, and the aperture the light intensity of that image. For a given photographic system the focal length determines the angle of view , short focal lengths giving

13650-459: The lens's focal length divided by the effective aperture (or entrance pupil ), a dimensionless number. The lower the f-number, the higher light intensity at the focal plane. Larger apertures (smaller f-numbers) provide a much shallower depth of field than smaller apertures, other conditions being equal. Practical lens assemblies may also contain mechanisms to deal with measuring light, secondary apertures for flare reduction, and mechanisms to hold

13780-439: The limited-edition kit or the (apparently few) occasions where components of the kit have been separated. This means that most are held by collectors or those willing to pay "collectible" prices. At some phase of the production of the Hexar RF, Konica made 50 units of a half-frame variant of the camera named Hexar 72 . Production of the Konica Hexar RF camera was discontinued, without official announcement, some time before

13910-408: The long exposures required by astrophotography. Lith films used in the printing industry. In particular when exposed via a ruled-glass screen or contact-screen, halftone images suitable for printing could be generated. Some film cameras have the ability to read metadata from the film canister or encode metadata on film negatives. Negative imprinting is a feature of some film cameras, in which

14040-424: The outermost elements of all but the cheapest lenses as they scratch easily. Molded plastic lenses have been used for the cheapest disposable cameras for many years, and have acquired a bad reputation: manufacturers of quality optics tend to use euphemisms such as "optical resin". However many modern, high performance (and high priced) lenses from popular manufacturers include molded or hybrid aspherical elements, so it

14170-442: The physics of silver grain activation (which sets a minimum amount of light required to expose a single grain) and by the statistics of random grain activation by photons. The film requires a minimum amount of light before it begins to expose, and then responds by progressive darkening over a wide dynamic range of exposure until all of the grains are exposed, and the film achieves (after development) its maximum optical density. Over

14300-411: The pinhole with a focal length equal to the distance to the film plane (assuming the camera will take pictures of distant objects ). This allows the pinhole to be opened up significantly (fourth image) because a thin convex lens bends light rays in proportion to their distance to the axis of the lens, with rays striking the center of the lens passing straight through. The geometry is almost the same as with

14430-405: The printing process. The concentration of dyes or silver halide crystals remaining on the film after development is referred to as optical density , or simply density ; the optical density is proportional to the logarithm of the optical transmission coefficient of the developed film. A dark image on the negative is of higher density than a more transparent image. Most films are affected by

14560-491: The progress of practical color photography, which requires good sensitivity to all the colors of the spectrum for the red, green and blue channels of color information to all be captured with reasonable exposure times. However, all of these were glass-based plate products. Panchromatic emulsions on a film base were not commercially available until the 1910s and did not come into general use until much later. Many photographers who did their own darkroom work preferred to go without

14690-463: The right-hand side of the top plate, as seen from the rear, as is the LCD displaying the current frame count. The viewfinder is located on the upper left-hand side of the camera. The manual rewind button, release catch for the camera back and cable release socket are on the left-hand side of the camera. The lens mount release and frameline preview lever are located on the front of the camera. The bottom plate has

14820-471: The same as those used for later Leica M series camera viewfinders ( Leica M4-P and subsequent models) and use the same frameline selection mechanism at the lens mount. A frameline preview lever on the front of the camera allows for temporary selection of a frameline pair other than the one selected by the mounted lens. The .60x magnification used in the Hexar RF viewfinder allows for all framelines to be easily seen, including by those wearing eyeglasses - even

14950-400: The same point on the image sensor/film (provided the object point is in the field of view). If one were inside the camera, one would see the lens acting as a projector . The virtual image of the aperture from inside the camera is the lens's exit pupil . In this simple case, the aperture, entrance pupil, and exit pupil are all in the same place because the only optical element is in the plane of

15080-414: The seeming luxury of sensitivity to red – a rare color in nature and uncommon even in human-made objects – rather than be forced to abandon the traditional red darkroom safelight and process their exposed film in complete darkness. Kodak's popular Verichrome black-and-white snapshot film, introduced in 1931, remained a red-insensitive orthochromatic product until 1956, when it

15210-470: The short exposure time limits the total light received). The benefit of slower film is that it usually has finer grain and better color rendition than fast film. Professional photographers of static subjects such as portraits or landscapes usually seek these qualities, and therefore require a tripod to stabilize the camera for a longer exposure. A professional photographing subjects such as rapidly moving sports or in low-light conditions will inevitably choose

15340-416: The silver halide crystals leaving only the dye clouds: this means that developed color films may not contain silver while undeveloped films do contain silver; this also means that the fixer can start to contain silver which can then be removed through electrolysis. Color films also contain light filters to filter out certain colors as the light passes through the film: often there is a blue light filter between

15470-650: The silver is converted back to silver halide crystals in the bleach step . It is removed from the film during the process of fixing the image on the film with a solution of ammonium thiosulfate or sodium thiosulfate (hypo or fixer). Fixing leaves behind only the formed color dyes, which combine to make up the colored visible image. Later color films, like Kodacolor II , have as many as 12 emulsion layers, with upwards of 20 different chemicals in each layer. Photographic film and film stock tend to be similar in composition and speed, but often not in other parameters such as frame size and length. Silver halide photographic paper

15600-519: The speed of the film; since films contain real silver (as silver halide), faster films with larger crystals are more expensive and potentially subject to variations in the price of silver metal. Also, faster films have more grain, since the grains (crystals) are larger. Each crystal is often 0.2 to 2 microns in size; in color films, the dye clouds that form around the silver halide crystals are often 25 microns across. The crystals can be shaped as cubes, flat rectangles, tetradecadedra, or be flat and resemble

15730-484: The time of this announcement. Mechanical |  Mechanical TTL   |   Electronic Controlled Shutter TTL   Photographic lens A camera lens (also known as photographic lens or photographic objective ) is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically . There

15860-412: The top-mounted shutter release button. Positions are: Shutter release is activated by pressing the top-mounted shutter release button or by a cable release inserted in a standard socket located on the side of the camera. The Konica Hexar RF meters for exposure either by aperture priority auto- exposure (with AE lock and +/-2 EV exposure compensation ) or in metered-manual mode. Aperture priority

15990-437: The tungsten filament of incandescent and halogen lamps) or fluorescent lighting in mind, recommending the use of lens filters, light meters and test shots in some situations to maintain color balance, or by recommending the division of the ISO value of the film by the distance of the subject from the camera to get an appropriate f-number value to be set in the lens. Examples of Color films are Kodachrome , often processed using

16120-475: The visibility of the clouds, by manually retouching their negatives to adjust problematic tonal values, and by heavily powdering the faces of their portrait sitters. In 1873, Hermann Wilhelm Vogel discovered that the spectral sensitivity could be extended to green and yellow light by adding very small quantities of certain dyes to the emulsion. The instability of early sensitizing dyes and their tendency to rapidly cause fogging initially confined their use to

16250-416: Was accompanied by the release of three "Konica KM-bayonet mount" lenses for use on Konica RF cameras and others, such as Leica, with compatible lens mounts . These lenses were in 50 mm, 28mm and 90 mm focal lengths. Subsequently, in 2001, an M-Hexanon 35 mm f2 lens was released, and a new-model 50 mm f1.2 lens was produced, for release only with a 2001-release limited-edition version of

16380-411: Was expensive and not sensitive enough for hand-held "snapshot" use. Film-based versions were introduced in the early 1930s and the sensitivity was later improved. These were "mosaic screen" additive color products, which used a simple layer of black-and-white emulsion in combination with a layer of microscopically small color filter elements. The resulting transparencies or "slides" were very dark because

16510-438: Was of better optical quality than early transparent plastics and was, at first, less expensive. Glass plates continued to be used long after the introduction of film, and were used for astrophotography and electron micrography until the early 2000s, when they were supplanted by digital recording methods. Ilford continues to manufacture glass plates for special scientific applications. The first flexible photographic roll film

16640-448: Was replaced by Verichrome Pan. Amateur darkroom enthusiasts then had to handle the undeveloped film by the sense of touch alone. Experiments with color photography began almost as early as photography itself, but the three-color principle underlying all practical processes was not set forth until 1855, not demonstrated until 1861, and not generally accepted as "real" color photography until it had become an undeniable commercial reality in

16770-464: Was sold by George Eastman in 1885, but this original "film" was actually a coating on a paper base. As part of the processing, the image-bearing layer was stripped from the paper and attached to a sheet of hardened clear gelatin. The first transparent plastic roll film followed in 1889. It was made from highly flammable cellulose nitrate film . Although cellulose acetate or " safety film " had been introduced by Kodak in 1908, at first it found only

16900-420: Was the daguerreotype ; it was introduced in 1839 and did not use film. The light-sensitive chemicals were formed on the surface of a silver-plated copper sheet. The calotype process produced paper negatives. Beginning in the 1850s, thin glass plates coated with photographic emulsion became the standard material for use in the camera. Although fragile and relatively heavy, the glass used for photographic plates

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