Explainer
A DSLR uses a reflex mirror to send light toward an optical viewfinder. That mirror moves out of the way when the sensor records an image. Removing it gives mirrorless camera designers more flexibility in the space between the lens mount and sensor.
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Original recording: TikTok, 2020-12-13.
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Automatically transcribed from the original recording. Small transcription errors may remain.
How Digital Cameras Work Part 1 So this is the inside of a Nikon D3000, a digital SLR released in 2009. The first component we see here is the flange, which is the space between where the lens mounts and the camera's image sensor. The reason these older digital cameras have a larger flange than new mirrorless cameras is this component right here. mirror and prison system that flips up and down allowing the photographer to see what will be captured by the sensor. Hence the abbreviation single lens reflex and SLR. On new mirrorless cameras there is no mirror resulting in a much shorter distance between the area where the lens mounts and the camera sensor and this is why mirrorless cameras have smaller, lighter, faster lenses with greater optical accuracy as light travels a shorter distance.
