square sensors

[nei1]

Im bumping a thread That I put in gear garage to here as no-one there seems interested.Im wondering why the manufacturers of the first digital cameras didnt start with a clean slate and use square sensors to give all the home processors all the formats in one.The idea of being dominated by the cameras format now seems old hat and against the new freedom of digital.Just a thought .

 

[Terry]

The only camera that has come close to this is the Panasonic TZ3 and now TZ5. The sensor is a bit bigger and 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 all are at full 28mm (diagonal field of view) with no cropping. I think of it as a better use of the full image circle. I guess manufacturers didn't go in that direction because you aren't fully utilizing the whole sensor which might be construed as a waste of money?

 

[nei1]

Im sure all the major companies thought a lot about the format of the sensor,the majority staying with or near the 35mm format.The one brave enough to change this was olympus with its 4:3 sensor but are at a disadvantage because of its reduced size.Couldnt the 35mm frame have been sized up to a square to match the image circle of the lens and then cropped in post processing to whatever format you want.Personally Im a bit stuck with my leica but for anyone coming to digital as a new photographer the liberation of a formatless camera would Im sure be welcome,and fitting for a system so free from restriction and tradition.I do know of the medium format backs available,what Im alluding to is the non-existance of a formatless 35mm size camera and to the reasons why it does not exist.Ive recently been playing with cs3 and am both amazed and horrified at what it can do(my hours and hours printing and spotting prints made vastly easier and quicker,variations made with no cost,just interest,magic.)that now pp is almost as creative as photography,how nice to start with an un-camera influenced "negative", .......... maybe.

 

[Robert Campbell]

Couldnt the 35mm frame have been sized up to a square to match the image circle of the lens and then cropped in post processing to whatever format you want.

The diagonal of 35mm is about 43mm, so presumably the imaging circle of the lenses is about this, or perhaps marginally larger. This would allow a square of about 31mm - shorter than the long side of 35mm, though the total area of the square would be greater. A 2:3 rectangle from this would be smaller than from 35mm.

If - a big if - a circular sensor was used, it would have a diameter of 43mm or so, allowing 24x36mm crops and 31x31mm crops.

A square image of 36x36mm would need an imaging circle of about 51mm.

 

[nei1]

Good point,how large could the sensor be? A squared M8 or less? regards Neil.Sorry Bertie,31x31,might be nice.