Digital SLR with movie mode?

Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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I know slr's use a mirror to reflect the image from the lens into the viewfinder, as that mirror can move out of the way of the ccd for the photo, why cant it be set to stay that way to allow a movie mode on the lcd?
 
Man of Honour
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As you say the sensor in most DSLRs is not designed to be exposed to strong light for long periods however it's a more physical reason that you can't just flip the mirror out the way - the shutter is a physical one in almost all DSLRs as opposed to the electronic shutter in most P&S cameras. That means for a movie mode you'd need a shutter capable of 20+fps and designed for a serious lifespan - a standard Canon shutter will list for around 50K shots or about 33 minutes at 25fps.
 
Associate
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divine_madness said:
It's more to do with the sensitivity of the sensor and the fact it would likely break some of the pixels because they got too hot.

Hence why the 'Live Preview' is done on a seperate sensor still.

Actually, I don't think that is true on the Fuji S3; you appear to be able to get a live preview mode on the LCD and that is done by a mirror lock-up. I maybe wrong but I am fairly certain remember reading that.
 
Soldato
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spell said:
Actually, I don't think that is true on the Fuji S3; you appear to be able to get a live preview mode on the LCD and that is done by a mirror lock-up. I maybe wrong but I am fairly certain remember reading that.
IIRC the live preview was only black and white wasnt it? I guess this was because the sensor isnt able to work fully due to the problems outlined above. Its why the new Olympus E330 uses a 2nd sensor for its live preview. :)
 
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