Digital Rangefinder system

I did record a video about digital rangefinder system while I did Why Xpro2 ? episode for my YouTube channel but I didn’t include that video in that episode considering it’s length.

Then I thought of publishing it as a deleted scene , & but I felt that I didn’t say enough in that video for the idea of a Digital Rangefinder system.

So here I choose to write about it ….

Rangefinder cameras these days has both rangefinder & view finder built into a single window.

They are optical . They have frame lines for certain focal lengths of the prime lenses say from 28mm , 35mm, 50mm, 75mm, 90mm & 135mm.

Then there is a Hybrid viewfinder system in the rangefinder camera emulated design of Fuji XPro series.

They do partly emulate the rangefinder experience in us.

It has both Electronic viewfinder & an optical viewfinder under single window.

It has frame lines from 18mm to 90mm . 

It can change the viewfinder between .85x & .58X field of view according to the lens that we use.

Displays an yellow mark when we use a wider lens if the optical viewfinder can’t show them…

All these & more can be added to a Digital camera which wants to emulate a design of a rangefinder system…

HOW ?

What I felt is… we are still trying to create the experience of a rangefinder system digitally..& it’s not complete…

To make a proper Digital Rangefinder camera …we need to work on the sensor itself thereby the EVF.

To make a APSC size Digital rangefinder camera… to have an extra view of the scene … we need to use a APSH or a Full frame sensor in the mirrorless body .Providing image results only for APSH .

Most of the lenses have a bigger throw of light meaning gives the bigger circle of the image over the sensor. It can work that way.! or we might need to design a mount that takes full frame lenses or design new lenses for this design.

It might make the camera little bit expensive but I feel it’s worth it :)

We are kind of doing it already in the camera by allowing a full frame sensor to adjust to a cropped frame size image when one such lens is used or when we shoot in super 35mm format or when we shoot in slow motion etc….I guess it’s a software thing as well :)

To have a Full frame digital rangefinder camera . We need a sensor which is bigger than 36mm x 24mm dimensions enabling the EVF to show more of the scene. 

Say a 40mm x 28mm sensor !! but smaller than a cropped medium format sensor which is like 43.8×32.9mm. Just to contain the cost. !!  

Since we are going to use an EVF in the system , bigger sensor can be adjusted with the cost as well :)

Designing a sensor which is in-between a cropped medium format sensor & a full frame sensor is something new to the market & it could be the selling point as well :) 

We might need new lenses to throw a bigger circle of light at the flange. or depending on the brand their full frame lenses are good enough to be used with a cropped medium format sensor these days. 

So my idea is redesigning a sensor for a digital rangefinder camera along with the appropriate EVF can open up new market for all rangefinder enthusiast .! :)

EVF now is fully capable of giving all frame line information , metering , one can actually see how the image is going to be , focus , focus peaking, split image etc ….it will be an wonder to use this design :) EVF design can be enhanced in the software as well :)

Being an EVF it might even allow a Digital rangefinder system to use zoom lenses with an updating frame lines at certain angle of rotation of the zoom lens.

it’s all with the sensor size in the end, companies should redesign them make it bigger to have a smaller range finder image seen within the frame line … 

Though current camera designs are like rangefinder camera they are only an emulator which doesn’t give the experience itself. keeping an EVF or Hybrid viewfinder on the left of the camera is not the same as in the rangefinder system !!!

I wish bigger companies sees this article & take it as a challenge to build one :) 

Ofcourse camera manufacturers & sensor manufacturers would have thought about this already , if so I would like to request them to reconsider their decision to make a Completely Digital Rangefinder camera all within an EVF :)

Thanks all for your support :)

PS: Forgive my mistakes in the writing if any & feel free to correct them.