Shooting vertical orientation while camera is horizontal

[rufis6]

I have a Canon 5D and like all of us, when I want to shoot a scene with a vertical orientation I must turn the camera sideways. Yet, when I want to view an image taken in a vertical orientation I can just push a button and view that image while the camera is being held horizontically. My question is this: What would make it impossible, or even difficult, to design a camera so that you could take a picture in a verical orientation while still hold the camera in a horizontically? After all, the image rectangle is fit into a circular shape anyway.

[Todd Jacobsen]

The photo matches the sensor orientation. What you are asking is that the sensor should move instead of the body. Mechanically speaking, moving the body is easier.

[bolantej]

The photo matches the sensor orientation. What you are asking is that the sensor should move instead of the body. Mechanically speaking, moving the body is easier.

yep. it's a rectangle. if it was done with software it would be a smaller image or i'm sure image quality would suffer if it was to be enlarged in-camera. if that makes any sense. :D

[rufis6]

Todd: I am not that aware of the difficulty in having the sensor rotate. Perhaps you are correct and it would not be feasible, economically or mechanically to have the sensor rotate.

Bolantej: I really do not understand how the size would change if the sensor was just rotated, as Todd implied. Maybe I'm missing something.

[Mark_Cohran]

So, would you be willing to pay hundreds of dollars more for this feature when you could just simply turn the camera?

The sensor is physically a rectangular array of photosites. To do what you are suggesting would require either physically repositioning the sensor or turning off a large number of photosites in the sensor to correspond to a vertical orientation and thus reducing the overall resolution of the sensor.

[bolantej]

So, would you be willing to pay hundreds of dollars more for this feature when you could just simply turn the camera?

The sensor is physically a rectangular array of photosites. To do what you are suggesting would require either physically repositioning the sensor or turning off a large number of photosites in the sensor to correspond to a vertical orientation and thus reducing the overall resolution of the sensor.
thank you for reiterating my iteration. (huh?) :lol:

[Jon]

OK if you rotated the sensor internally (and you'd need to have a control to let it know to do this - more complications) either the shutter would also have to rotate or the shutter would have to travel across the full long dimension of the "portrait-mode" sensor. This latter would mean that the shutter would either need to travel faster or you'd get a slower max. flash sync rate. You'd also have to adjust flash firing to ensure that it didn't go off before the active sensor area was all uncovered.

Then let's think about composing the picture. Your SLR viewfinder sees directly through the lens and projects an optical image onto your focussing screen. You'd need to either rotate the finder or have a larger finder to accomodate both formats. Then wouldn't you want to mask off the one not in use? So you're looking at a larger finder. You can't engineer your way out of that.

A larger finder and a rotating sensor, with or without a rotating shutter, will increase the overall size of the mirror box in both height (to accomodate the rotated sensor) and depth (to accomodate the altered viewfinder area, and the bigger mirror that would be needed). So you'd be looking at a bigger camera, which wouldn't (because of the increased depth) accept any existing Canon EF lenses.

I'll stick with rotating the whole camera. It's easier and cheaper.

[SkipD]

A square sensor format (and viewfinder) would solve the problem.....

Hmmmm Just got to thinking.... what would folks do for a "crop factor" then? :rolleyes:

[Jon]

A square sensor format (and viewfinder) would solve the problem.....

Hmmmm Just got to thinking.... what would folks do for a "crop factor" then? :rolleyes:
It'd still increase the size of the mirror box, unless you want to accept a smaller sensor (and greater "crop").

[SkipD]

Yeah, I know the engineering problems, Jon. My post was in jest. I left out the part about it requiring lenses from a Hassy, etc.

[rufis6]

Hey! I was just asking; I'll continue to turn the camera sideways when I want a vertical. Thanks for all the feedback.

[Jon]

I don't see the problem with a larger mirror box.
It'd be deeper, front to back, to accomodate the larger mirror, thus you'd need all-new lenses that mount further away from the sensor. Otherwise the mirror would be slapping the rear of the lens every time you pressed the shutter and one of the two would break. Same reason Canon doesn't want EF-S lenses mounted on an EF chassis.

[puttick]

Just try a film SLR, and you'll understand the reason.

[tiha]

AFAIK the only camera with that feature was medium format film camera Mamiya 67RB. It was used (and probably still is) by professional studio photographers. The rotating back was quite appreciated because camera was heavy. If something like that appear in digital world that will be some kind of rotating back for medium format cameras.