Many questions arise, particularly when it comes to the electronic control of SLRs:
How do the fully automatic and semi-automatic exposure modes work? How does the autofocus work? How do the motor drive and camera cooperate? How are the LCD displays and colorful LEDs in the viewfinder controlled?
And much more.
If you want to understand how a purely mechanical camera works, you can look at the mechanics, take the camera apart and explore how it works.
With an electronic camera
this is only possible to a limited extent.
The mechanical part that is built into every electronic camera, e.g. the mirror box as well as the optional motor drive, can be examined, but this is not so easy with electronics.
Here you can see the circuit boards and electronic components such as ICs, transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc., but what is going on here and how it works together remains mainly hidden from the eye.
You can measure voltages in the circuits, record and analyze digital bit patterns or examine the analog/digital interfaces, such as sensors and switches. But most of it remains hidden and cannot be determined without technical documentation.
There is no need to give up here
because this information is available.
There are detailed circuit descriptions in the manufacturers repair manuals, SPT Journal and C & C Troubleshooting Guides, especially for the first digitally controlled SLRs such as the Canon AE-1 (1976) or Canon A-1 (1978).
Here it was still possible to describe the circuits not only in diagrams, but also in words that even interested laypeople with basic knowledge of analog and digital electronics can understand.
With later electronic SLRs such as the Canon T90 (1986), this is no longer possible due to the density of functions and high complexity; it would go beyond the scope.
But if you take a closer look
at the first generation of digitally controlled SLRs mentioned above, you can use the knowledge gained to understand at least the basics.
Then the strange-looking gold and red shimmering circuit boards with their black blocks and tiny components suddenly become recognizable and you begin to understand what is happening inside, silently and incredibly quickly.
Not an easy, but a worthwhile and fascinating journey into the SLR electronic high-tech beginning mid of the 1970s.
How do the fully automatic and semi-automatic exposure modes work? How does the autofocus work? How do the motor drive and camera cooperate? How are the LCD displays and colorful LEDs in the viewfinder controlled?
And much more.
If you want to understand how a purely mechanical camera works, you can look at the mechanics, take the camera apart and explore how it works.
With an electronic camera
this is only possible to a limited extent.
The mechanical part that is built into every electronic camera, e.g. the mirror box as well as the optional motor drive, can be examined, but this is not so easy with electronics.
Here you can see the circuit boards and electronic components such as ICs, transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc., but what is going on here and how it works together remains mainly hidden from the eye.
You can measure voltages in the circuits, record and analyze digital bit patterns or examine the analog/digital interfaces, such as sensors and switches. But most of it remains hidden and cannot be determined without technical documentation.
There is no need to give up here
because this information is available.
There are detailed circuit descriptions in the manufacturers repair manuals, SPT Journal and C & C Troubleshooting Guides, especially for the first digitally controlled SLRs such as the Canon AE-1 (1976) or Canon A-1 (1978).
Here it was still possible to describe the circuits not only in diagrams, but also in words that even interested laypeople with basic knowledge of analog and digital electronics can understand.
With later electronic SLRs such as the Canon T90 (1986), this is no longer possible due to the density of functions and high complexity; it would go beyond the scope.
But if you take a closer look
at the first generation of digitally controlled SLRs mentioned above, you can use the knowledge gained to understand at least the basics.
Then the strange-looking gold and red shimmering circuit boards with their black blocks and tiny components suddenly become recognizable and you begin to understand what is happening inside, silently and incredibly quickly.
Not an easy, but a worthwhile and fascinating journey into the SLR electronic high-tech beginning mid of the 1970s.
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