Nikon Cutaways

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Mike Farley
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Nikon Cutaways

Postby Mike Farley » Fri 28 Dec 2018, 09:47

I have a passing interest in how things work and what is on the inside of housings, so I was fascinated to see this image of two Nikon camera cutaways. A D850 is in the foreground, a Z 7 at the back. I do not know what the lenses are, although I assume it is the 24-70 f/4 on the Z 7. That is not much of a guess, as it is currently the only Z series zoom available. Nikon does not manufacture an equivalent DSLR lens, so maybe a 24-120 f/4 is mounted on the D850?

Image

To an extent, the difference in the specification of the lenses does not matter as the image illustrates a number of things. Firstly, the hump on top of a mirrorless camera, where the SLR pentaprism is located, now houses the EVF. Fuji's X-Pro and X-E cameras, which have completely flat upper surfaces, both have the EVF on the top left of the body. Presumably that is the only logical place where they could go. That is on the basis, of course, that most people are "right eyed". Leica made the same decision with its rangefinder cameras, a design principle which goes back nearly 100 years. In theory, there is nothing to stop the viewfinder being placed on the bottom of the camera, but I expect most people would find that to be an odd concept.

The Z 7 focusses using the sensor, so there is a space saving as there is no longer a requirement for a separate AF mechanism. The D850's sensor sits nearly at the back of the camera and there is little room behind it, which mirrors the design from the days of film. There is much more going on behind the mirrorless sensor, the assumption being that components have been moved there from other parts of the camera which contributes to making the body more compact.

The other aspect of note is that without the need for a mirror box, the rear element of the lens sits much closer to the sensor. That helps makes the design more compact. It is a pity that the two lenses have differing specifications as it would be possible to compare how much smaller a mirrorless lens can be made. However, the Nikon mirrorless mount has a larger diameter than the DSLR which might have an effect on lens size. Not that I know anything like enough about lens design to be certain whether that is a factor.
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Mike Farley
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Peter Boughton
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Re: Nikon Cutaways

Postby Peter Boughton » Sat 29 Dec 2018, 20:59

Mike Farley wrote:maybe a 24-120 f/4 is mounted on the D850?

The 24-120 f/4 I have is shorter and has a different profile.

The cutaway looks similar to the 24-70 f/2.8 ED but not exactly the same - maybe an different iteration of that lens.
Mike Farley
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Re: Nikon Cutaways

Postby Mike Farley » Sat 29 Dec 2018, 23:52

Peter Boughton wrote:The cutaway looks similar to the 24-70 f/2.8 ED but not exactly the same - maybe an different iteration of that lens.

I found this diagram of the 24-70 f/2.8 VR on Ken Rockwell's site, of all places. There are 20 elements in 16 groups. It looks very similar to the cutaway in the photo.

Image
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Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)

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