Editing Camera (section)

=== Single-lens reflex (SLR) camera ===
{{Main|Single-lens reflex camera}}
{{See|Instant return mirror}}[[File:Nikon D200 front (aka).jpg|thumb|Nikon D200 digital camera]]In photography, the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is provided with a mirror to redirect light from the lens to the viewfinder prior to releasing the shutter for composing and focusing an image. When the shutter is released, the mirror swings up and away, allowing the exposure of the [[Photography|photographic medium]], and instantly returns after the exposure is finished. No SLR camera before 1954 had this feature, although the mirror on some early SLR cameras was entirely operated by the force exerted on the shutter release and only returned when the finger pressure was released.<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of the 35&nbsp;mm Still Camera |author=Roger Hicks |publisher=Focal Press, London & Boston |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-240-51233-4 |page=137}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Register of 35&nbsp;mm SLR cameras |author=Rudolph Lea |publisher=Wittig Books, Hückelhoven |year=1993 |isbn=978-3-88984-130-8 |page=23}}</ref> The [[Asahiflex IIB|Asahiflex II]], released by Japanese company [[Pentax|Asahi (Pentax)]] in 1954, was the world's first SLR camera with an instant return mirror.<ref>Michael R. Peres (2013), [https://books.google.com/books?id=NMJxyAwGvKcC&pg=PA779 ''The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography'', p. 779], [[Taylor & Francis]]</ref>

In the single-lens reflex camera, the photographer sees the scene through the camera lens. This avoids the problem of [[parallax]] which occurs when the viewfinder or viewing lens is separated from the taking lens. Single-lens reflex cameras have been made in several formats including sheet film 5x7" and 4x5", roll film 220/120 taking 8,10, 12, or 16 photographs on a 120 roll, and twice that number of a 220 film. These correspond to 6x9, 6x7, 6x6, and 6x4.5 respectively (all dimensions in cm). Notable manufacturers of large format and roll film SLR cameras include [[Bronica]], [[Graflex]], [[Hasselblad]], [[Seagull Camera|Seagull]], [[Mamiya]] and [[Pentax]]. However, the most common format of SLR cameras has been 35&nbsp;mm and subsequently the migration to [[digital SLR]] cameras, using almost identical sized bodies and sometimes using the same lens systems.

Almost all SLR cameras use a front-surfaced mirror in the optical path to direct the light from the lens via a viewing screen and [[pentaprism]] to the eyepiece. At the time of exposure, the mirror is flipped up out of the light path before the shutter opens. Some early cameras experimented with other methods of providing through-the-lens viewing, including the use of a semi-transparent [[Pellicle mirror|pellicle]] as in the [[Canon Pellix]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/pellix/ |title=Canon Pellix Camera |work=Photography in Malaysia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016173448/http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/pellix/ |archive-date=16 October 2013}}</ref> and others with a small periscope such as in the [[Corfield Periflex]] series.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/Museum/CorfieldCameras/page3.htm |title=Corfield Cameras – The Periflex Era |last=Parker |first=Bev |publisher=Wolverhampton Museum of Industry |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-date=22 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022184328/http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/Museum/CorfieldCameras/page3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>