What is a pellicle mirror?
As noted above, most SLRs contain moving reflex mirrors which flip up to let light from the lens expose the surface of the film or the digital image sensor. However some SLRs use fixed mirrors instead. Canon have made a number of such cameras over the years – the EOS RT and EOS 1N RS being the most recent models. These cameras have pellicle mirrors which are essentially fixed half-silvered mirrors which send some light up to the viewfinder while passing the rest through to the shutter. The result is a camera which can shoot instantly with no mirror blackout time – perfect for sports and action photography – and no need for mirror lockup. The drawbacks are less light reaching the film, a dimmer viewfinder and the need to keep the mirror scrupulously clean at all times. Such cameras are fairly specialized pieces of equipment and not used by most photographers.
As noted above, most SLRs contain moving reflex mirrors which flip up to let light from the lens expose the surface of the film or the digital image sensor. However some SLRs use fixed mirrors instead. Canon have made a number of such cameras over the years – the EOS RT and EOS 1N RS being the most recent models. Canon have never made a digital EOS body with a pellicle mirror. These cameras have pellicle mirrors which are essentially fixed half-silvered mirrors which send some light up to the viewfinder while passing the rest through to the shutter. The result is a camera which can shoot instantly with no mirror blackout time – perfect for sports and action photography – and no need for mirror lockup. The drawbacks are less light reaching the film, a dimmer viewfinder and the need to keep the mirror scrupulously clean at all times. Such cameras are fairly specialized pieces of equipment and not used by most photographers.
