Pellicle mirror

In photography, the pellicle mirror has been employed in single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, at first to enable through-the-lens exposure measurement and possibly to reduce camera shake, but later most successfully to enable fast series photography, which otherwise would be slowed down by the movement of the reflex mirror, while maintaining constant finder vision.[2]

The first use of pellicle mirrors for consumer photography however were in color separation cameras. The Devin Tricolor Camera from at least the 1938 version used two pellicle mirrors plus three color filters to split the image from a single lens into three images of the three additive primary colors. Pellicle mirrors are ideal for this purpose, even today, since they are lighter and cheaper than an optical block of dichroic prisms, which would be heavy and expensive for large, high resolution film or plates.

The conventional SLR camera has a reflex mirror directing the light beam from the lens to the focusing screen in the viewfinder, which is swung out of the light path when the exposure is made and causing the viewfinder to go dark. This action adds a delay between pressing the shutter release and the actual exposure of the film.[3]

The first camera to employ the pellicle mirror as a beam splitter for the viewfinder was the Canon Pellix, launched by Canon Camera Company Inc. Japan in 1965. The object was to accomplish exposure measurement through the lens (TTL), which was pioneered by Tokyo Kogaku KK, Japan in the 1963 Topcon RE Super. That employed a CdS meter cell placed behind the reflex mirror that had narrow slits cut into the surface to let the light reach the cell. Canon improved on the idea by making the mirror semi-translucent and fixed. The meter cell was swung into the light-path behind the mirror by operating a lever on the right-hand camera front for stopped down exposure reading, momentarily dimming the viewfinder. Two thirds of the light from the camera lens was let through the mirror, while the rest was reflected up to the viewfinder screen.[4] The Pellix pellicle mirror was an ultra-thin (0.02 mm) Mylar film with a vapour deposited semi reflecting layer. Since there was no mirror blackout, the user could see the image at the moment of exposure.[5]

The next 35mm SLR camera to employ the pellicle mirror was the Canon F-1 High Speed, made available in the event of the 1972 Olympic games, the object being rapid series photography, difficult at the time to obtain with a moving mirror. The mirror design was the same as in the Pellix.[5] In 1984, Canon released another version of their then "New F-1", which attained a record 14 frames per second performance, being the fastest analog SLR of that time.

Nippon Kogaku KK, Japan introduced their high-speed Nikon F2H in 1976. The mirror is a pellicle rather than a conventional front surfaced mirror that swings out of the light path when the exposure is made. To identify the F2H, note the shutter speed dial has no T, B or 1/2000; has no self-timer and has a non-removable Type B focusing screen.[6]

Two further Canon models were produced with pellicle mirrors, the EOS RT and the EOS-1N RS, the RT being based on the EOS 600/EOS 630 and the 1N RS being based on the EOS-1N.

As development of SLR cameras has progressed since these early models, fast sequence shooting has apparently become possible using ordinary moving mirrors in high-speed cameras, getting rid of the vulnerable pellicle mirror that was prone to dust and dirt. The mirror mechanism of conventional SLR cameras has improved since the Pellix mirror was introduced; the viewfinder is dark for only a very short time, the shutter lag is small, and the mirror-return is fast enough for rapid shooting. Digital SLR cameras are able to take ten frames or more per second employing an instant-return mirror.