Innovations in 35mm SLR Camera Design: 1960 to 1980
In 1960, the Konica F was the first SLR with a shutter speed of 1/2000th sec. This had previously been unachievable with horizontal travelling cloth focal plane shutters, which were unable to withstand the shock of such acceleration, along with other timing and image distortion related technical troubles. The Konica F pioneered the use of a vertical travelling metal blade shutter. This was not only more robust, but moved along the shortest side of the film, making faster speeds possible. In 1963, the Topcon RE Super was the first SLR with through-the-lens (TTL) light metering using dedicated open aperture auto-diaphragm lenses. Cadmium sulphide (CdS) cells were mounted behind non-silvered slits in the reflex mirror, and coupled to a viewfinder centre-the-needle type exposure control. Other manufacturers quickly adopted TTL light measurement, but open aperture metering took longer to become establish. Rivals did not offer this feature until 1966, when Minolta launched their SR...