Cameras
The format was introduced in 1996 by Kodak, Fujifilm, Minolta, Nikon, Canon and others. APS was mainly used for point and shoot amateur cameras, although some SLR systems were also created: Canon EOS IX, Minolta Vectis, Nikon Pronea with Nikon IX lenses. Of these the Canon EOS IX and the Nikon Pronea could use the existing 35 mm SLR lenses, whereas Minolta opted to create a new lens line-up later shared with an early digital SLR. Nikon developed the IX series of lens that were lighter and had a smaller field of view (similar to the Nikon DX format used since 2004). Although the Nikon IX series of lenses were not compatible with the Nikon 35 mm SLR, lenses for the Nikon 35 mm SLR were compatible with the Nikon Pronea. Using existing lenses meant that the field of view was reduced by around 1.6×, but had the advantage of a larger lens selection. Creating a new lens system on the other hand gave the possibility of creating smaller and lighter lenses as that had a smaller image circle to cover. APS SLR cameras were too expensive for the high-end amateur market when they first appeared, and professional photographers stuck with 35 mm cameras, which offered greater image quality and resolution.
Presently the terms APS-C and APS-H are most often used in reference to various makes of digital SLR that contain imaging sensors that are (very) roughly equivalent to their respective film dimensions given above (see Crop factor). Concurrently to their APS SLR film cameras, some manufacturers released lenses intended for use on APS film cameras - such as the Canon EF 22-55mm - which had a wider field of view to account for the relative-to-35mm crop factor. Some of these lenses have survived and are now marketed towards use on "APS" digital SLRs for the same reason. In reference to digital cameras, APS may also mean active pixel sensor, a type of CMOS image sensor.
Read more about this topic: Advanced Photo System
Famous quotes containing the word cameras:
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—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
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—Paul Johnson (b. 1928)