EX-Z3
ƒ/2.6
5.8 mm
1/50
What is this, and what are most of the gears for?
11 responses to “What’s That? (21)”
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Positioning in space, time, both?
Let’s go through "obvious":
Seems to be some kind of prototype, not a series product, with mechanical (couldn’t miss that one), optical and [electronic | electric] parts.
Mechanics for motion.
Optics for what? [signal | image] capture, or light [redirection | focusing]?
[Electronic | electric] for command, signal collection or both.Make me think about a "laser table" part, the mechanical part used for optics positioning, 2D rather then 3D.
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Bummer… I thought it would be easier. Upon further investigation, the optical part (with a note attached) looks like a mirror with your hands reflected in it. I’m surprised I don’t see the camera in the reflection, though.
All the gears made me think of the drive mechanism for a DVD player. The number of gears may be for one of two reasons… precision or to transfer the movement of the gears to multiple locations within the device. That reminds me of a tape player or recorder, but the mirror throws a kink into that idea.
Maybe this is the internal workings of a barcode scanner?
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The additional mirror in that position may support my theory that it is the internal workings of a barcode scanner.
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Aha!
The contraption is a naked camera (sans outer covering) and the gears are for the telephoto lens. Also, the circular mirror looking device is in fact not a mirror, but a viewfinder and your hands are on the other side of the viewfinder. We’re seeing your hands through the viewfinder.
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Bingo Rocketeer: We are looking down on a film camera with the cover removed and the viewfinder flipped off (the camera lens system is the black cylinder in the center).
It is a Canon Elph camera, which tried to push the envelope on traditional film camera miniaturization. It used the APS film, which saves a little space, but it’s amazing how much of the volume of the camera is for film handling.
You are correct that it’s the viewfinder on top, but it’s a reflection (not a through image). I am just not holding my digital camera in front of my face.
These gears are actually not for lens movement. There is a whole separate subassembly for that with its own motor.
Most of these gears are to simply connect the two film spools in the camera! As the film advances or rewinds, they have both spindles physically connected through this convoluted lateral chain of gears running the full length of the camera (i.e., the black case you see is almost the entire top of the camera; very little is cropped on the right side).
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Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Gotta Love Brass, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
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