reflex camera


noun

a camera in which the image appears on a ground-glass viewer (focusing screen) after being reflected by a mirror or after passing through a prism or semitransparent glass; in one type (single-lens reflex camera), light passes through the same lens to both the ground glass and the film, while in another type (twin-lens reflex camera), light passes through one lens (viewing lens) to the ground glass and through a second lens (taking lens) to the film, the lenses being mechanically coupled for focusing.

Origin of reflex camera

First recorded in 1925–30

British Dictionary definitions for reflex camera

reflex camera

noun

a camera in which the image is composed and focused on a large ground-glass viewfinder screen. In a single-lens reflex the light enters through the camera lens and falls on the film when the viewfinder mirror is retracted. In a twin-lens reflex the light enters through a separate lens and is deflected onto the viewfinder screen