On Tue, 05 Apr 2016 19:42:34 -0400, nospam
wrote:

In article , Eric Stevens
wrote:

If you check this article:
http://www.fujix-forum.com/threads/w...-professional-
mirrorless-was-a-fatal-mistake.54299/

the author is claiming that because the body is small, the lenses must
be bigger to maintain the distance to the sensor.

But is it perhaps because Sony is using an old lens design (suitable for
DSLRs where the lens is further away from the sensor)? And if Sony used
a different lens design, the lenses could be smaller (with the rear
element closer to the sensor)?

I don't think so. With any lens, except at the very center, light rays
approach the sensor at an angle to the surface. The closer that the
lens is to the surface, the greater that the angle will be. There is a
limit to the angularity that a sensor will accept and hence a limit on
how close to the sensor that the lens can be.

what matters is the exit pupil of the lens, not the back focus distance.

Yes, but keeping the exit pupil forward requires a longer lens, hence
defeating the attempt to obtain a shorter lens.
--

Regards,

Eric Stevens