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My camera body has a small marking on one side, indicating the position of the image sensor. (The manual even makes a point of explaining that this mark exists, and what it means.)

What possible reason would I have for knowing this? Why would I care exactly where the sensor is? It's buried deep within the body anyway, so...?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Also see What is an “image plane indicator”? \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Commented Feb 25, 2016 at 20:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ This is a pretty clear duplicate of the question referenced by mattdm. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Feb 27, 2016 at 4:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ The body of the other question ends with, "What does this symbol mean, and what is it used for?" \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Feb 27, 2016 at 4:47

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Macro shooters sometimes need to know the distance between their subject and the image (film/sensor) plane, because that's how the minimum focus distance of a lens is measured. The mark gives you an easy way to determine whether you're inside or outside of that distance.

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I often take images of file art for reproduction prints. Aligning focal planes can help eliminate distortions due to improper prospective. Both the target and image sensor should be parallel planes.

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    \$\begingroup\$ The marker seems way to small to accurately define a a proper line (let alone a proper plane). How do you use it? \$\endgroup\$
    – xenoid
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 13:29

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