Types of Cameras

A Simple Guide to Various Types of Cameras for Photography

Being new to the world of cameras, you may be intimidated by the number of cameras out there. That’s why you’ll need articles like ours to understand the true nature and basics of cameras. In this article, we are going to explain each and everything from expensive too cheap, from important to less important ones.

Just sit tight and have a sip of coffee because you won’t need to go elsewhere. You will get everything needed to understand the cameras here.

This will help you learn as much about them as possible. So, why don’t you read ahead?

Types of Cameras Explained in Detail

Cameras have become an important aspect of our life. It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional photographer, a traveler or a normal guy who just likes to take pictures. Getting a good camera is easy but buying the right camera is a bit complex.

To get the right gadget for yourself, you will need to ask yourself a question. What am I going to use it for? This question will give you the idea of the features and needs. List them all and start searching.
There hundreds of cameras available with different features, different styles, and different purposes. So get one that perfectly fits your purpose.

DSLR Cameras

DSLR Cameras

DSLR cameras are arguably the most popular type of camera out there. That’s why you’ll see them being used by most professional photographers. Now that we’ve established how in-demand it is, let’s run through everything we need to know about the device. In short, DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera. By this, if you know a bit about cameras, you can figure out how the DSLR works.

The cameras come with a detachable lens. This lets you swap lenses whenever you want, affecting the type of shot you’ll be able to get. For example, you could either add a wide-angle or a telephoto lens. The ability to swap between lenses is truly amazing, which is why many love the device.

It captures images as it’s a combination of digital image sensors as well as a single-lens reflex camera- This is the ‘SLR’ of a DSLR. This mechanism directs light to the viewfinder using prisms. This lets you see directly from the lens, making it very accurate. Its version of a viewfinder is known as the optical viewfinder.

Depending on what DSLR you buy, you can record videos with it. The camera could even record 4K video- isn’t that amazing? After all this, you may think that buying a DSLR is an expensive option. Well, that’s not the case, here you can find some of the best cheap DSLR cameras online that you will take your photography experience to the next level.

Mirrorless Cameras

Mirrorless Cameras
At the end of the day, mirrorless cameras are very much like their DSLR counterparts. The main difference between the two is that a mirrorless camera does not come with an optical viewfinder. So, you won’t be able to monitor your shot through the lens as clear. To some, this may be a deal-breaker.

That being said, the optical viewfinder bulked up the DLSR quite a bit. If you picked up one, you’d notice this instantly. As the mirrorless camera doesn’t come with such heft, it’s easier to use. This lets you take it on trips easily as you won’t be weighed down by the device. Such a thing would be appreciated if you’ve tried traveling with a DSLR. It’s so lightweight as it doesn’t have a series of prisms and mirrors to reflect light.

To view what you’re about to shoot, you’ll have to use its regular, electronic viewfinder. Although it gets the job done, you’ll notice it isn’t as thorough. We didn’t discuss this point above, but DSLRs let you take pictures in the RAW format. Such a thing can be seen in a mirrorless camera.

Many who are new to cameras find it confusing to differentiate between a mirrorless camera vs DSLR. All in all, they’re very similar, it’s just that the mirrorless is just ‘mirrorless’. Because of this, you may be wondering if you can swap lenses out, the answer is yes.

point and shoot camera

Point and Shoot Cameras

Point and shoot cameras are one of the most common camera types out there. If you like taking pictures but aren’t a professional, you’re likely to own one. The cameras are popular due to their size- they’re usually very compact. Point and shoot cameras come with a fixed lens. This may affect your desire to buy one.

The moment you point at an object, the camera can zoom in and shoot the shot- this is why it’s called what it is. Unlike the other 2, it doesn’t let you capture images in the RAW format. You’re bound to use JPEG.

Bridge Cameras

As you can guess from its name, it’s a ‘bridge’ between the DSLR and another camera type- this other type is the point and shoot camera. Unlike its DSLR counterpart, you won’t be able to swap lenses out. With its one lens, you can zoom in quite a bit and capture your shots. It’s physically very much like a small DSLR but most importantly, doesn’t have the optical viewfinder.

The Less Important Cameras

Film Cameras

Film Cameras
Even if you don’t know a thing about cameras, you know they weren’t always digital. Cameras used to utilize film. It was the medium to store the images and although great, it was a pain. The film was not unlimited so you’d always have to buy a pack. Unfortunately, the film was quite a light-sensitive so you could’ve easily thrown your cash down the drain if you weren’t careful.

When you want the images on the film, you’d have to give the camera to a developer. This also was an issue as it would take days, even weeks to get done. These issues were the reason why digital cameras were developed. However, what was great about film cameras was their ability to manipulate aperture and shutter speed with ease.

Although the cameras went out of demand, they’re slowly resurfacing as a niche product as people are nostalgic about its use.

Polaroid Cameras

Polaroid cameras were introduced by one specific company. Arguably, they’ve had a strict grasp on the Polaroid market as most people go to the Polaroid Corporation to get a hold of their cameras. You probably know how the cameras work. If you don’t, they’re an instant camera that translates your shots into instant films.

Like the film of regular film cameras, they can easily be damaged. What’s more, is, they’re also very sensitive to light. The images used to be directly translated into the film. Nowadays, they come in a paper print format. You shouldn’t expect quality images from Polaroid cameras as they’re just a specialty product. That being said, it doesn’t mean they’re not fun to have around.

Bottom Line

At the end of the day, various companies are experimenting and you will find a number of different cameras. They are made for different styles and different purposes. Most of them are made for beginners. We explained one’s that mostly used and popular over the market.

In case you have anything in mind to discuss. Just reach us out and we will happy to help you out.

Noor Shahid

Noor Shahid Khan is a Software Engineer and SEO Expert. He has been producing content in technology and lifestyle niches which besides a good read also have an impact on Google search rankings surge. His content focus on balancing information with SEO but neither at the expense of entertaining read. Apart from his writing career, he is also Senior Editor at Mist Interactive.

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