Types of Cameras

Let’s go over a few types of popular cameras, why we would (or wouldn’t) use them and some opinions about these types of cameras.

35mm Film Camera.

Yes, people still use them. We have two types of people who still use film cameras: 1) You or I may have an “Auntie May” who has still not latched onto the concept of computers… or anything in digital domain. She brings her film camera to the family gathering and shoots a few pictures until the roll is finished and then brings the film to Rite Aid to get her photos developed and then puts them in a photo album or scrapbook. You might laugh, but she is probably more efficient (and conservative) with her photos than most people who have made the conversion to digital photography. It costs her about $10-20 a year for her photos and processing. How much do you spend on photography? 2) The other type of film photographer would be the “high-end” photo purist – a professional. In a way, kind of like “Auntie May” because these people are not willing to make the conversion yet. There are reasons why. There ARE some situations where digital cameras – even high-end cameras – do not capture the same way the film cameras do. Many of these people also still have a darkroom with an enlarger, chemicals, photo paper and all that other stuff. There are some professional film cameras still on the market today.

Phone Camera

By far, this is the most popular camera. Whether they are the most popularly used camera or not, I don’t know, but MOST people who own a cell phone have one with a camera on it. So far, the images on a cell phone camera can’t even approach the quality of Compact Cameras or Digital SLR cameras. There are two main reasons why: 1) The image sensor is very small. Generally, the larger the image sensor, the higher quality the images will be. 2) The lenses are not high quality. High-quality lenses are big and bulky – not something that would or could fit on a phone. No matter what your opinion is about your phone camera, I will state flat-out that the quality of phone images is ALWAYS going to be inferior to most Compact Cameras and all Digital SLR cameras. Period. You just can’t get a high quality image from a camera. I use my phone camera as a last resort… say if Bigfoot shows up and I had somehow forgotten to bring some other camera… or if my vehicle catches on fire and I hadn’t thought to bring along a real camera. So there you have it: Phone cameras, in my opinion are toy cameras. They can’t be taken very seriously in the photographic world.

Compact Digital Camera (also called a “Point & Shoot” camera)

There are many professionals who don’t take Compact Cameras very seriously – and their reasons are valid. Yet… many professionals also own them and carry them with them just about everywhere. Why? A few good reasons: 1) You can’t lug your DSLR everywhere with you, but you can take your Compact Camera just about everywhere. Having a Compact Camera is better than having no camera at all. 2) A Compact Camera is good for practice shots – you can go in without all your gear and compose your shot with your Compact Camera and then review your pictures and come back later when conditions are optimal for setting up all your equipment. 3) It is a backup – just in case something happens to your main camera or gear. So many things can happen… so many variables. Being on an important photo-shoot and having a disaster happen with your camera can be somewhat salvaged by a decent point-and-shoot. A knowledgeable photographer can set up a Compact Camera to still get some OK photos. Can you get good pictures with a Compact Camera? Well, it depends. I’ve gotten some surprisingly good results with my Compact Cameras – provided conditions are ideal (mostly lighting). The thing to realize is you should’t get fooled by the numbers or specifications. Just because your Compact Camera is capable of 10 or 12 megapixels, doesn’t mean squat. There are reasons why a DSLR costs many times more than a Compact Camera. Once again, it goes back to image sensor size and lens quality/size.

Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera

Many amateur photographers upgrade to a DSLR (or have experience using them) and are initially disappointed with the results – compared to what they have come to expect with their Compact “Point & Shoot” Cameras. The reason why is that to operate a DSLR properly, it takes knowledge and skill that is not necessary to employ using their fully automatic camera. It may take many weeks… months… or even years to master the controls of a DSLR camera but once a photographer has reached that point, the quality of photos is MUCH higher than and the camera is MUCH MORE versatile than any other type of camera. There are a number of attributes that make this difference in quality. Among them are: 1) The image sensor is larger and much higher quality. 2) The lenses are higher quality and on most DSLR cameras you can exchange lenses with various types – depending on their purpose. 3) You can manually change the settings for many of the functions of the camera (and this is where a lot of amateurs get lost or befuddled) so you can optimize the conditions that you are shooting in, in order adapt to those conditions or to be creative. 4) The DSLR actually has numerous settings that are often either not present or are very limited on other cameras. 5) Most DSLR cameras have capability to connect to an external flash or to trigger other lighting sources. 6) Most DSLR cameras will shoot in RAW format – which allows you to adjust some of the settings (such as White Balance and Exposure Compensation) using software in your computer. 6) DSLR cameras use a viewfinder – as opposed to a back screen for viewing and framing your shot. There are good reasons for this (which I will discuss in detail later) Suffice it to say, that this is one of those “noticeable quality” features that is only possible using cameras with the viewfinder. Many of the earlier Compact Cameras had a viewfinder (some still do) but we’re seeing more and more of them that only have the LCD screen in back – no viewfinder. You can normally use your DSLR in the same way you use your “Point & Shoot” camera by shooting in “P” (preset) mode. Your pictures will still be higher quality than you could get using any Compact Camera, but you won’t be optimizing your DSLR to its fullest potential.

From now on, when I talk about cameras, you can assume that I am talking about Digital SLR cameras. There are some functions and ways to use other cameras that may work, but let’s just assume that I am referring to a DSLR.