DAY 21

PHOTOGRAPHY 101

Types of Cameras

DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

There are a large variety of cameras that have been manufactured during the evolution of photography. Here are a few of the most common:

View Camera. This is the oldest and simplest of camera designs. The scene is observed directly through the lens but is upside-down and backward on a ground-glass viewing plate on the back of the camera.

TLR (Twin-Lens Reflex). As its name implies, this camera model has two lenses. The scene is viewed from the top of the camera, so most often, the camera is generally held at waist level while taking photographs.

Rangefinder/Viewfinder. This is a camera that generally has some level of adjustment available to the settings or lens focus. The scene to be photographed is viewed through a viewfinder that does not exactly correspond to the scene that the lens “sees,” so the resulting photograph is slightly offset.

Point and Shoot. In recent years, this has become the catch-all term for a digital camera that is not an SLR. However, any camera that is fully automatic and can be operated by simply pointing it at the subject and pressing a button to capture the image falls into this category.

SLR (Single-Lens Reflex). Simply, this type of camera consists of a camera body that has interchangeable lenses. The viewfinder shows the scene to be photographed through the lens, using a mirrored chamber that reflects the scene, called a pentaprism. This style of camera uses 35mm film or is digital. —CWN