Cameras Buyers Guide

Although there are many different types of cameras available they all function on the same basic principle. They are light tight boxes that allow the controlled exposure of film through the use of different shutter speeds and aperture sizes. It is effectively the lens that takes the picture and the camera body that ensures correct exposure.

So the first decision is which type of camera do you choose?

Quite simply it is a camera you dispose off after the film has been developed. You buy the camera with the film already loaded inside and when the film is finished you take the camera to be developed and hand over the whole camera. You get your prints and the camera is disposed off. The pictures you get are of understandably limited picture quality, but they can give some surprisingly good results and are available in Panoramic and Underwater makes as well. They are fun and easy to use and are ideal for leaving on tables at wedding receptions or parties for people just to pick up and use. They are also ideal for children to use.

An Instant camera processes each individual photograph immediately after it is taken. When you pull the single film out of the camera, chemicals in the plastic sleeve enclosing the photograph are released and the picture develops. The developing time is roughly sixty seconds and after this the sleeve is pulled apart and one is left with the photographic print. These cameras are very good for social occasions, but are used widely by professionals as well, i.e. police photographers who may need an instant record of a crime scene. Also by studio or fashion photographers who will take an instant picture to check on the lighting conditions of an image before they begin shooting on conventional film. Some instant films produce a negative as well, which can be used later to produce conventional prints.

After a disposable camera, a compact is the simplest type of 35mm film or APS film camera. It is basically an all-in-one camera. The subject of the picture is seen through a viewfinder lens, which is different from the lens that actually takes the picture. This means that the picture you capture on film is not exactly the same as the picture you see through the viewfinder. This is known as parallax and really only comes into play in close up pictures. It is not a big problem, but just something to be aware off. When it comes to landscape pictures it is not really an issue, as the subject matter is so far away. Most compacts have an automatic exposure system, with little scope for manual settings. There are a small number of manual exposure compact cameras on the market, but they are quite specialized and tend to be relatively expensive. Compacts either have a fixed focal length lens or a zoom lens. Most have a built-in flash. More advanced models have facilities for red eye reduction and for recording some data, such as the time and date the picture was taken. Compacts come in two film formats, either 35mm or APS.

In SLRs the image that is taken by the camera lens is almost the same as the image you see through the viewfinder. This is because the camera views and photographs the subject through the same lens. For viewing, light passes through the lens where it hits a mirror and is reflected up into the viewfinder. When a picture is taken the mirror flicks up and light passes through to the film at the back of the camera body. Directly in front of the film is a focal plane shutter and when this shutter is closed, light is stopped from reaching the film and allows you to remove and change lens without exposing the film. When a picture is taken the shutter opens and at the same time the mirror flicks up, allowing controlled time exposure of the film.

Many amateur and professional photographers prefer SLRs. This is largely because they are light, easy to handle and very versatile. They are used in virtually all branches of photography, such as personal family shots through to sport, news, documentary, travel, fashion and wildlife. They come most commonly in 35mm format, but are also available in APS and medium format. They have a large range of interchangeable lenses and also a wide variety of accessories and function modes.

These cameras are basically the same as 35mm SLRs, except they use medium format 120 film. This gives negative image sizes of 6x4.5cm, 6x6cm or 6x7cm, which is the very advantage of this camera type. The larger the negative, the more detailed and better the definition of a given subject image. These cameras are used specifically where detail is important and tend to be used in portrait, wedding, fashion, industrial, architectural and landscape photography. They are not quite so quick to handle as 35mm SLRs. The film may be held in an interchangeable back, so that rather than needing two cameras, one for black and white and one for colour, you just have two backs, one for each film. Some models allow you to take different frame sizes on the same 120 film. In most models there are two shutters, one is situated within the lens and the other is in the camera body. Generally this is a relatively more expensive form of photography, compared to 35mm, and tends to be used by the more serious amateur and professional photographer.

This is another medium format camera using 120 film. Its main advantage is that the cameras are cheaper than medium format SLRs and are a good introduction to medium format. They are very basic, but the images they take are of more than adequate quality. They are known as twin lens because, quite simply, they have two lenses, one sitting directly above the other. One lens is used for viewing the image, the other lens for taking the picture. As the two lenses are separate these cameras suffer from parallax. They tend to have lenses of one focal length, but there is a least one make that has a small range of interchangeable lenses. An advantage is that they are very quiet when a picture is taken.

This camera tends to be used by the professional photographers and is used for studio, architectural, industrial and landscapes photography. A large format camera will usually take single sheet film of 12.5x10cm in size. A bellow connects the front and rear of the camera and the two ends of the camera can be moved in relation to each other, which enables the apparatus to be used for picture manipulation. This format is cumbersome, slow and relatively expensive per image, but it goes without saying that it gives superb results.

This Rangefinder relies on optics for measuring distance between the camera and the subject being photographed. The subject is viewed simultaneously from two set viewpoints in the camera, which are short distances apart. When looking through the viewfinder you see two separate images and as you focus the lens the images come together. At the point these two images converge the lens is in focus and the picture can be taken. As the viewfinder lens and camera lens are separate these cameras will naturally suffer from parallax, but this is compensated by the camera design.
This kind of camera can be expensive and specialized. Its advantages over SLRs is that it is relatively compact and very quiet when a picture is taken, as they are effectively noise and vibration free. This is an obvious advantage when taking documentary style photographs. The lenses for these cameras are of very high optic quality.

There are three broad overlapping types of cameras within this field; underwater, waterproof and splashproof.

Underwater
Designed for taking pictures at depth underwater whilst scuba diving. The equipment that enables underwater photography can be divided into two further sub-groups. Firstly there are cameras that are specifically designed for underwater photography and secondly there are special underwater housings that fit around normal land cameras effectively making them watertight.
The advantages of specific underwater cameras is that they are more compact and lighter than housed cameras and if they flood they are usually repairable and there are some models that are amphibious, allowing for use on land as well. They are available as Compacts and as SLRs.
The advantages of underwater housing, in enabling the use of normal cameras, is a greater versatility of functions and features, a large range of different lenses and available accessories, plus allowing for one camera to be used for land and underwater.
Each make of underwater camera and housing will have its own recommended depth to which it can be safely taken. The film format most commonly used is 35mm, purely because this gives the maximum number of shots per film (36). The film, understandably, has to be changed above water. Light levels drop dramatically on descending underwater; therefore most underwater photography relies on flash units to allow for pictures to be taken and simply just to add colour to the subject. With the flash units it is best to use a unit that is designed for underwater photography because they emit a light more suited to underwater conditions. Because of the nature of light conditions under water, in general, it is only comparatively close-up shots that can be taken.

Waterproof
Effectively an underwater camera but they can only be taken to a relatively shallow depth and, therefore, are suited for use in snorkeling and skin diving.

Splashproof/Weatherproof
Resistant to water but cannot be taken underwater. Suitable for hiking, camping, fishing, boating and for use on the beach.

These cameras are generally used in landscape photography, whether natural or urban, and in photographing large groups of people, such as school photographs. They tend to use medium format roll film in combination with wide-angle lenses, producing images that are long and wide. There are three general groups of this type of camera:

Rotating Cameras
The whole camera rotates as the picture is taken, whilst the film is wound on at the same rate that the camera scans the subject picture.

Swing Lens Cameras
The lens in this type of camera is mounted in such a way that it pivots around an axis of rotation. Therefore, the camera body and film remain stationary whilst it is just the lens that rotates. The film is seated on a curved backplate so the distance between the lens and film is constant, keeping the image in focus throughout the whole arc of the picture.

Stationary Panoramic Cameras
Stationary from the point of view that these are standard points and shoots cameras. The cameras, like standard cameras, use a flat film plain.

Which camera you purchase is combination of factors. These include affordable price range, the quality of the final image you require and the amount of your own input that you want. In very general terms the quality of image and scope for your own input increases as you move from compact to larger formats. If you want an all in one, basic, small, point and shoot camera - then look at the compacts. If you want to stay with 35mm but require a more personal input, greater versatility and improved picture quality - then move onto SLRs. If you have the money and you require optimum picture quality from 35mm, consider looking at the rangefinders. If you want to increase picture quality further, move on to medium format, through to larger formats.