Different Types of Cameras

Camera technology is always progressing, and now there are so many different types of cameras out there, it can be confusing to know one from the other and how each one should be used properly.

Here is a layout of 6 different types of cameras:

DSLR

'Digital Single Lens Reflex' - which basically means that the camera uses the same lens for framing, focusing, and taking a photograph. These cameras are still the most popular for amateurs and professional photographers. They are versatile, have good ergonomics, a great battery life, and most importantly, they work with a wide variety of interchangeable lenses.

On the negative side, they're bigger, heavier, and don't offer the best in auto-focus technologies.

Mirrorless

A mirrorless camera does not have the mirror that is found inside a DSLR camera, which gives it various advantages. These cameras can have either a fixed or interchangeable lenses. They also have a better value for money and the shooting experience is much simpler than other camera types. These are usually smaller, which can make them ideal for traveling.

A negative about this type of camera would be the battery life. They only last about half of the duration time of others.

Micro Four Thirds

Micro 4/3, MFT, M4/3

These are a type of mirrorless camera that cover a wide variety of style and options, but their common feature is their sensor size. A Micro Four Thirds camera is like a 'mini' interchangeable lens camera. Their lenses tend to be lighter, smaller, and cheaper. Having a smaller camera is not for everyone, especially since that means the buttons and controls will be smaller as well. These cameras are a popular choice for beginners.

Compact (Point-and-Shoot)

Compact cameras are widely popular, and for a good reason. Their dimensions make them portable and convenient to have with you every day, much like the camera on your phone. Since phone cameras can take such quality photos, it's important to make sure the camera has better image quality and features that your phone doesn't possess. The line between compacts and small mirrorless cameras is blurred, but the strict definition of a compact camera is one with a fixed lens.

Bridge

These cameras are smaller than DSLR's but larger than compact cameras. They offer high magnification zoom lenses - fixed - ,and manual controls, but all without the bulk. They are a great all-in-one option, and popular with photographers who do not want to worry about changing the lenses but still like the flexibility of long-range zoom. These rarely have an optical viewfinder and more likely to have an electronic viewfinder on the rear screen to take the photos.

Action

These are the small, waterproof, and rugged cameras - usually with video capture as their primary focus. It is not recommended to get an action camera just for photography, since the image quality would be much lower. With these there is also a chance that the images also look distorted due to the 'fish-eye' angle of view. The beauty of these smaller action cameras is that they can be mounted on your body or helmet which gives a unique first-person-perspective.