Types of Cameras by Michael Leyba

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Have you ever thought about all the different types of cameras that have been invented. Here are a few of them:

1. Miniature or Spy cameras in all sorts of shapes and sizes. From cameras inside pens, shoes, tie tacks, briefcases, and to under the wings of reconnaissance planes. Whereever someone wanted to take a photo of something these cameras have been devised to take them. Minox was a maker of these types of cameras which were very silent in order not to tip anyone off that the person was taking a photograph.

2. 35mm cameras come from the size of the film, 35 millimeter. It has been a popular film type for decades and the cameras are still in common use today. Popular manufacturers were Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Konica and many others. Leica was one of the first makers of the 35mm camera.

3. 110 cameras started in the late sixties as a film type that allowed for miniature cameras with flashes attached to them. They had very tiny film cartridges that easily were put in the camera. These were sometimes called, cartridge cameras. Kodak sold many of this type of cameras. A fancy model was sold by Pentax.

4. 120 camera use roll film in either 120 or 220 sizes. This is the same as medium format cameras. Some examples are Hasselblad, Bronica, Mamiya, Pentax and others.

5. Box camera was an old type of camera that looked like a box. Brownie was a popular brand. Kodak started making this type of cameras in the late 1880s where the customer could take 100 photographs and then turn the entire box into Kodak to be printed and reloaded with new film.

6. Disc cameras have been in use for over a decade and use discs with small negatives on them.

7. Instant cameras started in the 1940s with Polaroid making them. Edwin Land invented the process. His business was great until the digital area with digital photos also being instant. The term instant was almost synonomous with Polaroid. Kodak began making instant cameras, but they never reached the popularity of the Polaroid. The SX-70 was a famous model of instant camera.

8. SLR or Single Lens Reflex is a type of 35mm and now digital camera. Sometimes these cameras are referred to as TTL or Through The Lens. The user views a scene through the actual lens that takes the exposure by using a mirror and prism on top of the camera. The prism reverses the image and allows the photographer to focus on the subject. At the exposure, the mirror lifts up to expose the film or digital sensor. Famous camera makers include Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Leica, Olympus, Contax, and many others. These days there are big makers still around such as Canon and Nikon that are joined by Sony, Olympus, Fuji and a few others.

9. Rangefinder or Viewfinder cameras. These cameras were different than the SLR type in that the shutter was usually between the lens. They could not see the actual photograph that would be taken, but something close since the viewfinder was not through the lens. It was off to the side somewhat. It wouldn’t make too much difference if the subject was far away, but could make a big difference for subjects that were very close. There is a difference called the parallax effect. These cameras had the advantage of being very quiet compared to the single lens reflex due to the mirror that had to swing out of the way when taking the photograph with a SLR camera. The Leica was one of the most popular viewfinder cameras until the SLR became popular.

10. View camera. These cameras are the big ones. They come in sizes like 4×5 meaning 4inches by 5 inches size negative that results from an exposure. A 4×5 camera produces one film image at a time that is taken on a plate with film loaded in it. A slide is in place of the film in the holder until the photographer is ready to make an image. At that time the photographer removes the slide (usually metal,) takes the exposure, and replaces the metal slide and removes it off the back of the camera. Focusing with a 4×5 view camera is done under a dark cloth that is placed over the back of the camera and the photographer’s head. One has to use a viewing loupe that magnifies the ground glass at the back of the camera. Also an important feature of this camera is the movements it has for creating depth of field on objects. The movements are known as shifts (left to right) and tilts (up and down.) These movements are for perspective and for depth of field. For instance if one photographs a building up close the lines on the outside of the building converge near the top due to the distortion from the lens. A view c Hereamera can use the tilt movements to limit these distortions. Other sizes of view cameras are generally 5×7 and 8×10 each measured in inches as well as a big 20×24 )Polaroid camera that is the largest view camera currently in the world.

Those are the types of cameras I am most familiar with. Do you know of some other types that do not fall under the above categories. Here are a few; underwater, pinhole, and stereo. I would love to hear your comments on your love of any of the above cameras. Thanks for listening.

Michael

Michael Leyba
Portraits by Michael
http://www.michaelleyba.com

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