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Understanding Camera Types

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What exactly is a ‘compact camera’ and how is it different to a DSLR?

Compact Cameras

Compact cameras are generally smaller and lighter than SLR cameras, making them easier to carry around. The small size comes with some design differences, mainly with regards to the viewfinder and shutter systems.

Most compact cameras don’t have a separate viewfinder, meaning that the only way to frame a photo is to hold the camera out in front of you and viewing the small screen on the camera’s back. This can be a drawback in bright light when LCD screens sometimes appear very dim. Compact cameras have either an electronic viewfinder, or an optical one. Electronic viewfinders are good in that they show you exactly what you’re going to get in the photograph, but the image quality can be relatively low. Optical viewfinders have the disadvantage that you don’t see through the viewfinder exactly what the picture taking lens is recording. Parallax error can creep in, and you also have no idea whether the lens has been focused correctly.

There is one further difference between compact camera and SLR designs. Compact cameras use a ‘leaf’ shutter design where the shutter sits inside the lens. This is practical and economical, especially if the camera has a fixed lens (you can’t change lenses); however, it’s not suitable for cameras that accept a range of different lenses such as a DSLR.

With the development of new camera technology, many compact cameras have some pretty spectacular features. The new breed of compact camera give photographers the best of both worlds – high image quality and small size.

SLR Cameras

SLR stands for ‘single lens reflex’, which means that there isn’t a separate viewfinder lens. Instead, it uses a moving mirror, which is in the ‘down’ position for viewfinding, but flips ‘up’ out of the way the instant the shutter release button is pressed.

The SLR design has two advantages: Firstly, what you see through the viewfinder is what you get in the photograph. Secondly, if the subject is out of focus, you’d see it in the viewfinder so you can correct the focus before taking the photo.

There are no shutters in the lenses of the SLR design. Instead, the shutter (called a ‘focal plane shutter’) is located in the camera body and can be closed while lenses are changed to eliminate the danger of dust getting on the sensor.

SLR cameras also have interchangeable lenses, which means you can be a lot more creative in your photography. Due to the flexibility found in the focusing and lens selection of SLR cameras, they have become the first choice of serious photographers.

If you found inspiration on our camera types page, feel free to browse the following pages too:

Related Pages

* DSLR Camera Essentials

* More on DSLR Cameras

* Digital Camera Features

* DSLR Camera Reviews

* Understanding Digital Camera Lenses

* Choosing Camera Lenses

* Fisheye Camera Lens Photography

* Tripods for Digital Cameras

* Top Photo Printers

Hope you found our comparison between compact cameras and DSLR cameras useful!

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