Camera

Range Finder

Do you know what range finder cameras are? Range finders have a range finding mechanism in it. There are digital and film versions of it. It has its pros and cons when it is used in different situation.

• This kind of camera is fitted with a rangefinder . An example is the Leica M8.2 digital range finder as shown in the figure above.
• A range finder is a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing you, the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus.
• The rangefinders mostly show two images of the same subject, one can be moved when the calibrated wheel is turned. Once the calibrated image overlap and combines with the other, you can see the exact distance on the calibrated wheel.
• Nowadays the rangefinder window has been integrated with the viewfinder.
• Did you know that the modern rangefinder cameras combines the focusing mechanism and coupled it with rangefinders, so that the lens is focused correctly when the range finder images combine?

Do you want to know the pros and cons of rangefinders? Here are some of it.

Cons

1. You can’t really see what is exactly being seen through the lens using the viewfinder. This means that what is recorded on the film or sensor is not 100% the same as the image seen. This is called parallax error and is not noticeable at large subject distance but increases when the distance decreases.
2. The rangefinder does not really have its own zoom lens which has a constantly variable field of view.

Pros

1. The range finder has a few advantages over SLRs application. As there is no moving mirror as in SLRs, when the subject is being photographed there is no momentary blackout.
2. Did you know that rangefinders are much quieter? The Leica is the best at this. Its cloth focal plane shutter is almost silent. This is the reason why photographers preferred to use a Leica when shooting in theaters, film sound stages and courtrooms.
3. It is light weight, low bulk and small in size. It is also good for back country hiking, street shooting, vacation travel or in any situation where a heavy, bulky SLR would be a burden. (I too sometimes feel that my DSLR is too heavy to walk around with after all the accessories are being attached to it.)
4. The rangefinder viewfinders usually have a bigger field of view than the lens in use, therefore photographers will be able to see what is going on outside the framelines and therefore can better predict actions which are ideal for street shooting.
5. Since it does not have a mirror, the rear element of lenses is able to be projected deep into the camera body, allowing very high quality wide angle lenses to be easily designed.
6. The viewfinders have magnifications larger than 0.8 which allows you, the photographer to open both eyes and see the floating viewfinder frame superimposed on the real world.

From left the Hasselblad Xpan, Konica Hexar RF (middle), Bessa L1 (right)

After seeing all the facts, I'm sure it has somehow poisoned you to buy a range finder to use right? Hope this article could give you some main basics and theory about range finders.

Compact Camera

Do you know what Compact Cameras are? These are actually cameras which are small and bunched with abundant features. Many people opt to buy it because it’s much more user friendly than the other types. There are digital and film versions of it.

• This kind of camera is designed to be small and portable and are used for casual and snapshot use. Thus it is also called as point and shoot camera. It has two types which are film and digital. An example is the Sony TX100V compact camera as shown above. Many of you choose it because you want something easy to be used for vacations, parties or even reunion dinners.
• Most of the compact digital cameras other than water resistant models have moderately long focal length so that the larger image sensor than of a camera phone can be fully utilized.
• Majority of the point to snap camera is equipped with a mechanized lens cap to cover the lens when retracted. This is to ensure that the covered lens is protected from keys, coins and other hard and sharp objects.

Coolpix L22
• Usually you can use the short wrist strap or even a neck strap that comes with the compact cameras so that the camera could be cling to your body.
• Compact cameras are usually easy to be used, but it does not have advanced features and picture quality as it is compact. The images of the camera are stored in JPEG format (compressed photos). Besides that it also has a low power built in flash, live preview (digital camera) to allow the user to see what is being photographed, macro capability, automatic settings for exposure and zoom lenses which are not of SLR quality.

Canon PowerShot A2100

• Normally, the camera also have contrast detect auto focus system, using the image data of the live preview and focuses the lens.
• 2011 onwards, some of the compact digital camera incorporate 3D imaging. It is able to take 3D photos and capture 3D panoramic photos to be played back on a 3D TV.

Lumix DMC-TZ8

4/3 system standard

Have you heard of the 4/3 system standard? It’s actually another kind of camera similar to DSLR but the sensor is slightly different. Read after the jump.

• The Four Third system is a standard created by Kodak and Olympus specially for digital single- lens reflex camera (DSLR).
• This type of camera is only found in digital form as it was only started to be developed after the digital era.
• Special lenses are designed for the special sensor being used. As the sensor is smaller than the normal ones, the telephoto lenses can be smaller.

The Olympus E-PL1
• The system has a crop factor of about 2.
• Ever wonder where does the name come from? It is because the sensor used is the 4/3 type. The aspect ratio of 4:3 is applied rather than the normal 3:2

• As you can see above, there are different sizes for the camera sensors which are available in the market now. The four third system is actually quite small to the sensor used by the normal DSLR.
• In august 2008, Olympus and Panasonic introduced a sub system called micro four thirds(MFT).
• The difference of MFT compare to four third system is MFT does not provide space for a mirror and a pentaprism thus the body of the camera could be smaller.

Special video camera that uses the four third standard sensor- Panasonic-AF105

Do you want to know the pros and cons? Here are some of it.

Cons

i. It does not work very well in low light condition as the sensor area is much smaller compare to DSLRs

Pros

i. Angle of view

-What you see in the viewfinder is what you will get in your picture

ii. Lens resolution & cornershading

-The lens of this system is specially designed to have ultra fine resolution

iii. For edge to edge clarity

-All Four Thirds-optimsed lenses feature so- called near telecentric optics. The light will hit the sensor at right angles using telecentric construction and thus the edge to edge colour, brightness and clarity can be maintained.

iv. Standardization

-There are 3 definitive standards: mechanical, optical and communcication.

The Panasonic Lumix Dmc GF1 which uses the micro four third standard(MFT)

After seeing all the facts, now you know the basic difference between a normal DSLR and the Four Third standard camera. Why not buy one and try it out youself.

35mm APS format

Have you heard of the 35mm APS format camera? Most of the DSLR actually apply this kind of image sensor in them and thus the name. Read more after the jump.

• The APS actually stands for advanced photo system image sensors. The sensor has an aspect ratio of 3:2.
• This type of sensor are used in many digital single- lens reflex cameras (DSLR), a few large- sensored live preview digital cameras (Sony DRC-R1, Sigma DP1 and Leica X1) and a few digital range finders.
• The APS system is subdivided to the 35mm full frame, APS-C standard and many other more. You can see the difference between them in the image below.

Image sensor size
• The APS-C standard have a crop factor ( focal length multiplier) to calculate the 35mm equivalent focal length. The normal crop factor used is 1.6x.
• Most DSLR and third party lens manufacturers have lenses specifically designed for APS-C cameras. The brands include: Canon, Nikon, Sony, Tamron, Sigma and others.
• Do you know that DSLR is a digital camera that uses a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to reflect the light from the lens to the viewfinder.
• DSLR are considered better than point and shoot camera because you have more control over your photos as in you can choose different settings for your camera.
• Last time the point and shoot camera win over DSLR as it has live view mode but nowadays DSLR also have the live view function already.
• This type of sensor are used in many digital single- lens reflex cameras (DSLR), a few large- sensored live preview digital cameras (Sony DRC-R1, Sigma DP1 and Leica X1) and a few digital range finders.
• Recent DSLR also have the high definition function and are able to shoot high quality videos too.

The advantages of APS-C DSLR over full frame is that APS-C DSLR are much cheaper than full frame and usually lighter and smaller too. The downside for APS-C DSLR is that full frame cameras are able to take better quality image. The crop factor of the APS-C also cost the focal length to be bigger by about 1.6 which means a 200mm lens behaves like a 360mm lens.