Have you ever pondered about the various types, or kinds, of cameras that there are? Nowadays, we have cell phone cameras, DSLRs, Mirrorless, Point and shoot cameras (which are otherwise known as compact cameras), and even cameraphones which are essentially a blend of a camera and a phone. Have you ever wondered which one of those types is the best for taking pictures? There is no optimal solution that's best for everything, however in this post I'll review the various kinds of cameras that there are.
Cell phones
Nowadays, phones can take pictures that rival recent modern point and shoot cameras, and maybe even outperform some of them! Unfortunately for some, if trying to compare cell phone cameras to DSLRs (those large, bulkier interchangeable lens cameras), cell phones still have a ways to go. Some experts would probably say that the cameras that are found in cell phones will meet or exceed DSLRs, at least in terms of image quality. The one thing that people might consider better about cell phones than other types of cameras, however, is the user interface. Modern smartphones offer the user much flexibility, so smartphones can be used with many more applications and you don't necessarily need an external image-editing program on your computer or tablet to process, or enhance your images.
Compact cameras
Compact cameras would probably be considered by many, if not most, people as a fine balance between DSLR and smartphone. They are more portable than DSLRs but many don't have the manual controls or features that are found on SLRs, and perhaps maybe even more importantly, point and shoot cameras don't have interchangeable lenses. They are generally more expensive than smartphones and less expensive than SLRs. However the point and shoot cameras that do have manual controls, or at least some of them, could very well be a substitute for a DSLR, at least if you're willing to go for a single lens. For example, the Sony RX100 series cameras can be used to adjust manual focus and even have digital manual focus, and for some of them there are even optional external accessories such as an external flash or filter adaptor, which means that you can turn you point and shoot camera into essentially an SLR, just about the only differences is, as already mentioned, that you're stuck with a single lens and a more portable camera. The Panasonic Lumix LX10 offers a manual aperture ring, which I have personally never seen on SLRs nor Mirrorless camera systems.
SLRs
I personally love SLR cameras. The amount of features that an SLR camera has is virtually unlimited, as long as you have an unlimited budget. One thing that makes SLR cameras preferable over point and shoot cameras, and especially cell phone cameras, is sensor size. SLRs have larger sensors than both point and shoot cameras, as well as cell phones. What are the advantages? Well, let's start off with lowlight capability. A camera with a larger sensor will likely outperform, or do better, in situations where there is a limited amount of light, than a cell phone and a point and shoot camera. The pixels of an SLR camera are usually larger than other types of cameras, and so each pixel is able to record more light because it has a larger surface area, so the required exposure time for a dark scene might be less than that of a camera with a smaller sensor. Most importantly, this is when you set the camera to a high ISO, or image sensitivity value, such as during the night. Another advantage that larger sensors have is dynamic range. This is clearly evident when editing images in RAW mode in a program such as Adobe Photoshop, and when the scene that you were photographing was illuminated by harsh lighting that might have caused an undesirable amount of contrast. Where there is high contrast, there will be a larger difference between areas of an image that are dark (such as shadows) as compared to the areas of an image that are bright (highlights). Programs such as Photoshop are able to normalize, or balance out, the shadows and highlights in a photo to eliminate contrast and bring back details that would otherwise be lost. Now, this can also be done to a photo taken using a cell phone or point and shoot camera; however, the resulting image is more likely to be of higher quality if it comes from an SLR camera as opposed to a different type of camera. The technical term, or measurement, of the number of colors that a camera sensor is able to acquire is called bit depth, or color depth. Color depth is usually higher for an SLR camera, and basically means that the colors of a photo will be rendered more accurately in a photo if the color depth is higher. With a higher color depth, you can notice smoother transitions between color gradients, especially after extensive image editing. This is especially important if you're taking a photo in lowlight using a high ISO setting. Other than that, I like that SLR cameras have optical viewfinders, which I will talk about in the next paragraph.
Mirrorless
Personally and honestly, I don't know what to think about this; mirrorless is the latest technology that is employed in modern cameras. What mirrorless means is that there is no mirror inside of the camera, so that light entering the lens goes directly to the sensor. While mirrorless cameras are usually smaller as well as lighter than SLRs (but heavier and larger than point-and-shoots), they also have no optical viewfinder. Instead, they have an electronic viewfinder (known as an EVF). I like an optical viewfinder because it's easier to use in dark situations, and it seems like it's faster than an EVF. Also, an EVF doesn't have the "resolution" that an optical viewfinder has. However, mirrorless cameras also have a smaller lens selection and there are less accessories available. Once a smaller mirrorless camera comes out, I'll consider buying one, but I'll have to think about the battery issue, as mirrorless cameras have a relatively low battery life. My personal favorite mirrorless camera is probably the Hasselblad X1D-50c, as well as the Sony a7rII. I actually want to get a Sony A7 but then again, the battery life is relatively low. Regardless, if I want to consider dishing out that lump sum of money, than I better keep saving up for a while!
Which is the best?
So, what's the verdict? The answer is that there is no single best system of camera. It depends partially upon what you are going to use your camera for. If you want a camera with manual controls, then a smartphone with manual controls would be best for ease or flexibility of use, while an SLR would be great for image quality. And, as mentioned above already, a compact point-and-shoot camera is a neat blend of the two systems of cameras. I have a Sony RX100 II with manual controls, however I really want something better in the future. If what you're looking for is superior image quality, then consider mirrorless or SLR. However, if you want ease and flexibility of use, then it may be better to opt for a smartphone. One of the things I didn't mention is that ease and flexibility of use becomes better with SLRs and mirrorless cameras that are more expensive. If you're on a budget however, I would opt for a smartphone or compact camera. If you had to pick out a camera system right now, what would your decision be?
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