Still Photography Cameras

I
Camera Parts
All types of cameras should have:
1. Some means of accurately aiming & composing the
picture.
2. Ability to focus precisely.
3. A shutter to control the moment of exposure & time for
which the light acts on the film.
4. An aperture to control depth of field & intensity of light.
5. A method of loading & unloading film, without allowing
unwanted light to affect it.
Other Optional Parts
 Light Meter
 Depth of Field Preview Button
 Flash Light
 Lens Changing Option
 Tripod mounting ability etc.
Camera Types
 Pinhole Cameras
 View Cameras
 Twin Lens Reflex
 Compact Cameras/
Direct Viewfinder
 Single Lens Reflex
 Polaroid
 Digital Cameras
Pinhole Cameras
 Camera with one lens. Tiny hole
replaces lens. Light passes
through the hole; an image is
formed in the camera.
 It is the simplest camera
possible. It consists of a light-
proof box, some sort of film and
a pinhole. The pinhole is simply
an extremely small hole like you
would make with the tip of a pin
in a piece of thick aluminum foil.
View Cameras
 Earliest forms of photographic
plate camera
 It consists of 2 boxes one
sliding inside other for
focusing.
 You can readily change
lenses which are readily
mounted on panel.
View Cameras

 In this camera, the lens can be tilted or offset

sideways, independently of the back.
 These camera movements are especially
important for architectural & still life photography.
 They give the photographer an extra control over
Depth of field and subject distortion (perspective
correction).
Types of View Camera Designs:

 Monorail  Baseboard
Its Advantages & Limitations

Advantages of View Cameras

 A huge range of camera movements.
 One can image & process single exposure.
 Relatively simple construction than others.
 Choice of special film types available.

Limitations of View Cameras

 Bulky to carry
 Slow to setup and use.
 Image in the viewfinder is dim & also awkward to view.
 Impractical for fast-moving situations like sports/candid
photography.
TLRs

 Twin Lens Reflex cameras fv use 2 lenses of identical

f-length mounted one above the other on a panel. The
above lens is used for composing while the bottom
one is used for capturing the image.
 The distance between the top lens to the focusing
screen must be the same as the distance between the
bottom lens and the film.
Parallax Error
 The differences between the viewpoint of two
lenses, give parallax error, especially with close
subjects.
Its Advantages & Limitations
Advantages of TLRs
 Mechanically simple & compact design.
 Handy and portable than View Camera.
 You can see visual focusing effect even during the
exposure itself.
 It costs lesser than an SLR with similar quality lens.

Disadvantages of TLRs
 Parallax error creates difficulties with close-up work.
 One cannot check the visual effect of Depth of Field.
 Relatively bulky (than an SLR) for a 35 mm format.
 Additional Lens are Rare & have to be bought in pairs.
Compact Cameras / Direct Viewfinders

 Direct viewfinder / Compact cameras were the first

small format point & shoot cameras.
 They’re designed as self contained unit with everything
built-in, including a Flash.
 Most of the elements in this type of camera are
automated in order to ensure a low failure rate & to
make cameras a common man’s tool.
About Compact Cameras

 These cameras mostly have a lens with fixed

focal length between 35mm to 40mm. You
compose by looking through separate optical
view-finder unit.
 As different lens are used for composing and
capturing, these cameras also encounter
parallax error.
 Both, Aperture as well as Shutter speed, is
set internally using an in-built light meter
which measures brightness of light source.
Its Advantages & Limitations

Advantages of Compact cameras:

 All in one unit for quick ‘aim and shoot’ purposes.
 Compact & Light weight than their older counterpart View
cameras.
 You can see visual focusing effect even during the
exposure itself.
 It costs lesser than any other camera design.
Disadvantages of Compact cameras:
 Parallax error was still a problem.
 No convenient way of visually checking DoF.
 No possibility of changing Lens.
 Flash units are not very powerful & give only flat light.
SINGLE LENS REFLEX (S.L.R.)

 SLRs were developed to overcome the problems

with TLRs & compact cameras. The design
avoids parallax error completely by using same
lens for both viewfinding & capturing.
Working of SLRs
 Hinged 45o mirror reflects
image on to a pentagonal
shaped block of glass
called “Pentaprism”. It
reflects light off its roof so
that laterally reversed
image is presented to the
eye as straight image.

 This mirror flips out of the way, just before focal plane shutter is
fired.
 More Information

 The distance between lens &

focusing screen via mirror is
equal to lens to film distance. Thus
what appears sharp on the screen
will also be sharp on the film.
 As same lens is used for both
viewfinding & capturing one can
also check the visual effect of DoF
on pressing the DoF preview button.
 Its Advantages & Limitations
SLR Advantages
 Ability to precisely compose the frame without parallax error.
 Ability to check the visual effect of DoF on the image.
 Vast range of lenses & accessories is available.
 Key information such as that of exposure & focus are signaled
directly on to the view-finder.
SLR Disadvantages
 One cannot see through viewfinder whilst exposure is taking place.
 Electronically & mechanically it is more complex than other
designs.
 Enhanced camera movements are not possible.
 Shutter speed settings for use with flash is limited.
DIGITAL CAMERAS

 The digital camera perhaps the most

remarkable instances of shift from Analog to
Digital era. Conventional cameras depended
entirely on chemical & mechanical processes.
On other hand, digital cameras work on the
mechanism of recording images electronically.
DIGITAL CAMERAS

 In Digital photography, lens flashes the

image on a sensor instead of a Film. This
sensor (CCD) which is made of semi-
conductor material captures image as a long
string of 1s & 0s that represent all tiny
colored dots / pixels.
Image Sizes

 Resolution of the
Frame is defined in
Pixels
 Image is converted to a specific size,
compressed & then written to memory.
 Then, you may transfer them to a computer or
printer.
Its Advantages & Limitations

Advantages of Digital Photography

 You can manage your images collection on a computer.
 Small size of many digital cameras makes them portable.
 You can immediately view & delete photos.
 You can choose the size & quality of images as you shoot them.
 Images can be easily shared and printed.

Disadvantages of Digital Photography

 Good digi-cams are still expensive compared to film.
 Cameras rarely have interchangeable lenses or are expensive.
 A computer is needed for working on the images.
 Most digital cameras are automated, giving photographer little direct
control.
Instant Cameras

 The instant camera is a type of camera with self-developing

film. The most famous were those made by the Polaroid
Corporation. Polaroid no longer manufactures such cameras
since February 2008. The invention of modern instant cameras
is generally credited to American scientist Edwin Land, who
unveiled the first commercial instant camera, the Land
Camera, in 1947, 10 years after founding the Polaroid
Corporation.
Working of Instant Cameras
 Polaroid cameras had a film/paper pack of the
size 4”x5”. As soon as the exposure was made,
the paper was pulled through the rollers that
released the chemicals that would develop the
print. In matter of few seconds the negative could
be peeled of its negative fixed with a saturated
pad provided with the film pack.
Its Advantages& Limitations
 This particular camera produce image at same
time ,one can use this model to click reference
photographs.
 One can get final color tone on paper at same
time.
 Size of photograph is small in comparison to
normal 35mm camera.