DSLR Camera

A digital single lens reflex or DSLR camera is a type of camera used by professional photographers and most people that are interested in photography. The significant difference between a DSLR and a standard compact camera is that you can remove the lens. This enables you to use all sorts of different lenses which allow photographers to create the picture they envisage.

So how do they work? The light comes in the lens and in the camera there is a mirror. When you take a picture that camera flips up and down, this mirror reflects the light up to the top of the camera into the pentaprism allowing you to see what you are shooting through the view finder whereas with normal cameras when you look through the view finder that isn't exactly what you are seeing through the lens because the view finder is slightly off center.

DSLR cameras have improved greatly over time and can now produce extremely good quality photographs and video. With a DSLR camera you can edit pictures straight after taking them and store lots of high quality photographs.

I have a DSLR camera and I think it is great. Its many features allow me to manipulate the pictures I want to create by, for example, focusing on a specific subject or adjusting the shutter speed and exposure.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_single-lens_reflex_camera

Point and Shoot Cameras

Most people own point and shoot camera. These simple cameras have automatic settings which mean the users don’t have to worry about exposure or shutter speed. This means they are very popular with people who consider themselves amateurs which is why they are very useful for documenting things like holidays, birthday parties and school graduations with ease.

Here are some tips for using a point and shoot camera:

Don’t over use the flash. With most point and shoot cameras the camera will usually put on the flash automatically but it is normally not needed. You will usually find that you will over expose your shots when you don’t need the flash on because when you put the flash on the camera can only use a fairly slow shutter speed.

Invest in a small tripod. If you use a point and shoot camera you probably aren’t extremely interested in photography but you can buy a small inexpensive tripod that will improve your photographs. There are times that you might want to use a longer shutter speed and a tripod will avoid blurriness.

Use the zoom. When you are taking a picture don’t get really close to your subject or you could cast a shadow on your shot or go out of focus.

I think point and shoot cameras are good for people wanting to get into photography as they are reasonably inexpensive but they are declining in demand because people can now easily use the camera on their phones because they usually have around the same picture quality.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-and-shoot_camera

Camera Phones

Almost all mobile phones have cameras on them now days. The most popular type of mobile phone in the UK today in the Iphone 6 which has an 8 megapixel camera which is a good quality. Now everyone can take high quality photographs with the small devices that we carry around everywhere. Now days no one has the problem of forgetting to bring a camera with them.

The first mobile phone with a camera was the J-phone which was sold in Japapan in 2000. Since then camera phones have became more and more popular through the years and now every phone has one. Most camera phones have a fixed lens, the ability to focus, flash, filters and even things like panorama. Now with social media we can instantly share our photographs with the world straight after taking them. The camera phone has a had a large effect on the camera industry. Now people don’t feel the need to spend money on cameras. Why would they need to spend a lot of money on an item that they will have to carry around and take time moving pictures from their camera to their computer when they can just use the phone that they have anyway?

The Nokia Lumia 1020 has one of the best cameras, here are some of its qualities:

CPU: 1.5GHz Snapdragon MSM8960 dual-core
Camera: 41MP PureView
Display: 4.5-inch AMOLED PureMotion+, 768 x 1280 resolution
Capacity: 32/64GB internal, no microSD
Dimensions: 130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4 mm
Weight: 158g
Extras: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11n, NFC

I like the fact that everyone has cameras with them now as people can capture any moments of their lives easily but I also think it is a shame that the camera industry has to suffer.

Sources: 

http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/mobile_tracker/

https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-6/specs/

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/best-camera-phone-6-handsets-tested-904250

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_phone

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/mobile/phone/lumia1020/

The Polaroid Camera

The Polaroid is a recognizable type of camera. What differentiates it from other cameras? Well, with a Polaroid you can print off a picture out of the camera as soon as you have taken it. The first Polaroid was created in 1947 by the American scientist Edwin H. Land. Before the Polaroid, when you took a photo you would have to wait until you filled up all the film on your camera then get it developed. This lengthy process was happily avoided as the Polaroid essentially has a tiny dark room inside of it and can print images out instantly.

But how do these cameras work? It’s all in the film. As soon as you press the button on your camera the shutter quickly opens and closes to catch the picture. It takes in the light and prints it onto a silver compound.  This is when the photo develops. On the film there are three silver compounds. These compounds are sensitive to blue green and red light. There are four chemicals waiting to react. The developer layer, the acid layer the timing layer and the image layer. The chemicals get set off by reagent. Reagent is a substances used in a chemicals to detect, measure, examine or produce other substances. After you take a picture and the image is captured on the silver compound the Polaroid film is sent out through two rollers. These rollers push the reagent onto the white plastic borders onto the silver compound.  The reagent then causes the four layers to react, this then causes the silver compound layers to process. Producing blue, green and red light pattern which turns into an image.

The Polaroid camera became less and less popular as digital cameras and mobile phones have become more popular. I think the Polaroid is a very interesting invention and I think it is interesting how they were invented in the 1940s and are still being produced today.

Sources:

http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Polaroid_Camera

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2400059/Return-Polaroid-Fujifilm-resurrects-iconic-camera-print-card-sized-photos-instantly.html

The Brownie Camera

The Brownie camera was introduced in 1900. The first model was a very simple cardboard box with a lens. It took 2 ¼ inch square pictures on 117 rollfilm. It was very easy to use and was first priced at £1.

The Brownie was well known for being cheap and accessible, their slogan was "You push the button, we do the rest." The camera was named after a famous children’s cartoon so the camera would appeal to kids but it turnd out to be popular with all ages.

With such immediate success Kodak went on to produce many new versions of the Brownie including the Six-20 Flash Brownie and the Brownie Starflash. They went on to give much better picture quality and included features like a flash.

Here are some pictures taken with Brownie cameras:

 

Photographer: Peter Clarke

I think that popularity of The Brownie Camera was very significant for the world of photography because they made taking your own pictures easy and cheap, meaning more people could try photography.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_(camera)