In this article we consider the classification of cameras.
General-purpose cameras.
These cameras are used for artistic, reportage and consumer photography, shooting groups of people, portraiture and landscape photography, photo-hunting, shooting sports, etc.
As a primary criterion of classification of general-purpose cameras the way of pointing the camera at the subject is typically used, that is the type of used viewfinder, and also the method of focus of shooting lens (it is determined by the type of viewfinder to a large extent) is applied.
From this perspective, the most common terms are:
Reflex camera;
Rangefinder camera;
Compact camera.
The remaining classification differs somewhat for the film and digital technique, and therefore we do not consider them in this article.
Cameras from the sphere of advertising and marketing.
Cameras are divided into amateur and professional, although a clear distinction between them is difficult to conduct.
As a general rule, cameras for professional photography have a wider range of settings available for manual control, greater mechanical resource and range of operating conditions; they include the use of a wide range of interchangeable lenses and accessories. With the development of electronics the amateur (household) cameras, on the contrary, are following the path of maximum automation of shooting.
This simplifies photography for a beginner and in most cases allows getting enough quality shots, but narrows the creative possibilities for experienced photographer, and often does not allow you to capture images in unusual and difficult conditions (low light, fast moving subject, etc.)
Specialized equipment.
In scientific and technical purposes the special cameras that provide a solution of specific tasks are used – such as cameras for aerial photography (aerocamera), satellite imagery, close-ups, high-speed cameras, shooting through special optical systems (microscopes, endoscopes), cameras for shooting outside the visible spectrum, etc.
There are also stereoscopic cameras, shooting simultaneously two frames through two lenses located at a predetermined distance from one another. When looking at these pair images through a stereoscope, you can see three-dimensional image.
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