Camera

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This article is about the mechanics and primary types of cameras. For the history of
camera development, see History of the camera. For modern specifics, see Digital
camera. For a more comprehensive list of cameras, see List of camera types. For other
uses, see Camera (disambiguation).
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Leica Camera (1950s)

Hasselblad 500 C/M with Zeiss lens

A camera is an optical instrument used to record images. At their most basic, cameras

are sealed boxes (the camera body) with a small hole (the aperture) that allow light in to
capture an image on a light-sensitive surface (usually photographic film or a digital
sensor). Cameras have various mechanisms to control how the light falls onto the light-
sensitive surface. Lenses focus the light entering the camera, the size of the aperture
can be widened or narrowed to let more or less light into the camera, and
a shutter mechanism determines the amount of time the photo-sensitive surface is
exposed to the light.
The still image camera is the main instrument in the art of photography and captured
images may be reproduced later as a part of the process of photography, digital
 imaging, photographic printing. The similar artistic fields in the moving image camera
domain are film, videography, and cinematography.
The word camera comes from camera obscura, which means "dark chamber" and is the
Latin name of the original device for projecting an image of external reality onto a flat
surface. The modern photographic camera evolved from the camera obscura. The
functioning of the camera is very similar to the functioning of the human eye. The first
permanent photograph was made in 1825 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.

Contents

 1Mechanics
o 1.1Exposure control
 1.1.1Aperture
 1.1.2Shutter
 1.1.3Metering
o 1.2Lens
 1.2.1Focus
o 1.3Image capture on film
 1.3.1Film speed
 1.3.2White balance
o 1.4Camera accessories
 1.4.1Flash
 1.4.2Other accessories
 2Primary types
o 2.1Single-lens reflex (SLR) camera
o 2.2Large-format camera
 2.2.1Plate camera
o 2.3Medium-format camera
 2.3.1Twin-lens reflex camera
o 2.4Compact cameras
 2.4.1Instant camera
 2.4.2Subminiature camera
 2.4.3Folding camera
 2.4.4Box camera
o 2.5Rangefinder camera
o 2.6Motion picture cameras
 2.6.1Professional video camera
 2.6.2Camcorders
o 2.7Digital camera
 2.7.1Camera phone
 3See also
 4Footnotes
 5References
 6Further reading
 7External links
Mechanics[edit]

Basic elements of a modern digital SLR still camera

A camera captures light photons, usually from the visible spectrum for human viewing,

but in general could also be from other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.[1]:vii
All cameras use the same basic design: light enters an enclosed box through a
converging or convex lens and an image is recorded on a light-sensitive medium
(mainly a transition metal-halide). A shutter mechanism controls the length of time that
light can enter the camera.[2]:1182–1183
Most cameras also have a viewfinder, which shows the scene to be recorded, and the
ability to control focus and exposure so that it is not too bright or too dim. [3]:4
Exposure control[edit]
Aperture[edit]
Main article: Aperture

Different apertures of a lens

The aperture, sometimes called the diaphragm or iris, [4][5] is the opening through which
light enters the camera.[6] Typically located in the lens,[7] this opening can be widened or
narrowed to control the amount of light that strikes the film. [8] The aperture is controlled
by the movements of overlapping plates or blades that rotate together and apart to
shrink and expand the hole at the center.[8][9] The diameter of the aperture can be set
manually, typically by adjusting a dial on the camera body or lens, or automatically
based on calculations influenced by an internal light meter. [8]
The size of the opening is set at standard increments, typically called "f-stops"[a][8] (but
also "f-numbers", "stop numbers", or simply "steps" or "stops"), that usually range
from f/1.4 to f/32 in standard increments: 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, and 32. [4] As
the numbers increase, each increment (or "stop") halves the amount of light entering the
camera.[7] Conversely, the lower the number, the larger the opening, and so the more
light that is let into the camera.[8]
The wider opening at the lower f-stops narrows the range of focus so the background of
an image is blurry when focusing on the foreground, and vice versa. This "depth of field"
increases as the aperture closes, so that objects that are at differing distances from the
camera can both be in focus; when the aperture is at its narrowest, the foreground and
background are both in sharp focus.[5]
Shutter[edit]
Main article: Shutter (photography)
The shutter, along with the aperture, is one of two ways to control the amount of light
entering the camera. The shutter determines the duration that the light-sensitive surface
is exposed to light. The shutter is opened, light enters the camera and exposes the film
or sensor to light, and then the shutter closes. [7][10]
There are two types of mechanical shutters. The leaf-type uses a circular iris diaphragm
maintained under spring tension inside or just behind the lens that rapidly opens and
closes when the shutter is released.[4]

A focal-plane shutter. In this shutter, the metal shutter blades travel vertically.

More commonly, a focal-plane shutter is used.[7] This shutter operates close to the film
plane and employs metal plates or cloth curtains with an opening that passes across the
light-sensitive surface. The curtains or plates have an opening that is pulled across the
film plane during an exposure. The focal-plane shutter is typically used in single-lens
reflex (SLR) cameras, since covering the film rather than blocking the light passing
through the lens allows the photographer to view through the image through the lens at
all times except during the exposure itself. Covering the film also facilitates removing
the lens from a loaded camera (many SLRs have interchangeable lenses). [8][4]
Digital cameras may use one of these types of mechanical shutters or they may use an
electronic shutter, the type used in the cameras of smartphones. Electronic shutters
either record data from the entire sensor at the same time (a global shutter) or record
the data line by line across the sensor (a rolling shutter). [8]
In movie cameras, a rotary shutter opens and closes in sync with the advancing of each
frame of film.[8][11]
The duration is called the shutter speed or exposure time. The longer the shutter speed,
the slower it is. Typical exposure times can range from one second to 1/1,000 of a
second, though durations longer and shorter than this are not uncommon. In the early
stages of photography, exposures were often several minutes long. These long
exposure times often result in blurry images, as a single object is recorded in multiple
places across a single image for the duration of the exposure. To prevent this, shorter
exposure times can be used. Very short exposure times can capture fast-moving action
and completely eliminate motion blur. [12][4][8][7]
Like aperture settings, exposure times increment in powers of two. The two settings
determine the exposure value (EV), a measure of how much light is recorded during the
exposure. There is a direct relationship between the exposure times and aperture
settings so that if the exposure time is lengthened one step, but the aperture opening is
also narrowed one step, the amount of light exposing the film or sensor is the same. [7]
Metering[edit]
Main article: Light meter

A handheld digital light meter showing an exposure of 1/200th at an aperture of f/11, at ISO 100. The light
sensor is on top, under the white diffusing hemisphere.

In most modern cameras, the amount of light entering the camera is measured using a
built-in light meter or exposure meter.[b] Taken through the lens (and so
called TTL metering), these readings are taken using a panel of semi-conductors that
are sensitive to light.[9] They are used to help calculate the best exposure settings.
These settings are typically determined automatically as the reading is used by the
camera's microprocessor. The reading from the light meter is combined with aperture
settings, exposure times, and film or sensor sensitivity to calculate the optimal
exposure.[c]
Light meters typically average the light in a scene to 18% middle gray. More advanced
cameras are more nuanced in their metering, weighing the center of the frame more
heavily (center-weighted metering), considering the differences in light across the image
(matrix metering), or allowing the photographer to take a light reading at a specific point
within the image (spot metering).[5][12][6][8]
Lens[edit]
Main articles: Camera lens and Photographic lens design
The lens of a camera captures the light from the subject and brings it to a focus on the
sensor. The design and manufacture of the lens is critical to the quality of the
photograph being taken. The technological revolution in camera design in the 19th
century revolutionized optical glass manufacture and lens design with great benefits for
modern lens manufacture in a wide range of optical instruments from reading glasses to
microscopes. Pioneers included Zeiss and Leitz.
Camera lenses are made in a wide range of focal lengths. They range from
extreme wide angle, and standard, medium telephoto. Lenses either have a fixed focal
length (prime lens) or a variable focal length (zoom lens). Each lens is best suited to a
certain type of photography. The extreme wide angle may be preferred for architecture
because it has the capacity to capture a wide view of a building. The normal lens,
because it often has a wide aperture, is often used for street and documentary
photography. The telephoto lens is useful for sports and wildlife but it is more
susceptible to camera shake.[13]
Focus[edit]

The distance range in which objects appear clear and sharp, called depth of field, can be adjusted by many
cameras. This allows for a photographer to control which objects appear in focus, and which do not.

Due to the optical properties of photographic lenses, only objects within a limited range
of distances from the camera will be reproduced clearly. The process of adjusting this
range is known as changing the camera's focus. There are various ways of focusing a
camera accurately. The simplest cameras have fixed focus and use a small aperture
and wide-angle lens to ensure that everything within a certain range of distance from
the lens, usually around 3 metres (10 ft) to infinity, is in reasonable focus. Fixed focus
cameras are usually inexpensive types, such as single-use cameras. The camera can
also have a limited focusing range or scale-focus that is indicated on the camera body.
The user will guess or calculate the distance to the subject and adjust the focus
accordingly. On some cameras this is indicated by symbols (head-and-shoulders; two
people standing upright; one tree; mountains).
Rangefinder cameras allow the distance to objects to be measured by means of a
coupled parallax unit on top of the camera, allowing the focus to be set with accuracy.
Single-lens reflex cameras allow the photographer to determine the focus and
composition visually using the objective lens and a moving mirror to project the image
onto a ground glass or plastic micro-prism screen. Twin-lens reflex cameras use an
objective lens and a focusing lens unit (usually identical to the objective lens.) in a
parallel body for composition and focusing. View cameras use a ground glass screen
which is removed and replaced by either a photographic plate or a reusable holder
containing sheet film before exposure. Modern cameras often offer autofocus systems
to focus the camera automatically by a variety of methods. [14]
Some experimental cameras, for example the planar Fourier capture array (PFCA), do
not require focusing to allow them to take pictures. In conventional digital photography,
lenses or mirrors map all of the light originating from a single point of an in-focus object
to a single point at the sensor plane. Each pixel thus relates an independent piece of
information about the far-away scene. In contrast, a PFCA does not have a lens or
mirror, but each pixel has an idiosyncratic pair of diffraction gratings above it, allowing
each pixel to likewise relate an independent piece of information (specifically, one
component of the 2D Fourier transform) about the far-away scene. Together, complete
scene information is captured and images can be reconstructed by computation.
Some cameras have post focusing. Post focusing means take the pictures first and then
focusing later at the personal computer. The camera uses many tiny lenses on the
sensor to capture light from every camera angle of a scene and is called plenoptics
technology. A current plenoptic camera design has 40,000 lenses working together to
grab the optimal picture.[15]
Image capture on film