14 Different Types Of Cameras for You in 2024
In this guide, we will cover the different types of cameras for photography and videography. If you are looking to buy a new camera, this guide can help you to pick the right camera.
As we all know, there are different types of cameras available in the market. The user can choose an appropriate one depending upon the features and end use.
👉🏼 📖 READ: Different Parts of a Camera
1. Mirrorless Cameras
Mirrorless camera is the current popular type of camera in the market. The mirrorless camera will not have an optical viewfinder. Instead, it will have an electronic viewfinder. This removes some amount of weight from the camera body.
Image falling on the camera sensor can be seen directly on the viewfinder. This makes mirrorless cameras lightweight and easy to handle. Mirrorless cameras allow you to record images in RAW format.
You can get both Crop (APS-C) camera bodies and full-frame camera bodies in mirrorless cameras. You can get mirrorless cameras from popular brands like Sony, Nikon, and Canon.
They also come with a detachable lens feature. Nikon and Canon have come with adapters, to mount the existing DSLR lenses onto the mirrorless cameras.
Popular Models: Sony A9 III, Canon EOS R3, and Nikon Z9.
👉🏼 📖 READ: Essential Camera Functions
2. DSLR Cameras
A DSLR camera is the short form of Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera. It is the second most popular types of cameras in the market. Most professional photographers will have one DSLR camera in their kit. It is actually a combination of a digital imaging sensor with a single lens reflex camera.
DSLR cameras come with a detachable lens. You can change the camera lens based on the type of photography. If you are doing landscape photography, you can mount a wide angle lens, and for wildlife photography a telephoto lens.
In a DSLR camera, you can get a direct view of the scene through the camera’s optical viewfinder. Both full-frame and half-frame camera options are available in DSLR cameras.
Canon and Nikon are the two popular manufacturers of DSLR cameras. You can also get DSLR cameras from Fuji, Pentax, and Sigma also.
The wide variety of lens options is one factor that makes DSLR cameras quite popular. All the current DSLR cameras are also capable of recording videos. Some can even record 4K videos.
DSLR gives you the ability to record images in RAW format. You can later post-process images in Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
Popular Models: Canon 1DX Mark III and Nikon D6.
3. Point and Shoot Cameras
Point and Shoot cameras are compact cameras. It is useful for people who want to capture vacation and family pictures. These are for people who are not interested in photography and just wanted to capture images.
They come with a fixed lens and variable focal length. You will not be able to get the telephoto reach in a point and shoot camera.
Here, the image would be recorded in JPEG format. Most Point and Shoot Cameras use AA batteries. Only a very few cameras come with custom batteries.
Among the different types of cameras for photography, point and shoot cameras are lightweight and, you can easily carry them in your small bag.
Popular Model: Kodak Pixpro FZ55-BL
4. Smartphone Cameras
Nowadays, we are getting good cameras in Smartphones itself. Almost, all smartphones come with dual cameras, one in the front for selfies and one at the back.
Some smartphones even have triple or quad cameras at the back, one for portrait shots, one for macro, one for telephoto, and the other for wide-angle shots. With the help of software in smartphone, you can get DSLR-like blur effects on the photos .
This feature makes smartphone cameras more attractive to people who are looking for DSLR camera features in a compact size.
The rise of smartphones with good cameras resulted in the decline of point and shoot cameras. Some smartphone even allows you to capture the image in RAW format, which you can edit later.
But, don’t expect this RAW file to have the same amount of picture details as a DSLR or a mirrorless one.
These types of cameras are mostly suited for people who always want to have some camera in their pocket or for those who don’t want to carry separate cameras.
Popular Models: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, and Xiaomi 13 Pro.
5. Bridge Cameras
Bridge camera, as the name suggests lies in between point and shoot cameras and DSLR cameras. These types of cameras come with a fixed lens, and most bridge cameras cover the telephoto focal range.
Thus, it is an excellent option to photograph wildlife and sports if your budget is low or if you are not interested in a DSLR/ mirrorless camera.
Many bridge cameras support the RAW format. It is easy to carry when compared to DSLRs/ Mirrorless cameras.
If you are a birder, not a bird photographer, you can invest in one to document your bird sightings.
Popular Models: Sony Cybershot RX-10, and Nikon Coolpix P950
6. Medium Format Cameras
In the early days, medium format cameras used 120mm films. In this digital age, the film got replaced by the digital camera sensor with a size similar to the 120mm film. Few manufacturers still produce medium format film cameras. It comes with a bigger camera sensor and at a higher price.
If you are looking for extremely high-quality images, you should go for medium format cameras. It is the first choice of camera for fashion photographers.
Hasselblad is one of the popular medium format camera brands. Fuji and Pentax are the other well-known brands in these types of cameras.
They are a little heavy and bulky when compared to the DSLR/ Mirrorless cameras. The bulkiness is mainly due to the large camera sensor.
Popular Models: Hasselblad 907X 50C and Fujifilm GFX 100s
7. Film Cameras
Last but not least, we have film cameras. It all started with film cameras. It is one of the old camera types.
During the early days of photography, we use film as the medium to record images. Later, film got replaced by the camera sensor and memory cards.
The ISO part of the image comes as the film feature. We need to change the film rolls according to our ISO needs.
You can control the Aperture and Shutter speed in the camera. Now, camera manufacturers have almost stopped producing these types of cameras for photography due to the lack of demand.
Kodak is the current popular brand for film cameras.
Popular Models: Kodak M38 35mm film camera and Kodak Ektar H35.
8. Instant Camera/ Polaroid Cameras
As the name suggests, Instant cameras are capable of printing photos just after capturing them.
It was Polaroid Corporation who introduced this type of cameras to the market. Hence, these cameras are also known as Polaroid cameras.
The earlier generation of Instant cameras uses films. Later, they got replaced by paper prints.
There are many different models from Polaroid, and other Instant camera manufacturers. Kodak and Fujifilm are the other known manufacturers of Instant cameras.
Popular Models: Polaroid Now+ and FujiFilm Instax Mini 11.
9. Digital Cine Cameras
Digital Cine cameras are high-end types of cameras for filming movies or documentaries.
They come with interchangeable lens options. Film professionals make use of cine cameras.
They are used mainly for video recording. All the digital cine camera models support resolutions of 4k and above.
Popular Models: Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 4.6K, Canon EOS C100 Mark II, and Sony PXW-Z150 4k XDCAM.
10. Action Cameras / GoPro Cameras
Action cameras/ GoPro Cameras are known for their miniature size, capable of fitting into places where it is tough to mount normal cameras.
You can use an action camera to capture images, record videos, and do time-lapse photography.
They come with various mounting options. You can mount it on a helmet, wrist, body, on vehicles, or on clothing.
There are camera housings you can use to record videos underwater. Most action cameras support 4k resolution.
Certain action cameras allow you to connect it to your smartphone for remote triggering and live view.
GoPro, Insta 360 and DJI are some of the popular action camera brands.
Popular Models: GoPro Hero11 Black, and Insta 360 Go 3.
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11. 360-degree Cameras
360-degree types of cameras are getting popular these days. They are capable of taking 360-degree photos.
You can take a single 360-degree photo with a single click by using a dedicated 360-degree camera.
You can buy one only if you are really interested in 360-degree photos.
Popular Models: Rico Theta 5, Nikon Keymission360, Samsung Gear 360, Rylo, and GoPro Fusion.
12. Rugged Cameras
Rugged cameras are shockproof and waterproof cameras. Specification wise, it is similar to a point and shoot digital camera.
Here, the difference is in the build quality. Rugged cameras are all-weather and all-terrain cameras targeted toward adventurers.
Even if you drop the camera from a height or into water, it will be able to withstand the fall to an extent. If you are an adventurer/ explorer, this camera is for you.
Popular Models: Olympus Tough TG-6, Ricoh WG-6, and Fujifilm FinePix XP140.
13. Drone Cameras
Another popular type of camera is the drone camera. You can use drones to photograph a different perspective of the subject.
It helps to capture the birds eye view of the subject. You can also use drones to capture videos.
It comes as a 2-piece solution. There will be a wireless controller and a drone. Some drones will come with an app along with the drone. You can install this app on your smartphone and turn your phone into a wireless controller.
You can get an average flight time of 15-30 minutes with a single fully charged battery.
When it comes to drones, DJI is a popular brand. You can get different varieties of drones in different price ranges.
Popular Models: DJI Mavic 3 Pro, DJI Air 3, and DJI Mini 4 Pro
14. Disposable Cameras
If you are looking for a one-time-use camera, go for a disposable camera. Such cameras will either come with a 135mm film or APS cartridge. Some cameras do come with an inbuilt flash.
They generally come with a fixed focal length lens made of plastic. You cannot expect high-quality pictures from a disposable camera.
Kodak and Fujifilm are the two popular brands when it comes to disposable types of cameras.
Popular Models: Kodak Funsaver 35mm camera and Kodak 39202949 FunSaver camera.
👉🏼 📖 READ: Different Types of Camera Lenses
