Hola
Welcome to Camxatca,
a Film Cameras Archive Community
It’s here to stay
This past few years film photography has made a come back. A huge one. Having endless possibilities and being as quick as possible in every aspect of our life feels frightening to some of us.
Naturally, embracing slower techniques feels somehow both calming and freeing. Film photography doesn’t require being perfect nor being quick. And it is here to stay.
It’s here to stay
This past few years film photography has made a come back. A huge one. Having endless possibilities and being as quick as possible in every aspect of our life feels frightening to some of us.
Naturally, embracing slower techniques feels somehow both calming and freeing. Film photography doesn’t require being perfect nor being quick. And it is here to stay.
Types of cameras
There are 12 types of film cameras, different options for different occasions, get to know their characteristics here.
A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder, typically a split-image rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus. Most varieties of rangefinder show two images of the same subject, one of which moves when a calibrated wheel is turned; when the two images coincide and fuse into one, the distance can be read off the wheel.
Point-and-shoot cameras, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic systems for setting the exposure options, and have flash units built in.
The instant camera is a type of camera which uses self-developing film to create a chemically developed print shortly after taking the picture. Polaroid Corporation pioneered (and patented) consumer-friendly instant cameras and film, and were followed by various other manufacturers.
A twin‑lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the "taking lens", the lens that takes the picture, while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level. The two objectives are connected so that the focus shown on the focusing screen will be exactly the same as on the film.
The viewfinder consists of a 45‑degree mirror and it is the reason for the word reflex in the name. It is basically a matte focusing screen at the top of the camera that has a pop‑up hood. Most TLRs have shutter speeds up to 1/500 of a second with a bulb setting.
A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. When the shutter button is pressed on most SLRs, the mirror flips out of the light path, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and the image to be captured.
Stereo cameras have two or more lenses with a separate image sensor or film frame for each lens, which allows the camera to simulate human binocular vision. This gives it the ability to capture three-dimensional images, a process known as stereo photography. At the moment we have just posted one stereo camera, the Nimslo 3D. Do you own and use one of these? If you would like to participate in the project let us know 🙂
Panorama Cameras (or Panoramic Cameras) are cameras designed to take photos with a very wide horizontal angle, but normal vertical angle - resulting in normal height, but very wide photos. Typically these are of landscapes or large group of people arranged in a long row - such as the "classic" whole school or whole team photo (or, of course, very tall narrow photos of, say, tall buildings, if you turn the camera sideways).
Within the field of photography, a toy camera is a simple, inexpensive film camera.
Despite the name, they are in fact always fully functional and capable of taking photographs, though with optical aberrations due to the limitations of the simple lenses.
Despite the name, they are in fact always fully functional and capable of taking photographs, though with optical aberrations due to the limitations of the simple lenses.
A box camera is a simple type of camera, the most common form being a cardboard or plastic box with a lens in one end and film at the other. They were sold in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The lenses are often single element designs meniscus fixed focus lens, or in better quality box cameras a doublet lens with minimal (if any) possible adjustments to the aperture or shutter speeds. Because of the inability to adjust focus, the small lens aperture and the low sensitivity of the sensitive materials available, these cameras work best in brightly lit day-lit scenes when the subject is within the hyperfocal distance for the lens and of subjects that move little during the exposure. Eventually, box cameras with photographic flash, shutter and aperture adjustment were introduced, allowing indoor photos.
A usable camera can be built using quite simple, even crude construction methods, 3D printed, etc.
Folding cameras fold into a compact and rugged package for storage. The lens and shutter are attached to a lens-board which is connected to the body of the camera by a light-tight folding bellows. When the camera is fully unfolded it provides the correct focus distance from the film. The key advantage of folding cameras is their excellent physical-size to film-size ratio when the camera is folded for storage.
