digital camera with viewfinder and lcd screen pricelist

Framing and shooting through a viewfinder allows the photographer to stabilize the camera and reduce the shake since it is closer to the body. Besides, Viewfinders come handy under bright sun light where LCD screens are very hard to read under bright sunlight. With the electronic viewfinders, you can also preview your photos without taking your eye off the camera.

Here we have listed the Cheapest 20 Cameras with Viewfinder sorted by price. Fujifilm S9800 is at the top of our list with a Selling Price of $ 159.99, followed by Panasonic ZS60 and Panasonic ZS50.

The lack of new DSLRs is effectively pushing camera prices up at the budget end. This can be seen in the recent launches of the Canon EOS R10 and Nikon Z30, both of which are entry-level mirrorless models that effectively succeed DSLRs like the Canon EOS 90D and Nikon D5600 (only with higher price tags, due to the inclusion of electronic viewfinders). However, prices should start to decline due to the run-up to Black Friday. This super holiday event will see a major reduction in cameras across the board, including cheap cameras, and those slightly higher in price, become cheap cameras across the sale period.

However, if you are wanting a great deal now, DSLRs are the way to go, they offer a great price-to-performance ratio and this is why we"ve continued to include DSLR models in our guide below. They"re still the cheapest way to get a capable camera with a built-in viewfinder, and models like the Nikon D3500 and Canon EOS 2000D continue to offer good value to beginners or those without hefty budgets. Mirrorless cameras might offer the closest shooting experience to a smartphone, but don"t discount DSLRs despite their age.

Don’t let budget hold your photography back: the best cheap cameras offer fantastic bang for your buck. Whether you’re looking for an affordable first camera or hunting for an upgrade that doesn’t drain your bank account, the top cheap cameras don’t skimp on performance, and often offer incredible value for money. Not sure where to start? Then this is the list you need. We’ve spent countless hours testing the best affordable cameras around, and ranked them all in our guide below.

In these tricky financial times, everyone’s budget will be completely different. That said, we think the best cheap camera for most people is the Nikon D3500. An entry-level DSLR with massive battery life, it offers a lot for an impressively low price tag, including a 24.4 MP sensor and Full HD video at 60p. That said, with Nikon announcing the model"s impending retirement, you’ll need to grab one soon if you"re looking to buy new. If you can"t find stock, you can also find some similarly beginner-friendly cameras in our dedicated guide to the best beginner cameras.

If you"re looking for one of the best mirrorless cameras for your budget instead, our favorite cheap mirrorless camera right now is the Fujifilm X-T200. With an articulating touchscreen, 4K video, and solid 24.2MP stills performance, it offers outstanding value in a stunning compact retro style, making it perfect to take with you everywhere you go.

That said, there might be an affordable camera that’s better suited to your specific expectations. That’s why our guide also covers accessible instant cameras like the Polaroid Go and travel zoom compacts such as the Panasonic Lumix ZS100 / TZ100.

Every option in this guide has been carefully reviewed by our experts and tested in real-life situations before making th list. Together with our buying tips and price comparison tool, that means you can shop in confidence that you’re getting the best deal on a great cheap camera.

The Nikon D3400 was a hugely successful and popular DSLR, and the Nikon D3500 has taken its baton into the mirrorless age. DSLRs may be less common now, but they continue to offer excellent value compared to mirrorless cameras due to their optical viewfinders – and the Nikon D3500 remains the best budget camera for beginners.

Key changes over the older D3400 include an improved APS-C sensor (though still with 24MP) and an even better battery life of 1,550 frames per charge, next to the D3400"s very capable 1,200 shots per charge. You also get a better grip and a slightly redesigned body that"s a bit lighter, too. While it is also worth considering mirrorless alternatives to the Sony A6000, the D3500 is a bit more user-friendly – particularly if you want to use it with longer lenses.

We"re still fans of the Fujifilm X-T30, but this cheaper, beginner-friendly version of that camera is our favorite mirrorless option for those starting out on their photography or video-making journeys.

It"s a big improvement over its X-T100 predecessor in almost every way, including autofocus, and has a fantastic 3.5in rear touchscreen. Unlike the Fujifilm X-A7 (see further down), you also get a viewfinder for framing shots, which is especially good news in bright light while traveling. We discovered that image quality was reliably lovely, and we loved the retro design.

The only downside we found during our tests is that the subject-tracking can be a little hit-and-miss during burst shooting and isn"t available for video, but otherwise this is one of the best cheap cameras around for those who want a new mirrorless model.

Don’t let the price fool you. The A6000 costs the same as other entry-level DSLR and mirrorless cameras, but it’s an advanced and powerful camera that has only dropped to this price through being on the market since 2014.

So, it may be old, but most of the specifications still look surprisingly fresh today. This includes a 24MP APS-C sensor, a fast hybrid 179-point autofocus system, and continuous shooting at 11 frames per second (fps). We found during our test of it that it delivered fantastic image quality.

Its age shows in other areas, though; it only shoots 1080p Full HD video and not 4K, and the screen isn’t touch-sensitive - which we found to be a little frustrating for setting AF point. Still, the latter is still the case on many Sony cameras and the A6000’s high-end features ensure that it"s a camera that will grow with you.

If you’re an eager beginner who"s in the market for a compact mirrorless camera, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV should be at the top of your list. An affordable Micro Four Thirds model, the Mark IV pairs a capable 20.3MP sensor with impressive in-body image stabilization to deliver consistently attractive images using the kit lens.

With footage capped at 4K/30p and no microphone or headphone input, video isn’t a major focus. Instead, this is a small, powerful camera for stills: we discovered in our review that dynamic range is better than anything a smartphone can capture, while the IBIS system keeps images sharp even when shooting handheld after dark.

We found that AF tracking across the Mark IV’s 121 points can be a little patchy, but improved face detection and subject tracking from the Mark III mean it’s largely reliable. Our tip is to stick to centre point focus and you’ll find it fast, even in low light.

An ergonomic grip, approachable button layout, and handy flip-down touchscreen make the Mark IV an accessible upgrade for smartphone photographers. And with a wide catalog of lenses available, it shapes up one of the best cheap cameras around if you want a modern mirrorless experience.

The pint-sized point-and-shoot is supremely easy to use: its compact retro shell features just a few straightforward controls, complemented by a handy digital shot counter. Fixed focus and no macro mode mean creativity is a little limited, but the Polaroid Go does feature flash override, self-timer, and double exposure options to keep analog photographers entertained.

Though the credit-card-sized prints produced are a little on the small side, we discovered in our review that their pastel tones and impressive detail give them an eye-catching lo-fi quality. There are a few less expensive alternatives – and film refills could be cheaper – but you won’t find a more accessible or portable way to enjoy the fun of instant photography.

A portable full-frame mirrorless camera with a capable feature set, sound performance, and reasonable price: the Canon EOS RP is a compelling proposition for those looking to shoot with a large sensor. Built around the same RF mount as the EOS R, its native lens catalog is limited, but a bundled adapter at least allows you to use existing EF glass.

Despite housing a 26.2MP full-frame sensor, the EOS RP is remarkably compact yet reassuringly well-made. Button placement will irk some, but we found both the physical controls and touchscreen to be responsive.

With Canon’s Digic 8 processor driving performance, autofocus proved fast and reliable. Burst rates drop to 4fps with continuous focus, but the AF generally did a solid job of locking on. We also found the buffer to be more generous than expected.

As with most affordable cameras, the Canon EOS RP isn’t without compromise. Besides a lack of sensor-based image stabilization, battery life was underwhelming in testing, while the metering system seemed slightly sensitive. Rolling shutter and a 4K crop also limit its video skills. But if you want full-frame mirrorless shooting on a shoestring budget, it’s hard to argue with the Canon EOS RP’s core performance.

The Lumix FZ80 (also known as the Lumix FZ82 outside the US) is still one of the most affordable bridge cameras you can buy, but it remains a solid choice if zoom reach is your priority. Its lens goes from an ultra-wide 20mm all the way to the far reaches of 1200mm, and we found during our tests that produce decent image quality as long as you"re aware of its limitations.

We found it best to shoot no higher than ISO 800, or ISO 1600 in an emergency, so it"s best to avoid low light. But in daylight conditions, it"s still a very useful companion, particularly at this price – and we found that Panasonic"s Power O.I.S. image stabilization kept things nice and stable at longer focal lengths. Sure, the viewfinder could be better, but this remains one of the best cheap bridge cameras around.

Not everyone needs a cutting-edge camera, which is why the M50 Mark II remains a popular mid-range mirrorless model. A fun, approachable option that offers great image quality, the M50 continues to represent good value for money. In our tests, the 24.1MP APS-C CMOS performed well – the noise was nicely controlled, while detail and dynamic range were impressive. It also has a large and bright EVF, along with a handy vari-angle touchscreen.

It might not be the most exciting camera we’ve ever tested, but this Canon DSLR is a solid starter camera if you’re on a tight budget. Very much an entry-level option, we noted in our review that the camera’s finish felt plasticky. That said, we also commented that its controls were logically laid out and easy for beginners to use. In performance terms, our testing found that the 9-point AF system came up short, with sluggish Live View performance that felt dated compared to mirrorless rivals. Burst shooting was likewise slow.

Back in 2017, we called the Panasonic TZ100 “the perfect compact camera.” And, while several models have since arrived with superior specs, the TZ100 remains a fantastic option for those after an affordable compact travel camera.

Its metal shell is solid yet sufficiently small to slip into a pocket. The main controls are clustered on the back for easy one-handed control, while function buttons offer the welcome option of customization – and the touchscreen is responsive, too.

On the go, we discovered that the TZ100’s 1-inch sensor (which is larger than today"s smartphones) delivers vibrant, punchy images with a fair level of detail for an older compact, even in low light. Dynamic range is also decent and noise isn’t generally an issue. The 10x optical zoom will be versatile enough for most, while the option of shooting 4K footage makes simple vlogs an option as well.

This series has now reached its seventh generation, but it"s the RX100 Mark III that currently offers the best value for those looking to upgrade from their smartphone. It was the first model in the series with a built-in electronic viewfinder – a huge boon for shooting in sunny conditions – and it has a large 1-inch sensor, which we discovered in our tests produces excellent image quality.

You also get a tilting screen and a speedy 10fps continuous shooting mode for capturing moving subjects. If you need 4K video or slo-mo video, then it"s worth stretching to the RX100 Mark IV – but the Mark III has recently dropped to some impressively low prices for such a capable, smartphone-beating compact, making it one of the best budget cameras around.

If you need a cheap action camera, then the Brave 7 LE should certainly make your shortlist. Considering its price tag, it"s packed with features including weather-sealing and a front-facing screen that"s handy for vloggers. We also found that this action cam"s audio was better than any other action cam outside of GoPro, in quieter environments at least.

It might “only” boast a 16-megapixel sensor, but it does well with what it’s got. We found it was capable of delivering excellent results in a good range of different conditions when we tested it.

There’s also a helpful tilting screen, a decent viewfinder, and a good range of compatible lenses that you can use with the Micro Four Thirds format. Arguably it’s not as stylish as models from Olympus or Fujifilm, but if you want a solid and dependable model at a very affordable price, it’s a good option.

The Olympus Pen E-PL9 is now hard to find in stock, so if you"re looking for a beginner-friendly mirrorless camera with an affordable price tag and a great range of lenses, we"d recommend checking out its E-PL10 successor.

Its small, friendly design means it isn"t too intimidating, making it ideal for taking street shots or portraits. This does mean the E-PL10 lacks a built-in viewfinder, but those coming from a smartphone won"t miss that – and it does otherwise combine good handling with a straightforward, beginner-friendly menu system.

We discovered that the E-PL10s tried-and-tested 16.1MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds sensor captures nicely rendered shots in most situations. And despite its compact size, its 3-axis image stabilization system is there to give you a helping hand in low-light situations. At current prices, there aren"t many interchangeable lens cameras that offer a better range of features than the E-PL10.

Well-priced yet built tough, the Fujifilm XP140 is one investment that should pay dividends for those with clumsy hands. Dustproof, shockproof to 1.8m and freeze-proof to -10ºC, it’s also waterproof down to 25m – which means it should survive just about anything you can throw at it.

More than a beefed-up bargain camera, the XP140 can also capture great images. It keeps the same stabilized 16.4MP sensor as the XP140 but adds improved scene- and eye-detection smarts, which we found helps to deliver sharp portrait pictures. 4K footage is limited at 15fps, but 1080/60p video is smooth, while the option to shoot 720p slow-mo at 100fps is neat. The maximum ISO has also doubled to 12,800 which, with a back-illuminated sensor, makes for better low-light images, including underwater shots.

Breaking your camera is one way to make photography an expensive hobby. Investing in a rugged model should cut replacement costs – and the Olympus Tough TG-6 is one of the best tough cameras you can buy. Freeze-proof, shockproof and waterproof: its reassuringly industrial shell is robust enough to survive all manner of extreme scenarios. It’s also an intuitive camera to use. Large buttons make operation accessible, while an improved 3-inch LCD display ensures good visibility in bright conditions.

Focusing is snappy and an equivalent zoom range of 25-100mm adds welcome versatility, even if a little detail is lost at the telephoto end. Our tests revealed that image quality is decent enough for a 1/2.3-inch sensor, with rich colors – although the TG-6 is prone to overexposure. The older TG-5 is similarly equipped and less expensive, but the TG-6 represents excellent value for adventurous photographers thanks to its significantly sharper screen.

If it’s easy instant snaps you’re after, Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 9 remains a firm favorite, despite the arrival of the very similar Instax Mini 11. Forgoing almost all the controls you’d expect on a modern compact camera, the Mini 9 instead makes fun of its focus. Look through the straightforward viewfinder, click the shutter button, and in a jiffy, you’ll find a credit card-sized print coming from the top of its retro shell.

We found in our review that the D5600 is capable of producing pleasingly sharp images, while the AF point did a decent job - particularly for slow-moving and static subjects.

Key advantages over the D3500 (listed in position one here) include a larger LCD screen, which not only flips out and swivels all the way around to face the front, but also responds to touch, together with a more advanced autofocus system, Wi-Fi, and a healthy range of additional control on the inside.

Sure, you pay a little extra for the privilege, but if you need a little more growing space it makes sense to go for the D5600 so that it stays with you for years to come.

Buying a budget camera will usually mean accepting a few compromises. A cheaper DSLR might not capture 4K footage, for example, while a more affordable mirrorless model may lack a viewfinder or shoot at lower burst speeds than its costlier competitors. But whichever type of camera you decide to buy, you should consider what and how you like to shoot – and make sure that, at the very least, it ticks the key boxes for your specific needs.

So if you normally shoot stills, a cheap camera’s video skills are less important. Instead of focusing on whether it can capture 4K footage, look for something with a decent sensor and a relatively high resolution (20MP and above). Similarly, if you’re happy framing with an optical viewfinder and using buttons to navigate system menus, you don’t need to worry too much about whether a camera has a sharp touchscreen interface. But it is always worth making sure that a camera’s handling is comfortable and that its physical controls are useful and accessible.

If you’re shopping for an affordable travel camera, your focus should be battery life and zoom versatility. Don’t get too caught up in software tricks or raw shooting. Those are nice extras, but it’s much easier to edit JPEGs when you’re back home than it is to crop in on a faraway subject.

And if you’re planning to buy an interchangeable lens camera, be sure to consider the cost of lenses. A camera body might be cheap, but expensive glass will limit your ability to experiment with different barrels. Look for a camera with a popular lens mount (Micro Four Thirds, for example) to ensure you have maximum flexibility when it comes to buying new glass.Which camera is best for a low budget?The list above features a whole range of cameras to suit photographers with a limited budget. Which option is best for you will depend on what you’ll use your camera for and how versatile you’d like it to be.

One option is to consider entry-level models like the Nikon D3500. These are designed with beginners in mind, so they usually offer simple, accessible controls and handling that are easy to get to grips with. To keep costs down, entry-level cameras don’t usually include advanced features or performance but should nail the basics. That means solid battery life, great handling, and decent image quality.

Alternatively, you can consider slightly older mid-range mirrorless models. These won’t offer cutting-edge technology, but should still be very capable – especially if you’re upgrading from a smartphone. And because prices tend to be discounted as newer models arrive, cameras that are two or three years old will normally become much more affordable. Take a look at the Sony A6000 for a good example: its price now is a lot lower than when it launched in 2014, yet it still features a 24.3MP sensor, 11fps burst shooting, and a capable 179-point autofocus system.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a cheap travel camera, powerful compacts like the Sony HX90V represent excellent value and versatility, thanks to an impressive 30x zoom range. Or if it’s outright bargain affordability that you’re after, instant cameras represent a cheap, accessible way to have some fun with photography. Cameras like the Polaroid Go are easy and enjoyable to use, producing immediate prints that make shooting more tactile.

We test cheap camera(opens in new tab)s in the same way as models with higher price tags – while the value may play a more important role in our overall rankings, the cameras themselves still need to perform. Putting them through our usual test procedures lets us see which ones outperform their price tags, and which haven"t dated so well.

To start with, we look at the camera"s design, handling, and controls to get a feel for the kind of photographer it"s most suitable for. We then take it out on a shoot, where we"ll test its startup speed and use it both handheld and on a tripod.

To test the camera"s performance, we use a formatted SD card and shoot in both raw and JPEG (if available). For burst shooting tests, we dial in our regular test settings (1/250 sec, ISO 200, continuous AF) and shoot a series of frames in front of a stopwatch to see if it matches its official speeds. We"ll also look at how quickly the buffers clears and repeat the test for both raw and JPEG files.

In various lighting conditions, we also test the camera"s different autofocus modes (including Face and Eye AF) in a single point, area, and continuous modes. We"ll also shoot a mix of photos (portrait, low light, landscape, macro/close-up) in raw and JPEG to get a feel for the camera"s metering accuracy and its sensor"s ability to handle noise and resolve fine detail.

Assuming the camera"s raw files are supported by Adobe Camera Raw, we"ll also process some test images to see how far we can push areas like shadow recovery. We"ll also test its ISO performance across the whole range to get a sense of the levels we"d be happy to push the camera to.

Battery life is tested in a real-world fashion, as we use the camera over the course of the day with the screen set to the default settings. Once the battery has hit zero, we"ll then count the number of shots to see how it compares to the camera"s official CIPA rating. Finally, we test the camera"s video skills by shooting some test footage at different frame rates and resolutions, along with its companion app.

We then take everything we"ve learned about the camera and factor in its price to get a sense of the value for money it offers, before reaching our final verdict.Round up of today"s best deals

A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital,photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices like smartphones with the same or more capabilities and features of dedicated cameras (which are still avaliable).

Digital and digital movie cameras share an optical system, typically using a lens with a variable diaphragm to focus light onto an image pickup device.shutter admit a controlled amount of light to the image, just as with film, but the image pickup device is electronic rather than chemical. However, unlike film cameras, digital cameras can display images on a screen immediately after being recorded, and store and delete images from memory. Many digital cameras can also record moving videos with sound. Some digital cameras can crop and stitch pictures and perform other elementary image editing.

The first semiconductor image sensor was the charge-coupled device (CCD), invented by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith at Bell Labs in 1969,MOS capacitor technology.NMOS active-pixel sensor was later invented by Tsutomu Nakamura"s team at Olympus in 1985,CMOS active-pixel sensor (CMOS sensor) by Eric Fossum"s team at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1993.

In the 1960s, Eugene F. Lally of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was thinking about how to use a mosaic photosensor to capture digital images. His idea was to take pictures of the planets and stars while travelling through space to give information about the astronauts" position.Texas Instruments employee Willis Adcock"s film-less camera (US patent 4,057,830) in 1972,

The Cromemco Cyclops was an all-digital camera introduced as a commercial product in 1975. Its design was published as a hobbyist construction project in the February 1975 issue of RAM (DRAM) memory chip.

Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak, invented and built a self-contained electronic camera that used a CCD image sensor in 1975.Fujifilm began developing CCD technology in the 1970s.

Nikon has been interested in digital photography since the mid-1980s. In 1986, while presenting to Photokina, Nikon introduced an operational prototype of the first SLR-type electronic camera (Still Video Camera), manufactured by Panasonic.pixels. Storage media, a magnetic floppy disk inside the camera allows recording 25 or 50 B&W images, depending on the definition.

At Photokina 1988, Fujifilm introduced the FUJIX DS-1P, the first fully digital camera, capable of saving data to a semiconductor memory card. The camera"s memory card had a capacity of 2 MB of SRAM (static random-access memory), and could hold up to ten photographs. In 1989, Fujifilm released the FUJIX DS-X, the first fully digital camera to be commercially released.Toshiba"s 40 MB flash memory card was adopted for several digital cameras.

The first commercial camera phone was the Kyocera Visual Phone VP-210, released in Japan in May 1999.pixel front-facing camera.digital images, which could be sent over e-mail, or the phone could send up to two images per second over Japan"s Personal Handy-phone System (PHS) cellular network.Samsung SCH-V200, released in South Korea in June 2000, was also one of the first phones with a built-in camera. It had a TFT liquid-crystal display (LCD) and stored up to 20 digital photos at 350,000-pixel resolution. However, it could not send the resulting image over the telephone function, but required a computer connection to access photos.J-SH04, a Sharp J-Phone model sold in Japan in November 2000.cell phones had an integrated digital camera and by the early 2010s, almost all smartphones had an integrated digital camera.

The two major types of digital image sensor are CCD and CMOS. A CCD sensor has one amplifier for all the pixels, while each pixel in a CMOS active-pixel sensor has its own amplifier.back-side-illuminated CMOS (BSI-CMOS) sensor. The image processing capabilities of the camera determine the outcome of the final image quality much more than the sensor type.

The resolution of a digital camera is often limited by the image sensor that turns light into discrete signals. The brighter the image at a given point on the sensor, the larger the value that is read for that pixel.

Depending on the physical structure of the sensor, a color filter array may be used, which requires demosaicing to recreate a full-color image. The number of pixels in the sensor determines the camera"s "pixel count".

In a typical sensor, the pixel count is the product of the number of rows and the number of columns. For example, a 1,000 by 1,000 pixel sensor would have 1,000,000 pixels, or 1 megapixel.

Firmwares" resolution selector allows the user to optionally lower the resolution, to reduce the file size per picture and extend lossless digital zooming. The bottom resolution option is typically 640×480 pixels (0.3 megapixels).

A lower resolution extends the number of remaining photos in free space, postponing the exhaustion of space storage, which is of use where no further data storage device is available, and for captures of lower significance, where the benefit from less space storage consumption outweighs the disadvantage from reduced detail.

The final quality of an image depends on all optical transformations in the chain of producing the image.Carl Zeiss, a German optician, points out that the weakest link in an optical chain determines the final image quality. In the case of the digital camera, a simple way to describe this concept is that the lens determines the maximum sharpness of the image while the image sensor determines the maximum resolution. The illustration on the right can be said to compare a lens with very poor sharpness on a camera with high resolution, to a lens with good sharpness on a camera with lower resolution.

Digital camera, partially disassembled. The lens assembly (bottom right) is partially removed, but the sensor (top right) still captures an image, as seen on the LCD screen (bottom left).

Since the first digital backs were introduced, there have been three main methods of capturing the image, each based on the hardware configuration of the sensor and color filters.

Single-shot capture systems use either one sensor chip with a Bayer filter mosaic, or three separate image sensors (one each for the primary additive colors red, green, and blue) which are exposed to the same image via a beam splitter (see Three-CCD camera).

Multi-shot exposes the sensor to the image in a sequence of three or more openings of the lens aperture. There are several methods of application of the multi-shot technique. The most common was originally to use a single image sensor with three filters passed in front of the sensor in sequence to obtain the additive color information. Another multiple shot method is called microscanning. This method uses a single sensor chip with a Bayer filter and physically moves the sensor on the focus plane of the lens to construct a higher resolution image than the native resolution of the chip. A third version combines these two methods without a Bayer filter on the chip.

The third method is called scanning because the sensor moves across the focal plane much like the sensor of an image scanner. The linear or tri-linear sensors in scanning cameras utilize only a single line of photosensors, or three lines for the three colors. Scanning may be accomplished by moving the sensor (for example, when using color co-site sampling) or by rotating the whole camera. A digital rotating line camera offers images consisting of a total resolution that is very high.

The choice of method for a given capture is determined largely by the subject matter. It is usually inappropriate to attempt to capture a subject that moves with anything but a single-shot system. However, the higher color fidelity and larger file sizes and resolutions that are available with multi-shot and scanning backs make them more attractive for commercial photographers who are working with stationary subjects and large-format photographs.

Improvements in single-shot cameras and image file processing at the beginning of the 21st century made single shot cameras almost completely dominant, even in high-end commercial photography.

Cameras that use a beam-splitter single-shot 3CCD approach, three-filter multi-shot approach, color co-site sampling or Foveon X3 sensor do not use anti-aliasing filters, nor demosaicing.

Firmware in the camera, or a software in a raw converter program such as Adobe Camera Raw, interprets the raw data from the sensor to obtain a full color image, because the RGB color model requires three intensity values for each pixel: one each for the red, green, and blue (other color models, when used, also require three or more values per pixel).

A single sensor element cannot simultaneously record these three intensities, and so a color filter array (CFA) must be used to selectively filter a particular color for each pixel.

The Bayer filter pattern is a repeating 2x2 mosaic pattern of light filters, with green ones at opposite corners and red and blue in the other two positions. The high proportion of green takes advantage of properties of the human visual system, which determines brightness mostly from green and is far more sensitive to brightness than to hue or saturation. Sometimes a 4-color filter pattern is used, often involving two different hues of green. This provides potentially more accurate color, but requires a slightly more complicated interpolation process.

Cameras with digital image sensors that are smaller than the typical 35 mm film size have a smaller field or angle of view when used with a lens of the same focal length. This is because angle of view is a function of both focal length and the sensor or film size used.

The crop factor is relative to the 35mm film format. If a smaller sensor is used, as in most digicams, the field of view is cropped by the sensor to smaller than the 35 mm full-frame format"s field of view. This narrowing of the field of view may be described as crop factor, a factor by which a longer focal length lens would be needed to get the same field of view on a 35 mm film camera. Full-frame digital SLRs utilize a sensor of the same size as a frame of 35 mm film.

Common values for field of view crop in DSLRs using active pixel sensors include 1.3x for some Canon (APS-H) sensors, 1.5x for Sony APS-C sensors used by Nikon, Pentax and Konica Minolta and for Fujifilm sensors, 1.6 (APS-C) for most Canon sensors, ~1.7x for Sigma"s Foveon sensors and 2x for Kodak and Panasonic 4/3-inch sensors currently used by Olympus and Panasonic. Crop factors for non-SLR consumer compact and bridge cameras are larger, frequently 4x or more.

Digital cameras come in a wide range of sizes, prices and capabilities. In addition to general purpose digital cameras, specialized cameras including multispectral imaging equipment and astrographs are used for scientific, military, medical and other special purposes.

Many incorporate a retractable lens assembly that provides optical zoom. In most models, an auto actuating lens cover protects the lens from elements. Most ruggedized or water-resistant models do not retract, and most with superzoom capability do not retract fully.

Compact cameras are usually designed to be easy to use. Almost all include an automatic mode, or "auto mode", which automatically makes all camera settings for the user. Some also have manual controls. Compact digital cameras typically contain a small sensor which trades-off picture quality for compactness and simplicity; images can usually only be stored using lossy compression (JPEG). Most have a built-in flash usually of low power, sufficient for nearby subjects. A few high end compact digital cameras have a hotshoe for connecting to an external flash. Live preview is almost always used to frame the photo on an integrated LCD. In addition to being able to take still photographs almost all compact cameras have the ability to record video.

Compacts often have macro capability and zoom lenses, but the zoom range (up to 30x) is generally enough for candid photography but less than is available on bridge cameras (more than 60x), or the interchangeable lenses of DSLR cameras available at a much higher cost.Autofocus systems in compact digital cameras generally are based on a contrast-detection methodology using the image data from the live preview feed of the main imager. Some compact digital cameras use a hybrid autofocus system similar to what is commonly available on DSLRs.

Typically, compact digital cameras incorporate a nearly silent leaf shutter into the lens but play a simulated camera sound for skeuomorphic purposes.

For low cost and small size, these cameras typically use image sensor formats with a diagonal between 6 and 11 mm, corresponding to a crop factor between 7 and 4. This gives them weaker low-light performance, greater depth of field, generally closer focusing ability, and smaller components than cameras using larger sensors. Some cameras use a larger sensor including, at the high end, a pricey full-frame sensor compact camera, such as Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1, but have capability near that of a DSLR.

Starting in 2011, some compact digital cameras can take 3D still photos. These 3D compact stereo cameras can capture 3D panoramic photos with dual lens or even single lens for play back on a 3D TV.

Rugged compact cameras typically include protection against submersion, hot and cold conditions, shock and pressure. Terms used to describe such properties include waterproof, freeze-proof, heatproof, shockproof and crushproof, respectively. Nearly all major camera manufacturers have at least one product in this category. Some are waterproof to a considerable depth up to 100 feet (30 m);

GoPro and other brands offer action cameras which are rugged, small and can be easily attached to helmets, arms, bicycles, etc. Most have wide angle and fixed focus, and can take still pictures and video, typically with sound.

The 360-degree camera can take picture or video 360 degrees using two lenses back-to-back and shooting at the same time. Some of the cameras are Ricoh Theta S, Nikon Keymission 360 and Samsung Gear 360. Nico360 was launched in 2016 and claimed as the world"s smallest 360-degree camera with size 46 x 46 x 28 mm (1.8 x 1.8 x 1.1 in) and price less than $200. With virtual reality mode built-in stitching, Wifi, and Bluetooth, live streaming can be done. Due to it also being water resistant, the Nico360 can be used as action camera.

Bridge cameras physically resemble DSLRs, and are sometimes called DSLR-shape or DSLR-like. They provide some similar features but, like compacts, they use a fixed lens and a small sensor. Some compact cameras have also PSAM mode.manual focus mode and some have a separate focus ring for greater control.

Big physical size and small sensor allow superzoom and wide aperture. Bridge cameras generally include an image stabilization system to enable longer handheld exposures, sometimes better than DSLR for low light conditions.

As of 2014, bridge cameras come in two principal classes in terms of sensor size, firstly the more traditional 1/2.3" sensor (as measured by image sensor format) which gives more flexibility in lens design and allows for handholdable zoom from 20 to 24 mm (35 mm equivalent) wide angle all the way up to over 1000 mm supertele, and secondly a 1" sensor that allows better image quality particularly in low light (higher ISO) but puts greater constraints on lens design, resulting in zoom lenses that stop at 200 mm (constant aperture, e.g. Sony RX10) or 400 mm (variable aperture, e.g. Panasonic Lumix FZ1000) equivalent, corresponding to an optical zoom factor of roughly 10 to 15.

Some bridge cameras have a lens thread to attach accessories such as wide-angle or telephoto converters as well as filters such as UV or Circular Polarizing filter and lens hoods. The scene is composed by viewing the display or the electronic viewfinder (EVF). Most have a slightly longer shutter lag than a DSLR. Many of these cameras can store images in a raw format in addition to supporting JPEG.

In bright sun, the quality difference between a good compact camera and a digital SLR is minimal but bridge cameras are more portable, cost less and have a greater zoom ability. Thus a bridge camera may better suit outdoor daytime activities, except when seeking professional-quality photos.

In late 2008, a new type of camera emerged, called a DSLR camera that does not require a reflex mirror, a key component of the former. While a typical DSLR has a mirror that reflects light from the lens up to the optical viewfinder, in a mirrorless camera, there is no optical viewfinder. The image sensor is exposed to light at all times, giving the user a digital preview of the image either on the built-in rear LCD screen or an electronic viewfinder (EVF).

These are simpler and more compact than DSLRs due to not having a lens reflex system. MILCs, or mirrorless cameras for short, come with various sensor sizes depending on the brand and manufacturer, these include: a small 1/2.3 inch sensor, as is commonly used in bridge cameras such as the original Pentax Q (more recent Pentax Q versions have a slightly larger 1/1.7 inch sensor); a 1-inch sensor; a Micro Four Thirds sensor; an APS-C sensor found in Sony NEX series and α "DSLR-likes", Fujifilm X series, Pentax K-01, and Canon EOS M; and some, such as the Sony α7, use a full frame (35 mm) sensor, with the Hasselblad X1D being the first medium format mirrorless camera. Some MILCs have a separate electronic viewfinder to compensate the lack of an optical one. In other cameras, the back display is used as the primary viewfinder in the same way as in compact cameras. One disadvantage of mirrorless cameras compared to a typical DSLR is its battery life due to the energy consumption of the electronic viewfinder, but this can be mitigated by a setting inside the camera in some models.

Olympus and Panasonic released many Micro Four Thirds cameras with interchangeable lenses that are fully compatible with each other without any adapter, while others have proprietary mounts. In 2014, Kodak released its first Micro Four Third system camera.

While most digital cameras with interchangeable lenses feature a lens-mount of some kind, there are also a number of modular cameras, where the shutter and sensor are incorporated into the lens module.

The first such modular camera was the Minolta Dimâge V in 1996, followed by the Minolta Dimâge EX 1500 in 1998 and the Minolta MetaFlash 3D 1500 in 1999. In 2009, Ricoh released the Ricoh GXR modular camera.

At CES 2013, Sakar International announced the Polaroid iM1836, an 18MP camera with 1"-sensor with interchangeable sensor-lens. An adapter for Micro Four Thirds, Nikon and K-mount lenses was planned to ship with the camera.

There are also a number of add-on camera modules for smartphones, they are called lens-style cameras (lens camera or smart lens). They contain all the essential components of a digital camera inside a DSLR lens-shaped module, hence the name, but lack any sort of viewfinder and most controls of a regular camera. Instead, they are connected wirelessly and/or mounted to a smartphone to be used as its display output and operate the camera"s various controls.

Sony Cyber-shot QX series "Smart Lens" or "SmartShot" cameras, announced and released in mid 2013 with the Cyber-shot DSC-QX10. In January 2014, a firmware update was announced for the DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100.DSC-QX30 as well as the Alpha ILCE-QX1,Sony E-mount instead of a built-in lens.

Kodak PixPro smart lens camera series, announced in 2014. These include: the 5X optical zoom SL5, 10X optical zoom SL10, and the 25X optical zoom SL25; all featuring 16MP sensors and 1080p video recording, except for the SL5 which caps at 720p.

Olympus Air A01 lens camera, announced in 2014 and released in 2015, the lens camera is an open platform with an Android operating system and can detach into 2 parts (sensor module and lens), just like the Sony QX1, and all compatible Micro Four Thirds lenses can then be attached to the built-in lens mount of the camera"s sensor module.

Digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLR) is a camera with a digital sensor that utilizes a reflex mirror to split or direct light into the viewfinder to produce an image.

The sensor also known as a full-frame sensor is much larger than the other types, typically 18mm to 36mm on the diagonal (crop factor 2, 1.6, or 1).interchangeable lenses for versatility by removing it from the lens mount of the camera, typically a silver ring on the front side of DSLRs.

Digital Still Camera (DSC), such as the Sony DSC cameras, is a type of camera that doesn"t use a reflex mirror. DSCs are like point-and-shoot cameras and are the most common type of cameras, due to their comfortable price and its quality.

Cameras with fixed semi-transparent mirrors, also known as DSLT cameras, such as the Sony SLT cameras, are single-lens without a moving reflex mirror as in a conventional DSLR. A semi-transparent mirror transmits some of the light to the image sensor and reflects some of the light along the path to a pentaprism/pentamirror which then goes to an optical view finder (OVF) as is done with a reflex mirror in DSLR cameras. The total amount of light is not changed, just some of the light travels one path and some of it travels the other. The consequences are that DSLT cameras should shoot a half stop differently from DSLR. One advantage of using a DSLT camera is the blind moments a DSLR user experiences while the reflecting mirror is moved to send the light to the sensor instead of the viewfinder do not exist for DSLT cameras. Because there is no time at which light is not traveling along both paths, DSLT cameras get the benefit of continuous auto-focus tracking. This is especially beneficial for burst-mode shooting in low-light conditions and also for tracking when taking video.

A rangefinder is a device to measure subject distance, with the intent to adjust the focus of a camera"s objective lens accordingly (open-loop controller). The rangefinder and lens focusing mechanism may or may not be coupled. In common parlance, the term "rangefinder camera" is interpreted very narrowly to denote manual-focus cameras with a visually-read out optical rangefinder based on parallax. Most digital cameras achieve focus through analysis of the image captured by the objective lens and distance estimation, if it is provided at all, is only a byproduct of the focusing process (closed-loop controller).

A San Francisco cable car, imaged using an Alkeria Necta N4K2-7C line scan camera with a shutter speed of 250 microseconds, or 4000 frames per second.

A line-scan camera traditionally has a single row of pixel sensors, instead of a matrix of them. The lines are continuously fed to a computer that joins them to each other and makes an image.frame grabber which resides in a PCI slot of an industrial computer. The frame grabber acts to buffer the image and sometimes provide some processing before delivering to the computer software for processing. Industrial processes often require height and width measurements performed by digital line-scan systems.

Many industrial applications require a wide field of view. Traditionally maintaining consistent light over large 2D areas is quite difficult. With a line scan camera all that is necessary is to provide even illumination across the “line” currently being viewed by the camera. This makes sharp pictures of objects that pass the camera at high speed.

Such cameras are also commonly used to make photo finishes, to determine the winner when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. They can also be used as industrial instruments for analyzing fast processes.

Line-scan cameras are also extensively used in imaging from satellites (see push broom scanner). In this case the row of sensors is perpendicular to the direction of satellite motion. Line-scan cameras are widely used in scanners. In this case, the camera moves horizontally.

This type of digital camera captures information about the light field emanating from a scene; that is, the intensity of light in a scene, and also the direction that the light rays are traveling in space. This contrasts with a conventional digital camera, which records only light intensity.

Many devices have a built-in digital camera, including, for example, smartphones, mobile phones, PDAs and laptop computers. Built-in cameras generally store the images in the JPEG file format.

Mobile phones incorporating digital cameras were introduced in Japan in 2001 by J-Phone. In 2003 camera phones outsold stand-alone digital cameras, and in 2006 they outsold film and digital stand-alone cameras. Five billion camera phones were sold in five years, and by 2007 more than half of the installed base of all mobile phones were camera phones. Sales of separate cameras peaked in 2008.

There are many manufacturers that lead in the production of digital cameras (commonly DSLRs). Each brand embodies different mission statements that differ them from each other outside of the physical technology that they produce. While the majority of manufacturers share modern features amongst their production of cameras, some specialize in specific details either physically on camera or within the system and image quality.

A Nikon D200 camera with a Nikon 17-55 mm / 2,8 G AF-S DX IF-ED lens and a Nikon SB-800 flash. Flashes are used as attachment to a camera to provide light to the image, timed with the shutter of the camera.

Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 lens mounted on a Canon 7D camera body. Lenses of varying lengths can be equipped onto main camera bodies to provide different perspectives for an image taken.

Sales of traditional digital cameras have declined due to the increasing use of smartphones for casual photography, which also enable easier manipulation and sharing of photos through the use of apps and web-based services. "Bridge cameras", in contrast, have held their ground with functionality that most smartphone cameras lack, such as optical zoom and other advanced features.

In response to the convenience and flexibility of smartphone cameras, some manufacturers produced "smart" digital cameras that combine features of traditional cameras with those of a smartphone. In 2012, Nikon and Samsung released the Coolpix S800c and Galaxy Camera, the first two digital cameras to run the Android operating system. Since this software platform is used in many smartphones, they can integrate with some of the same services (such as e-mail attachments, social networks and photo sharing sites) that smartphones do and use other Android-compatible software.

In an inversion, some phone makers have introduced smartphones with cameras designed to resemble traditional digital cameras. Nokia released the 808 PureView and Lumia 1020 in 2012 and 2013; the two devices respectively run the Symbian and Windows Phone operating systems, and both include a 41-megapixel camera (along with a camera grip attachment for the latter).Galaxy S4 Mini with the Galaxy Camera.Leica fixed lens equivalent of 28 mm at F2.8, can take RAW image and 4K video, has 21 mm thickness.Huawei P20 Pro is an android Oreo 8.1 has triple Leica lenses in the back of the smartphone with 40MP 1/1.7" RGB sensor as first lens, 20MP 1/2.7" monochrome sensor as second lens and 8MP 1/4" RGB sensor with 3x optical zoom as third lens.bokeh image with larger high dynamic range, whereas combination of mega pixel first lens and optical zoom will produce maximum 5x digital zoom without loss of quality by reducing the image size to 8MP.

After a big dip of sales in 2012, consumer digital camera sales declined again in 2013 by 36 percent. In 2011, compact digital cameras sold 10 million per month. In 2013, sales fell to about 4 million per month. DSLR and MILC sales also declined in 2013 by 10–15% after almost ten years of double digit growth.

Film camera sales hit their peak at about 37 million units in 1997, while digital camera sales began in 1989. By 2008, the film camera market had died and digital camera sales hit their peak at 121 million units in 2010. In 2002, cell phones with an integrated camera had been introduced and in 2003 the cell phone with an integrated camera had sold 80 million units per year. By 2011, cell phones with an integrated camera were selling hundreds of millions per year, which were causing a decline in digital cameras. In 2015, digital camera sales were 35 million units or only less than a third of digital camera sales numbers at their peak and also slightly less than film camera sold number at their peak.

Early cameras used the PC serial port. USB is now the most widely used method (most cameras are viewable as USB mass storage), though some have a FireWire port. Some cameras use USB PTP mode for connection instead of USB MSC; some offer both modes.

Other cameras use wireless connections, via Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, such as the Kodak EasyShare One. Wi-Fi integrated Memory cards (SDHC, SDXC) can transmit stored images, video and other files to computers or smartphones. Mobile operating systems such as Android allow automatic upload and backup or sharing of images over Wi-Fi to photo sharing and cloud services.

Cameras with integrated Wi-Fi or specific Wi-Fi adapters mostly allow camera control, especially shutter release, exposure control and more (tethering) from computer or smartphone apps additionally to the transfer of media data.

Cameraphones and some high-end stand-alone digital cameras also use cellular networks to connect for sharing images. The most common standard on cellular networks is the MMS Multimedia Messaging Service, commonly called "picture messaging". The second method with smartphones is to send a picture as an email attachment. Many old cameraphones, however, do not support email.

A common alternative is the use of a card reader which may be capable of reading several types of storage media, as well as high speed transfer of data to the computer. Use of a card reader also avoids draining the camera battery during the download process. An external card reader allows convenient direct access to the images on a collection of storage media. But if only one storage card is in use, moving it back and forth between the camera and the reader can be inconvenient. Many computers have a card reader built in, at least for SD cards.

Many modern cameras support the PictBridge standard, which allows them to send data directly to a PictBridge-capable computer printer without the need for a computer.

An instant-print camera, is a digital camera with a built-in printer.instant camera which uses instant film to quickly generate a physical photograph. Such non-digital cameras were popularized by Polaroid with the SX-70 in 1972.

Many digital cameras include a video output port. Usually sVideo, it sends a standard-definition video signal to a television, allowing the user to show one picture at a time. Buttons or menus on the camera allow the user to select the photo, advance from one to another, or automatically send a "slide show" to the TV.

In January 2008, Silicon Image announced a new technology for sending video from mobile devices to a television in digital form. MHL sends pictures as a video stream, up to 1080p resolution, and is compatible with HDMI.

Some DVD recorders and television sets can read memory cards used in cameras; alternatively several types of flash card readers have TV output capability.

Cameras can be equipped with a varying amount of environmental sealing to provide protection against splashing water, moisture (humidity and fog), dust and sand, or complete waterproofness to a certain depth and for a certain duration. The latter is one of the approaches to allow underwater photography, the other approach being the use of waterproof housings. Many waterproof digital cameras are also shockproof and resistant to low temperatures.

Some waterproof cameras can be fitted with a waterproof housing to increase the operational depth range. The Olympus "Tough" range of compact cameras is an example.

Many digital cameras have preset modes for different applications. Within the constraints of correct exposure various parameters can be changed, including exposure, aperture, focusing, light metering, white balance, and equivalent sensitivity. For example, a portrait might use a wider aperture to render the background out of focus, and would seek out and focus on a human face rather than other image content.

Vendors implement a variety scene modes in cameras" firmwares for various purposes, such as a "landscape mode" which prevents focusing on rainy and/or stained window glass such as a windshield, and a "sports mode" which reduces motion blur of moving subjects by reducing exposure time with the help of increased light sensitivity. Firmwares may be equipped with the ability to select a suitable scene mode automatically through artificial intelligence.

Many camera phones and most stand alone digital cameras store image data in flash memory cards or other removable media. Most stand-alone cameras use SD format, while a few use CompactFlash or other types. In January 2012, a faster XQD card format was announced.hot-swappable memory slots. Photographers can swap one of the memory card with camera-on. Each memory slot can accept either Compact Flash or SD Card. All new Sony cameras also have two memory slots, one for its Memory Stick and one for SD Card, but not hot-swapable.

The approximate count of remaining photos until space exhaustion is calculated by the firmware throughout use and indicated in the viewfinder, to prepare the user for an impending necessary hot swap of the memory card, and/or file offload.

A few cameras used other removable storage such as Microdrives (very small hard disk drives), CD single (185 MB), and 3.5" floppy disks (e. g. Sony Mavica). Other unusual formats include:

Onboard (internal) flash memory — Cheap cameras and cameras secondary to the device"s main use (such as a camera phone). Some have small capacities such as 100 Megabytes and less, where intended use is buffer storage for uninterrupted operation during a memory card hot swap.

Most manufacturers of digital cameras do not provide drivers and software to allow their cameras to work with Linux or other free software.USB mass storage and/or Media Transfer Protocol, and are thus widely supported. Other cameras are supported by the gPhoto project, and many computers are equipped with a memory card reader.

The Joint Photography Experts Group standard (JPEG) is the most common file format for storing image data. Other file types include Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) and various Raw image formats.

Many cameras, especially high-end ones, support a raw image format. A raw image is the unprocessed set of pixel data directly from the camera"s sensor, often saved in a proprietary format. Adobe Systems has released the DNG format, a royalty-free raw image format used by at least 10 camera manufacturers.

Raw files initially had to be processed in specialized image editing programs, but over time many mainstream editing programs, such as Google"s Picasa, have added support for raw images. Rendering to standard images from raw sensor data allows more flexibility in making major adjustments without losing image quality or retaking the picture.

Formats for movies are AVI, DV, MPEG, MOV (often containing motion JPEG), WMV, and ASF (basically the same as WMV). Recent formats include MP4, which is based on the QuickTime format and uses newer compression algorithms to allow longer recording times in the same space.

Other formats that are used in cameras (but not for pictures) are the Design Rule for Camera Format (DCF), an ISO specification, used in almost all camera since 1998, which defines an internal file structure and naming. Also used is the Digital Print Order Format (DPOF), which dictates what order images are to be printed in and how many copies. The DCF 1998 defines a logical file system with 8.3 filenames and makes the usage of either FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 or exFAT mandatory for its physical layer in order to maximize platform interoperability.

Most cameras include Exif data that provides metadata about the picture. Exif data may include aperture, exposure time, focal length, date and time taken. Some are able to tag the location.

In order to guarantee interoperability, DCF specifies the file system for image and sound files to be used on formatted DCF media (like removable or non-removable memory) as FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, or exFAT.

The filesystem in a digital camera contains a DCIM (Digital Camera IMages) directory, which can contain multiple subdirectories with names such as "123ABCDE" that consist of a unique directory number (in the range 100...999) and five alphanumeric characters, which may be freely chosen and often refer to a camera maker. These directories contain files with names such as "ABCD1234.JPG" that consist of four alphanumeric characters (often "100_", "DSC0", "DSCF", "IMG_", "MOV_", or "P000"), followed by a number. Handling of directories with possibly user-created duplicate numbers may vary among camera firmwares.

To enable loading many images in miniature view quickly and efficiently, and to retain meta data, some vendors" firmwares generate accompanying low-resolution thumbnail files for videos and raw photos. For example, those of Canon cameras end with .THM.

Digital cameras have become smaller over time, resulting in an ongoing need to develop a battery small enough to fit in the camera and yet able to power it for a reasonable length of time.

The most common class of battery used in digital cameras is proprietary battery formats. These are built to a manufacturer"s custom specifications. Almost all proprietary batteries are lithium-ion. In addition to being available from the OEM, aftermarket replacement batteries are commonly available for most camera models.

Digital cameras that utilize off-the-shelf batteries are typically designed to be able to use both single-use disposable and rechargeable batteries, but not with both types in use at the same time. The most common off-the-shelf battery size used is AA. CR2, CR-V3 batteries, and AAA batteries are also used in some cameras. The CR2 and CR-V3 batteries are lithium based, intended for a single use. Rechargeable RCR-V3 lithium-ion batteries are also available as an alternative to non-rechargeable CR-V3 batteries.

When digital cameras became common, many photographers asked whether their film cameras could be converted to digital. The answer was not immediately clear, as it differed among models. For the majority of 35 mm film cameras the answer is no, the reworking and cost would be too great, especially as lenses have been evolving as well as cameras. For most a conversion to digital, to give enough space for the electronics and allow a liquid crystal display to preview, would require removing the back of the camera and replacing it with a custom built digital unit.

Many early professional SLR cameras, such as the Kodak DCS series, were developed from 35 mm film cameras. The technology of the time, however, meant that rather than being digital "backs" the bodies of these cameras were mounted on large, bulky digital units, often bigger than the camera portion itself. These were factory built cameras, however, not aftermarket conversions.

A few 35 mm cameras have had digital camera backs made by their manufacturer, Leica being a notable example. Medium format and large format cameras (those using film stock greater than 35 mm), have a low unit production, and typical digital backs for them cost over $10,000. These cameras also tend to be highly modular, with handgrips, film backs, winders, and lenses available separately to fit various needs.

The very large sensor these backs use leads to enormous image sizes. For example, Phase One"s P45 39 MP image back creates a single TIFF image of size up to 224.6 MB, and even greater pixel counts are available. Medium format digitals such as this are geared more towards studio and portrait photography than their smaller DSLR counterparts; the ISO speed in particular tends to have a maximum of 400, versus 6400 for some DSLR cameras. (Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and Nikon D3S have ISO 12800 plus Hi-3 ISO 102400 with the Canon EOS-1Dx"s ISO of 204800).

In the industrial and high-end professional photography market, some camera systems use modular (removable) image sensors. For example, some medium format SLR cameras, such as the Mamiya 645D series, allow installation of either a digital camera back or a traditional photographic film back.

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