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This sounds like a question from a quiz or exam! Assuming you are not talking about film sizes, but rather basic camera types, here are some rough descriptions: 1. View (or Technical)
This is the big wood box that uses sheet film. A ground glass plate is inserted first where the film would go and you focus the image on the glass plate. Then you take the glass plate off and replace it with a film holder, remove a "dark slide" that protects it from light, trip the shutter, replace the dark slide, and remove the film holder. This is the only camera besides the SLR (see #5 below) that gives you a WYSIWYG image on the ground glass screen. 2. Viewfinder
A pretty simple camera, these use roll film and have some aiming device to help aim the camera. Most P&S's are viewfinder cameras. Sometimes, on very early ones, the "viewfinder" was merely a square piece of wire mounted on top of the camera box. If there is a focus mechanism, it is done by guessing and setting it on a scale marked in feet or one of several positions called zone focusing. 3. Rangefinder (RF)
Similar to a "viewfinder" but more sophisticated. The viewfinder has a rangefinder built in that shows a split image of some type, typically a center spot. When the two images align, it's focused. 4. Twin Lens Reflex (TLR)
Has two lenses, a taking lens with shutter in front of the film and a viewing lens in front of an angled mirror that displays the image onto a ground glass screen on top of the camera body. The two lenses move together on a single lens board. When the image is in focus on the ground glass screen, the taking lens is automatically focused to the film plane. 5. Single Lens Reflex
Very similar to a TLR, the viewing and taking lens are the same. The mirror, instead of being fixed, flips up out of the way when the shutter is relased. Very early ones did not have a pentaprism, but only the ground glass screen on top of the body. Later ones added a pentaprism above the ground glass screen to make the image correct left to right instead of backwards, which is what you see on a TLR ground glass. This is the only camera type other than a view camera that essentially gives you WYSIWYG in the viewfinder through the taking lens. All the others (except the view camera) have a parallax difference between the aiming device and the taking lens. Not usually a problem if you are over about 6-10 feet away, but can be if you are closer. -- John
January 24, 2001
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