Before we know about the specifications of purchasing a camera (if forgotten to read this: “Know before buying a camera: teaching you to know what is the sensor size, focal length, aperture?”). Today we are going to face another irritating problem: I would like to ask you whether you drop a “golden” SLR, or a “silver” SLR-Like into the lake?
First of all, regardless of the golden and silver ax (Chinese proverbs!), I think you don’t even know which SLR, MILC or SLR-Like you have dropped when the goddess asked. Although there are differences in the names of these three things obviously if you look at the names and you knew what’s the matter, then why would I write about this? So today I’m going to use the easiest way to teach everyone the difference between these three common cameras “names” and let you know which should you buy! Now we will get started with the DSLR!
Professional must-have, the first choice for hipster wanna-be, for people who aren’t afraid of weight DSLR
DSLR can be said is the eldest in the three kinds of camera, which has already appeared from the old old days of the film era, and is still the first choice for professional usage, where there is almost no change in the internal structure. The only difference is that the electronic performance (focusing) is improved and the internal photosensitive element has changed from the previous film kind to the current digital photosensitive element CMOS. The big guy which is shooting the cat is the DSLR!DSLR is the abbreviation of Digital single-lens reflex camera. Don’t be confused!
PS: DSLR is digital, where else SLR refers to the old guy that use to take retro film photographs.
Why does DSLR be so big and so heavy? Besides the outer shell, the distinct feature is that the DSLR camera uses a “reflective mirror” in the viewing window. This allows the user to see the scene directly through the lens (the mirror is in the middle of the round hole in the figure above). This mirror will snap up when you press the shutter, and then fall when the shutter closes. This component is not only the cause of the “massive size” of the DSLR camera but also the main
cause of the loud shutter sound from the DSLR.
But why professionals should use DSLR? Below are the explanations:
1.Variations of lens to choose : Due to the long history of DSLR cameras, like Nikon’s which nearly a century factory, it basically already has hundreds of lens options, so as long as you have the money, basically it is very easy to access to suitable lenses for any themes, which is suitable for professional who shoots in various scene.
2.Optical viewing window: The viewing window of a DSLR camera (besides to Sony) mostly uses an optical viewing window. That is, the picture you see is a real-time picture that is directly viewed from the camera. Therefore, for some of the applications, it is more convenient for framing and focusing.
3.Looks like a pro: For most of the consumers, using a DSLR is a symbol of professionalism. Perhaps you know that some MILC has also good picture quality performance (such as Sony A7R), but the problem is that your customers don’t get it! Think about it, if a newlywed pays for wedding photography, and you used a MILC, do you think that client could accept it? Please consider the customer’s feelings as professionals then!
Unless you have a special reason, a DSLR is basically your best choice for professional photography purposes. Of course, if you want wanted to shoot about children, cats and dogs, and being more hipster, it is also very suitable for you to choose DSLR too, but in the speak of it obtain high-frequency of using single eyes and carrying weigh of more than seven hundred grams. If you do tired to carry a small backpack, then I think you should dispel the idea of getting DSLR!
Travel-friendly ultra-light body for carrying easier, don’t afraid of the lens exchange:
MILC( Mirrorless Interchangeable-Lens Camera )
To be honest, basically, there is no difference in MILC with DSLR, the design of MILC from some camera factory even simply share the same sensor with their own DSLR! Due to some people might think that MILC are less professional and the quality of pictures is relatively poor, but if you have already made up your mind to follow the footsteps of my tiny workshop of photography, then please drop this prejudice! As long as the camera itself and photography technique is not bad, using a good lens can also shoot beautiful photos! Even some high-end MILC has no problem to beat the DSLR!
But whey is MILC so light and tiny? This is because the MILC took away the “reflective mirror” structure mentioned earlier. As long as you remove the MILC lens, you can see the green squares in the middle of the above figure. That is the camera’s photosensitive sensor! This is usually not visible on a DSLR, because it has been blocked by the reflective mirror and shutter! Due of the lack of reflective mirror, MILC is able to change lenses just like DSLR, but also, in general, having some differences:
1. Shutter sound is low: Without the sound of the reflective mirror and shutter, the MILC can be said to be “mosquito-like” compared to the “airplane-like” DRLS. If you are afraid of disturbing others during photography, while also balancing the quality of the images, MILC will be the only choice.
2. Ultra-light and thin camera’s body: In addition without the optical viewing windows, reflective mirror, and other miscellaneous parts, the MILC is a small and light guy, without distracting the image quality! So if you can’t run around with heavy stuff every day, the MILC is the high-end camera you should put into your bag!
3. Fewer options for the lens, but more options with an adapter: After all, the history of MILC is relatively short, thus it is undoubtedly a shame to compare the number of the lens with the old factory. However, MILC have a special feature: there are many options for the lens that can be adapted. Through the adapter ring, the MILC can almost adapt to all available lenses on the market (I will open an independent article to talk about the principle later), such as the Leica Summicron 50mm in my hand (more than 50 years old mirror! ) which is introduced by Leica, but not Sony’s original production. So as long as you are not afraid of manually focus, MILC is a good choice for you to have fun with.
4. More power consumption: Because the MILC uses electronic viewing windows or directly letting you to use the screen on the back of the camera to focus on framing, the disadvantage of keeping the LCD screen on is that it consumes more power. However, this is not a big deal, basically, just bring more batteries to hold it for few days.
5. More scene modes: To be honest, I personally think that this is not a MILC feature, just because the manufacturers of DSLR cameras (basically refers to Canon, Nikon, Sony, and more) have less desire to put these modes in DSLR. But also because of this, if you are not the kind of crazy man who manually controls the entire camera, most of the MILC has built-in various kind of scene modes, which is a good choice to simply take good pictures.
The above figure is what mentions in the fourth point above “more power consumption”. Because without the reflector mirror in the MILC, there is no way to allow user to view the actual scene directly from the camera like DSLR camera, where it is necessary to see after the transaction in the LCD screen on the camera. Therefore, the MILC’s focusing and framing must be viewed directly through the LCD screen as shown in the above figure. If you are still used to view through the viewing window, pay special attention to whether or not the camera is equipped with an electronic viewing window. ! For example, the NEX-7 on the figure above has an electronic viewing window (upper left corner, but in fact, it’s still tiny screen), while the low-end camera would not have this feature.
Please don’t say anything about how bad is MILC. From the A7R in the figure above, it is not the grade that can be defeated by the low-end DSLR. If you compare Sony’s latest high-sensitivity beast A7S, even some high-end DSLR can only be given in. Of course, DSLR still has better features than in MILC, but if you only like to take photos, like to travel without carrying heavy stuff, and you good with changing lenses, then MILC is your good choice!
OK with any kinds of shot, for people who aren’t willing to understand the fun of changing lens: SLR-Like
Based on Wikipedia’s definitions, SLR-Like is an intermediate product between compact camera and a DSLR. “Like” which means “almost the same”. Therefore, SLR-Like are products that is DSLR product but not exactly. Let’s not talk about how the previous SLR-Like camera was manufacture, in the case of the SLR-Like camera today, there is basically a very high level of both the sensor size and the lens rating, such as the Canon G1X 1.5. sensor, Sony RX100 series of Zeiss lenses, etc., have made the recent launch of SLR-Like not inferior to the low-end MILC image quality performance. Even if you want to say that it’s a MILC camera that cannot change lenses, it is not an exaggeration. So the monotonous consumer market is actually very clear, let’s first list it:
1. People who don’t want to change lens: You don’t even want to mess up with changing lens, you just want photograph!
2. Thinks that DC is numb: If a high-end camera that can’t change the lens is SLR-Like, then it appears the monsters Sony RX1 with high definition of images in the SLR-Like world, so if you think that changing the lens is a hassle and the digital camera is really numb, then the SLR-Like is your choice.
3. Don’t want to get MILC or DSLR, but wanted to take pictures with blurred background: Shooting a photo with the blurred background seems likable to make a beautiful girl be even more beautiful, this feature seems very important in this case. If you think MILC and DSLR are troublesome, but you want to shoot beautiful bokeh photos with a smaller camera, then I suggest you to buy a new SLR-Like! Enlarge the aperture with a larger sensor will make your wish comes true.
If you fulfill any of the above, I would recommend you not to consider to get MILC or DSLR, go and
grab for your desire SLR-Like camera, according to your budget, appearance, and brand!
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