The first camera on my hand was a point-and-shoot film camera. I used it to get photos of my thesis experiment. All photos were stored to camera film. Then the film were brought to camera lab for developing.
Shooting with a film camera requires a lot of skills. Results of every shot lies between good and bad. A complete waste of film if the results are all bad.
I was able to acquire my first digital camera after few years of regular job. A Canon Powershot A510. Every shot can be viewed immediately via small lcd screen. Keep the photo if good, delete if bad and shoot again. It is a great advantage over a film point-and-shoot.
The digital evolution of camera killed the business of many photo studios. Price of digital cameras became more affordable year after year. Cost of printing also went down cause computer shops can be found almost everywhere. Camera integration with mobile phones worsen the situation.
Last week, I went to a nearby shopping mall to buy SD card for my digital camera. The maximum size readable is 2G. I got an 8G instead. The store said that capacity of stocks are 4G. Ouch! They are phasing out the 2G capacities. To solve my problem I moved the pictures from my old 2G SD card to a newly bought 8G.
I felt the need for a new digicam. Besides, this point-and-shoot has to many limitations. 1) focusing a near and small object is hard 2) a night shot is grainy and focus is often not possible 3) interval of every shot is too long – not suitable for fast phase occasions like sports, circus and dance parties. 4) cannot capture fireworks and 5) limited zoom ability.
A DSLR camera might suit my needs. I am now saving money for it. However, a new line of camera is invading the market – the mirrorless. I am afraid that dslr might got outdated soon.
Here is the trend. 1) TLR, the twin lens reflex. It has two lenses. One lens for getting snapshot and the other lens serve as the optical viewfinder 2) SLR, the single lens reflex. One lens only 3) DSLR, film was removed and replaced with a digital technology. 4) Mirrorless. Removal of mirrorbox and pentaprism allows the placement of image sensor in front of lens. Manufacture of camera that is as small as point-and-shoot and has the capablities of dslr became possible.
Current dslr technology is still far superior than mirrorless. However, the technology advancement is fast. Mirroless technology might outwit the dslr before we know it.
