Types of Film Cameras: SLR, Rangefinder, TLR, Point-and-Shoot and View Cameras

Film cameras come in a few basic designs, and each one shapes how you work: how you see the scene, how you focus, how big and loud the camera is, and what film it takes. Here is how the main types differ and what each does best.

Single-lens reflex (SLR)

An SLR uses a mirror behind the lens to send the image up to a focusing screen and through a prism to your eye. You see exactly what the lens sees, including depth of field and the effect of filters. When you press the shutter, the mirror flips up and a focal plane shutter just in front of the film opens.

SLRs take interchangeable lenses from ultra-wide to long telephoto and macro, which makes them the most versatile film cameras. Manual-focus 35mm SLRs from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus and Minolta are plentiful and affordable; later autofocus models add matrix metering and motor drives. The mirror makes them louder and bulkier than rangefinders.

Rangefinder

A rangefinder camera views the scene through a separate window. To focus, you line up two overlapping images in the center of the viewfinder; the rangefinder mechanism is coupled to the lens. With no mirror, rangefinders are quiet, compact and vibration free, good for street photography and slow handheld shutter speeds.

The trade-offs: the viewfinder shows framelines rather than the lens's actual view, so it suffers parallax at close distances; long lenses and close-ups are awkward; and you can't see depth of field. Leica M cameras are the best known, with Voigtländer, Canon and the fixed-lens Canonet and Yashica Electro 35 as cheaper options.

Twin-lens reflex (TLR)

A TLR has two matched lenses, one above the other. The top lens throws an image onto a waist-level ground glass you look down into; the bottom lens takes the picture. Most TLRs use 120 film for 6x6 negatives and have a quiet leaf shutter in the lens. Rolleiflex and Rolleicord are the classics; Yashica Mat and Mamiya C series (with interchangeable lenses) are popular alternatives.

Looking down rather than at your subject makes TLRs excellent for portraits. The image on the screen is reversed left to right, which takes some getting used to, and parallax affects close-ups.

Medium format SLRs and systems

Medium format SLRs use 120 film and often modular parts: interchangeable lenses, viewfinders and film backs that let you switch film mid-roll. The Hasselblad V system, Mamiya RB67 and RZ67, Bronica and Pentax 67 are the best known. Rangefinder-style medium format cameras like the Mamiya 7 and Fuji GW690 are lighter and quieter. See film formats for the frame sizes.

Point-and-shoot cameras

Point-and-shoots are compact cameras with automatic exposure and, from the 1980s onward, autofocus and a built-in flash. Simple models have fixed-focus plastic lenses; premium ones from the 1990s, such as the Contax T2, Nikon 35Ti and Olympus Mju-II, have sharp lenses and are expensive today. Most read DX codes and can't be overridden, so you shoot film at box speed.

View cameras and large format

A view camera is a lens and a film holder connected by flexible bellows. You compose and focus on a ground glass under a dark cloth, then insert a sheet film holder and expose. The front and rear standards can tilt, shift and swing, giving control over perspective and the plane of focus that no other camera offers. See large format movements.

Monorail cameras are most adjustable; field cameras fold up for carrying. Press cameras, like the Graflex Speed Graphic and Crown Graphic, are rugged large format cameras that can be handheld.

Other types

Folding cameras collapse a lens and bellows into a compact body, and often take 120 film in 6x4.5, 6x6 or 6x9.
Box cameras and toy cameras, like the Kodak Brownie, Holga and Diana, have simple lenses and fixed settings, and are loved for their unpredictable look.
Pinhole cameras have no lens at all, just a tiny hole, giving soft images with near infinite depth of field and long exposures.
Instant cameras use Polaroid or Instax film for prints in minutes.

Which type to choose

If you want	Consider
One camera that does everything	A 35mm SLR
Quiet, discreet street photography	A 35mm rangefinder or point-and-shoot
Medium format at a reasonable price	A TLR
Maximum quality and control	A 4x5 view camera
Simplicity in a pocket	A point-and-shoot

See the film camera pages for sample photos members have taken with each camera.