Hybrid Cameras

Hybrid cameras, also called mirror less cameras, are a new breed of camera that combine the compactness of your compact digital camera with the picture quality of a digital single lens reflex camera. The modern hybrid cameras don't have a single lens reflex mirror taking away some of the bulk of a DSLR, but have a larger image sensor than your standard compact digital for better photos. A hybrid camera also doesn't have a standard viewfinder as in a DSLR, but rather uses an LCD screen or an electronic viewfinder that can be purchased separately. The hybrid cameras have interchangeable lenses like a DSLR, which makes them versatile enough for getting various types of shots. Additionally , they take incredible HD video in 780p or 1080p format.

Hybrid cameras are the answer to that middle market of customers who do not want to put money into luxury DSLRs, but would like to get better quality pictures than a compact digital. The hybrids are compact enough to transport around without difficulty. On many models, you are able to instantly record HD video without dealing with a menu. Most models run in the $300 - $1,000 range, which makes them very reasonably priced to many people.

Olympus and Panasonic use what's called a micro four thirds format for interchangeable lenses. It is an attempt to make a standard format for digital camera lenses making it possible to exchange with advanced DSLR lenses. Micro four thirds refer to the ratio of the image sensor, which is a 4 X 3. This dimension is smaller than an ordinary 35mm, but about Ten times larger than a typical digital compact. The increased size and quality enable the photographer to shoot in lower light without worrying about graininess associated with smaller image sensors.

Many major camera brands have come out with their own version of a hybrid camera. Panasonic led the way with the Lumix G1, then came Olympus with the PEN series. Sony announced the NEX 3 and 5. Nikon and Canon have promises to create hybrids very soon.

With all the hype surrounding the modern hybrid cameras, it remains to be seen if the marketplace for this kind of camera will take off. Sales have steadily increased since 2008 and it's predicted to take off by 2012.

Hybrids offer the best of both worlds. They are compact enough to cart around easily and powerful enough to take great photos.

An electronic digital camera works similar to film camera in that light comes in through the lens and is captured to create a picture. The way the image is captured is what makes a digital camera very different compared to a film camera. With a film camera, you press the shutter button which opens the shutter letting in the light. The light entering the lens is exposed to the film and results in chemical reactions on the film to produce your photograph. In a digital camera the picture is captured with an image sensor that converts the light rays into electronic signals which are then saved in a file in the buffer memory.

The light detector or image sensor is known as a charged couple device (CCD) and it is comprised of individual light sensitive picture elements popularly known as pixels. Digital cameras are usually measured in megapixels or millions of pixels. A camera which has a 3000 x 2000 array of pixels within the image sensor would contain 6,000,000 pixels and would be referred to as a 6 megapixel camera. Once the light hits the CCD it breaks it down into the millions of pixels and measures the amount of light and color to get a number for each pixel. Your digital picture is truly a long string of numbers that's stored at a file in memory. The LCD screen on the back of the camera shows you the image that the CCD is capturing.

Digital photographs should be compressed or the file size would be enormous and occupy way too much memory. The most frequent compressed format is JPG which stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. The larger the amount of photo info is kept the greater the picture quality and the bigger the file. The more compressed the photo is, the lower the quality and the smaller the file size. The smaller file size makes for shorter load times plus you'll be able to store more photos in memory. One does sacrifice quality however.

The fact that digital images are stored digitally means they easier to store, share and manipulate. When you open up an image inside an editor such as Photoshop, you'll be able to change the quality of the photo by clicking on a setting. Once you do this it changes the numbers which the pixels are storing to create the effect. For instance, if you want to make the picture 10% brighter, the image editor would alter the pixel numbers by 10 % to show increased light or brightness. Some digital camera models have built-in effects and you may create a photographic effect within the camera immediately after you take the picture. Something you cannot do with film cameras.