Cameras, Formats & Systems — 60 Terms Defined

120 Roll Film Cameras, Formats & Systems mm A 61 millimetre wide roll film on a spool with paper backing, the surviving standard for medium-format photography.

35 mm Format Cameras, Formats & Systems mm The film format using 35 mm perforated stock with a 36 by 24 millimetre frame, which became the dominant standard of the twentieth century.

Action Camera Cameras, Formats & Systems A small, ruggedised, wide-angle camera built to be mounted on a body, vehicle or piece of equipment.

APS-C Cameras, Formats & Systems mm A sensor format roughly 23.5 by 15.6 millimetres, giving a crop factor of about 1.5× against full frame. Crop factor ≈ 1.5 (1.6 Canon)

APS-H Cameras, Formats & Systems mm An intermediate sensor format of about 28.7 by 19 millimetres, with a crop factor near 1.3×. Crop factor ≈ 1.3

Arca-Swiss Plate Cameras, Formats & Systems mm A dovetail quick-release plate standard, widely adopted so heads and plates from different makers interoperate.

Ball Head Cameras, Formats & Systems kg (load rating) A tripod head using a single ball-and-socket joint, allowing the camera to be aimed in any direction with one locking knob.

Battery Grip Cameras, Formats & Systems An accessory that bolts to the base of a camera to hold additional batteries and duplicate the controls for vertical shooting.

Bridge Camera Cameras, Formats & Systems A fixed-lens camera styled like an SLR, offering a very long zoom range from a small sensor.

Buffer Depth Cameras, Formats & Systems frames The number of consecutive frames a camera can shoot at full speed before its internal memory fills and the rate collapses.

Burst Rate Cameras, Formats & Systems fps The number of frames a camera can capture per second in continuous drive mode.

Cable Release Cameras, Formats & Systems A mechanical or electronic remote that fires the shutter without the photographer touching the camera.

Camera Cage Cameras, Formats & Systems A rigid frame that surrounds a camera body, providing mounting points for monitors, microphones, handles and rigging.

Compact Camera Cameras, Formats & Systems A small fixed-lens camera designed to be carried everywhere, with automatic exposure and focus as the default.

Crop Factor Cameras, Formats & Systems × multiplier The ratio between a sensor's diagonal and that of full frame, used to convert focal lengths into their full-frame equivalents. Crop factor = 43.3 mm / sensor diagonal

Depth of Field Preview Cameras, Formats & Systems A control that stops the lens down to the working aperture so the actual depth of field can be seen before exposure.

Digital Back Cameras, Formats & Systems A removable sensor unit that attaches to a medium- or large-format camera body in place of a film magazine.

DSLR Cameras, Formats & Systems A digital single-lens reflex camera: an SLR body with a sensor in place of film, retaining the mirror and optical viewfinder.

Dual Card Slots Cameras, Formats & Systems count Two memory card slots that can record simultaneously, sequentially, or split by file type.

Electronic First-curtain Shutter Cameras, Formats & Systems seconds A hybrid shutter that begins the exposure electronically and ends it with a physical curtain.

Electronic Shutter Cameras, Formats & Systems seconds A shutter implemented by resetting and reading out the sensor electronically, with no moving parts.

Electronic Viewfinder Cameras, Formats & Systems A small high-resolution display inside the eyepiece showing a live feed from the sensor.

Equivalent Focal Length Cameras, Formats & Systems mm The full-frame focal length that would give the same angle of view as a given lens on a smaller format. f_equiv = f × crop factor

Field Camera Cameras, Formats & Systems A folding large-format camera built light enough to carry, trading some movement range for portability.