A Round-up of some of the types of camera with their features and a brief resume of the development of the camera - its materials, systems and design - Camera case study for Design & Technolgy students and for GCSE Engineering - Design & Technology On The Web - A esource for exam revision, coursework help and project guidance for teachers and students in Design & Technology. Mr Richmond Help ! Mr Richard Help ! Mr Rchmud help ! Bill Richmond AST Winton Arts & Media College, Bournemouth

29th May 2008

The Compact camera
( Sometimes ‘fixed focus - early versions) Usually auto-focus, rangefinder or ‘simple viewfinder’ - A separate small ‘view-only’ lens

A	Small - with built in flash unit

B	Initially used with 35 mm film and now digital

C	Simple operation - designed to be ‘point and shoot’ and in aiming at this market the design was reviving the approach George Eastman had when creating the Kodak Box-camera

D	PS, ABS or PC - or now - composite bodies

E	Cheap designs - polycarbonate lenses

F	Injection moulded - simple shapes

electronic version that is simply connected to two different places - the viewfinder’ window or the LCD display area - through which the image is also viewed. Some cameras use ‘Through-the-lens’ viewing but in others a live LCD display is be used.
* The exposure, focus and shutter are automatic
* The storage media can be removed
* Images can be deleted immediately after review
* Images cane be altered in camera using software
* Images can be sent electronically -eg. e-mail, phones
* Resolution limited by the pixels in CCD/CMOS array
* Composite strong bodies - ergonomic - varied prices

So a quick round-up of the types of cameras available should now fit into a sensible order based on the needs of the customer using any particular model

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The Digital camera Uses a CCD or CMOS array to record individual points of light and colour - It ‘effectively’ allows the user to look through the lens but the image is an

The ‘Polaroid’ camera
No longer made - Provided ‘Instant’ pictures
(10 seconds for B&W - 60 seconds for Colour)

A	Often folding (SX70) - with built in flash unit

B	Avoided the need for processing & printing delays

C	Disadvantage - one copy only produced

D	Disadvantage- Expensive ( £10 per pack of film - 8 shots )

The ‘Single-use’ camera
Cheap and easy to buy - film can be separate or may be part of a return-the-camera arrangement

A	At first glance - environmentally unfriendly in terms of polymer usage

B	Recycled material schemes giving about 65% efficiency of plastics re-use

Cheap to manufacture - polycarbonate lenses etc.
Injection moulded bodies

# 8 of 12 pages