Buying guide · Camera types

Rangefinder vs SLR vs TLR vs Point-and-Shoot: Which Film Camera Type Fits You?

Every film camera answers the same question differently: how do you see what the lens sees, and how do you know it's in focus? The answer shapes everything else, from how the camera feels in your hands to what goes wrong with it fifty years later.

This guide compares the four types you'll meet most often in the used market. It isn't about which is "best". It's about which one suits the pictures you want to make and the kind of owner you want to be.

The four types at a glance

SLR: the all-rounder

A single-lens reflex puts a mirror behind the lens that bounces the image up into the viewfinder. When you press the shutter, the mirror flips up out of the way, the shutter opens, and the film is exposed. You're looking through the same glass that takes the picture, so framing and focus are exactly what you'll get.

Why people love them

• Lens flexibility. Wide angles, telephotos, macro lenses and zooms all work naturally, because you see their effect directly.
• Depth-of-field preview on many models lets you see how much will be sharp.
• Enormous used market. The major Japanese and German manufacturers made SLR systems for decades, so bodies, lenses and repair knowledge are widely available.

What to watch for

SLRs have more moving parts: the mirror, the instant-return mechanism, the aperture linkage. Mirror foam rots, prisms can desilver, and the mirror slap makes them louder than other types. Fully mechanical SLRs can usually be repaired; electronic ones with a dead circuit board may not be.

Rangefinder: the quiet companion

A rangefinder has a separate viewfinder window. Inside it, a small bright patch shows a second image of the scene from a slightly different angle. Turn the focusing ring until the two images line up and you're in focus. Because there's no mirror, the camera can be smaller and much quieter.

Strengths

• Discreet and fast for street, documentary and travel work.
• You see outside the frame, so you can watch a subject walk into the picture.
• Precise focusing with wide and normal lenses, especially in dim light where a ground-glass screen gets dark.

Limitations

• Parallax: the viewfinder sits beside the lens, so up close what you see is slightly offset from what you get. Many models shift their framelines to compensate.
• Long lenses and close-ups are awkward. Framelines for telephoto lenses get small, and minimum focus distances are usually longer than an SLR's.
• You can shoot with the lens cap on, because you're not looking through the lens. Everyone does it once.

The rangefinder world runs from simple fixed-lens compacts with a coupled rangefinder to interchangeable-lens systems with prestigious reputations. The camera archive covers some of the classic interchangeable-lens bodies; fixed-lens rangefinders are often the more affordable way in.

TLR: the slow, square classic

A twin-lens reflex stacks two lenses of matching focal length. The top lens throws an image onto a mirror and up to a ground-glass screen you look down into from above. The bottom lens, with its leaf shutter, takes the picture. Because the viewing lens never closes, the view stays bright and never blacks out at the moment of exposure.

Why it's worth trying

• Big negatives. Most TLRs use 120 film, typically producing square frames with far more area than 35mm.
• A different way of seeing. Looking down at a bright, reversed image at waist level changes how you compose, and how people react to you. Many find subjects relax when you're not holding a camera to your face.
• Quiet leaf shutter.

Trade-offs

Most TLRs have fixed lenses, the image in the finder is reversed left to right, and parallax is significant at close distances. They're also heavier and bulkier than a 35mm camera. If you're trying to work out exactly which TLR you're looking at, our guide on identifying a twin-lens reflex by visible clues walks through it.

Point-and-shoot: fun with a catch

Compact film cameras handle focus, exposure and film winding for you. They slip into a pocket and produce surprisingly good pictures, particularly the better models with sharp fixed lenses.

The catch is longevity. Almost all of them depend on electronics, small motors and plastic gears. When a circuit fails or a motor gear strips, there may be no spare parts and no one able to fix it. A working example today can fail on the next roll, and many repairers decline to work on them.

• Check that the lens extends and retracts smoothly and fully.
• Look for a cracked or scratched front lens element; many have no protective cover.
• Confirm the LCD panel is complete, with no missing segments.
• Check the battery compartment for corrosion.
• Ask whether the flash fires and recycles.

Enjoy them, but buy with eyes open: a premium price doesn't buy a longer life.

Which type suits the way you shoot?

Mechanical vs electronic: a buying rule

Within any type, the biggest predictor of whether an old camera can be kept running is whether it's mechanical. A fully mechanical shutter can almost always be cleaned and adjusted. An electronically controlled shutter depends on components that may no longer be available.

That doesn't make electronic cameras a bad buy. Many have conveniences like aperture-priority automation that are a real pleasure to use. Just weigh the convenience against the chance that a failure is final, and keep that in mind when you compare prices.

If you're unsure which you're looking at, check whether the shutter fires at any speed without a battery. Many mechanical cameras fire at all speeds without power; many electronic ones fire at only one mechanical backup speed, or not at all. Confirm the specifics for the model you're considering in its manual.

Whichever type you lean toward, a good general reference on film photography and camera operation is worth having on the shelf while you learn.

The bottom line

Whichever you pick, test it before you pay, and budget for a service on anything you plan to rely on. Then shoot a roll and see whether the camera's way of seeing matches yours.

Frequently asked questions