Some Mirrorless Cameras can be very compact, and, in most cases, this is due to the fact that several features have been removed from the camera’s body and sold separately as accessories.

There are many different types of accessories available for a mirrorless camera, depending on the use you make of it. Some of them, like the flash, could prove extremely useful to most users, while other, like a microphone, would be more targeted towards an audience interested in taking lots of videos.

Accessory Types Here you can find a short list of the different types of accessories available for a Mirrorless Camera (or, actually, any Digital Camera).

Memory Card Probably the most important of all, as you can’t use your camera without one. Unfortunately, most Mirrorless Cameras are sold without a Memory Card, therefore you’ll have to buy one separately. Flash In my opinion, the second most important accessory, if your camera doesn’t have a built-in one. In case it does, you could still need a more powerful and flexible one to get particular effects. Spare Batteries Almost as important as the flash, as some cameras tend to drain the battery very quickly. Besides, some cameras (like the Sony Alpha NEX 5) require you to remove the battery to charge it, which means you’d find yourself stuck if you don’t have a spare one handy. Batteries can be expensive, but they are a good investment if you use your mirrorless camera very often. Viewfinder If you can rely solely on the LCD Display to adjust the camera’s settings, maybe you won’t need a Viewfinder. However, since the Electronic Viewfinders of some models provide extra features, it could be useful to get one. Microphone As mentioned earlier, this accessory would prove useful only if you take lots of videos and you need to have a good audio quality. Underwater Case If you like diving, this accessory will allow you to take your Mirrorless Camera underwater, and take great pictures of the “Treasures of the Deep”.

Please note that not all the mentioned accessories are available for all Mirrorless Cameras, as their design can vary greatly between different manufacturers. To get started, have a look at the different models and check what features do they include and what extras are available for each.

Let’s now have a more in-depth look at the different types of Camera Accessories.

Batteries

Mirrorless Cameras, like any other Digital Camera, are powered by Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries. The main advantage of this type of batteries is that they can last very long, but they also take long to recharge. If you have only one battery, it effectively means that can’t use your camera until it’s charged. Unfortunately, these batteries often have a special shape and voltage, which makes it impossible to replace them with the standard Alkaline batteries you can find in the shops.

To make sure your camera won’t “die” just before taking the best picture of your life, it would be a good idea to buy at least one extra Battery. Below you can find the different types of batteries used by each manufacturer.

Panasonic G1, GH1, GF1, G2, G10 Battery Model: DMW-BLB13 Samsung NX10 Battery ModelBP1310 OlympusE-P1, E-P2, E-PL1 Battery Model: BLS-1 Sony NEX-3, NEX-5 Battery Model: NP-FM500H

Memory Cards

Since, most probably, your Mirrorless Camera won’t contain a Memory Card in the box, you’ll have to buy one separately. There are many different types of card on the market, but the one used by the majority of cameras are the SD (Secure Digital) and the SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity). There’s also a new type of cards called SDXC with an even higher capacity, but not all models support it. Usually, a camera that supports a newer format is compatible with older ones (i.e. a Mirrorless Camera supporting SDXC should support SDHC and SD as well), but it’s always better to double check.

The use you make of your camera will help you choosing the right size of Memory Card. If you only take pictures, an 8GB card should be enough, while you should get bigger ones if you plan to frequently record High Definition Videos.

Other than capacity, Memory Cards are categorized by their Class, which represents the speed at which they can read/written; the higher the Class, the faster the Memory Card. Considering that the size of each picture produced by a modern Mirrorless Digital Camera, it would be a good idea to buy Class 6 Memory Cards.

One last consideration. Some people asked me if they should get a single big Memory Card, or several smaller ones. There are advantages and disadvantages in both cases, but I prefer to have more cards of smaller capacity. This is because, even if the Memory Cards are very reliable, they can still fail, or get damaged. If you have everything on a single one, all your work is lost. Splitting your data amongst different cards will make sure that you will save at least something. On the other hand, the cards will fill faster, but it’s not a big deal to swap them. If you are concerned about the possibility of running out of space in a crucial moment, simply develop the habit of emptying all your Memory Cards regularly.

Flash

Some Mirrorless Cameras come with a small, integrated flash, while other manufacturers, to make them more compact, removed it from the main body of some models. In such case, you’ll have to buy a separate flash to be able to take picture in conditions of poor lighting. If you instead have a camera with a built-in flash, then you could buy a more powerful and flexible one (i.e. one like the “big ones” you often see in the hands of professional photographers) to achieve special effects, like softer tones or ceiling bounce flash.

By: Diego Zanella

About the Author:

Who has the time to shift through reams of product reviews, or spend a half a day driving around malls talking with salespeople? Half the time, you don’t know what or who to believe, and all the tech talk seems to turn a simple purchase into a major event. If your looking to get the best digital camera available for under $200, you’ve come to the right place. There are a couple of good cameras (3 at most) to consider in this category. The remaining 90% of models in this category can be safely ignored.

Over last Christmas, I had to make the same type of purchase. I didn’t have a lot of time, and the wife thought a digital camera for her parents would be a great idea. As much as I’m a lover of technology, I wasn’t convinced this was a good idea. They’ve never owned a digital camera before, and don’t even have a computer. Not exactly the early adopter type. I looked around a bit, and was pleasantly surprised, and lucky to actually find a help salesperson at my local big box electronics store.

They right away recommended the Canon PowerShot A570IS. The IS stands for image stabilization. “Perfect” I thought for newbie digital camera types. At the time it was priced around $180, but I’ve since seen it online for around $150. I like Canon cameras, and have owned several over the years. They generally take great pictures, are very reliable, and intuitive to use. It’s been a perfect choice for them.

If your looking for something a little smaller in size the Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Elph would be an excellent choice as well. I’ve recently seen it priced for about $170, and again you get the reliable Canon name. Image quality will pale somewhat compared to the A570IS, but miniaturization does come at a price.

By: Chris Campbell

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iLLViLLain™ asked:


I was checking out this camera: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Panasonic-DMC-FX07-Digital-Camera/sem/rpsm/oid/159035/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do but I don’t know if it’s able to put pictures online. This is the first camera I’m thinking about purchasing and I don’t want to waste money on it.

Chupa Chups asked:


All they do is capture fast moving images right?

The history of the digital camera is quite interesting and it goes back quite a while. In fact, NASA used analog signals for a while and began changing them over to digital signals sometime during the 1960s. During this time computer use was also increasing significantly and technology for computers increased as well. The government was using digital technology at this time as well in the way of spy satellites. Soon, the private sector jumped in and helped take digital technology a long way. In the mid ’70s things started changing significantly and the road to digital cameras was paved. A machine vision camera as well as an industrial camera were introduced during this time frame as well with semi digital capacity but not exactly as we know it today. Nevertheless, digital cameras were well on their way to becoming famous.

Kodak played a big role in developing cameras and equipment that utilized digital quality or formatting in some way or another but it was not until 1991 that Kodak introduced a professional digital camera system. This digital camera was focused on photojournalists and it had a 1.3 mega pixel sensor. That was big back then but as we know today even the cheap digital cameras have more than 1.3 mega pixels!

In 1994 the first home use digital cameras were developed and marketed. They worked with a serial cable directly connected to the computer. This included the Apple QuickTake 100 camera and the Kodak DC40 as well as several others that showed up between 1995 and 1996.

Kodak really started marketing the personal digital camera and teamed up with Microsoft and Kinko’s to offer software as well as kiosks. Soon, the digital camera revolution had taken off and there were printers, cameras, and everything else that complemented the digital technology. As the years passed the digital technology increased and soon higher pixels were being offered, cameras were more affordable, and everyone was buying their very own.

Today digital cameras are super popular and it seems everyone has their very own. In fact, you can go buy a digital camera for a hundred dollars or a very nice one for a several hundred dollars. If you don’t have a lot of money then you can even buy one used for as little as $30 or $40!

By: Caitlina Fuller

About the Author:

Me asked:


or if you want post a link to a website that explains it plz.

ty in advanced

Reese Cupx3 asked:


I know it might be impossible but I am sort of limited on my spending. Please answer with the best ones possible. Also if you can tell me how many pictures it can store. This would be SUCH a help for me! I would like it very much if you can find one at a such place as Walmart, Circuit City, K-Mart, etc. Hopefully you suggest a good one and I can give you the points!! Thanks to all who answer this. Have a GREAT holiday season!!

Leilani D asked:


they have the same specs… why different names? i’m confused. pls help. thank you.