Posts Tagged ‘Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera’

If you have an interchangeable lens camera, such as a DSLR or CSC, then you're probably aware that the ability to use a range of different lenses with your camera can be very useful. You should also be aware that you can't mix and match lenses designed for different camera mounts. You can't use a Nikon lens on a Canon camera and vice-versa.

However, this is not actually always the case. A lens mount adapter can allow you to use your camera with lenses that have a different mount. It can even allow you to use lenses that aren't designed for use with cameras at all.

In this article we'll look at Lens mount adapters. Why you might want to use one, the different types you can find, compatibility issues, and potential problems they can have.

In recent years, the choice in camera models has become much greater, with some completely new types of camera being released. With all the different types of camera, and the different names used to describe them, it can be a bit confusing. In the next series of articles I'll try and clear this up a bit, as well as listing the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

This composite photo shows the relative scale of a Nikon D3100 DSLR (left), Panasonic GX1 MILC (bottom right), and Panasonic ZS9 Compact camera (top right).

MILCs

MILC stands for Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera, and they are a cross between a compact camera and an SLR. MILCs (with the exception of the Pentax Q and Nikon 1 models) feature the large sensor and ability to change lenses of a DSLR camera, while lacking the DSLR's mirror, which allows a much smaller body size.

They are also known as Mirrorless cameras, ILCs (Interchangeable Lens Compacts), EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) and CSCs (Compact System Cameras). As these types of cameras are relatively new, a standard name has not yet won out in terms of usage.

Choosing what photography gear to take on holiday with you can be a difficult job. You will likely need to make some trade-offs between bringing the equipment to get the best photo for each situation you may come across, to just bringing enough gear to produce good results in most situations.