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| Five Fixed Zoom Lens Cameras. One is pocketably compact, another compact but not pocketable. The other three are not compact at all. Each could be used in 'point and shoot' mode. I don't see any of them as a 'bridge' from anywhere to anywhere else. I would rate each of these cameras as being pitched to the enthusiast level user. Each has a built in EVF and a decent set of controls. |
In August 2012 I posted an opinion piece about naming the then newly emerging interchangeable lens camera type without a flipping mirror.
I looked at various names in use including Compact System Camera (CSC), Mirrorless System Camera (MSC), Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (camera) (DSLM) and Electronic viewfinder Interchangeable lens (EVIL).
I rejected all these for various reasons and suggested that any kind of camera capable of accepting interchangeable lenses camera should be described as……...you guessed it……...Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC).
An ILC with a flipping mirror would continue to be called Digital Single Lens Reflex (Camera) (DSLR).
An ILC without a flipping mirror would be called a Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera (MILC).
Digital Photography Review recently reported that the Consumer Electronics Association has decided to enshrine my suggested terminology into its official nomenclature.
I am not suggesting they did this on the basis of my recommendation on the Camera Ergonomics blog but it is nice to be vindicated by a major organisation with some influence.
Fixed Lens cameras
Now I want to consider the naming of cameras with a fixed, non interchangeable lens and suggest right away that any camera with a fixed lens be called…….yes, you guessed it again……………Fixed Lens Camera (FLC).
Of course FLCs have been around for a hundred years so they are nothing new.
But two things are new.
First the rise of smartphones has rendered the previously ubiquitous consumer compact camera almost irrelevant.
Second is the dramatic development of small sensor and zoom lens technologies, making available to ordinary consumers high performance superzoom cameras the like of which has never been seen before.
Until now FLCs have been referred to by various names which I now suggest should be discarded as no longer useful.
These names include:
* Compact We now have all manner of ILCs and FLCs in a range of sizes. Some of these cameras might be regarded as ‘compact’ but that tells us nothing about the type of camera.
* Point and shoot This term might be a descriptor of the user but it conveys little of value about the device. Some very advanced cameras have an ‘Auto’ setting for novices and snapshooters.
* Bridge This seems to express the idea of a camera occupying ground between something and something else. But with most of the ‘somethings’ undergoing radical change the concept of a ‘bridge’ no longer conveys useful information. There is a growing group of high performance fixed lens cameras which can stand alone as the only camera an enthusiast photographer need own.
I propose two subgroups of FLC:
* Fixed Zoom Lens Camera (FZLC), which is by far the most numerous and
* Fixed Single (Focal length) Lens Camera (FSLC). This is a niche product for a small group of enthusiast consumers who prefer a camera with a fixed lens of one focal length.
I would further describe any particular camera in the FLC group in terms of a hierarchy similar to that seen in the ILC genre, namely Entry > Enthusiast > Professional.
Entry level FLCs usually have no EVF, use a very small sensor and have a zoom lens of small size and aperture.
Enthusiast models graduate to a larger sensor, better performance, EVF and more capable lens.
Professional level FLCs are a bit thin on the ground at present. Some might argue that no such device yet exists. But I believe the march of technology will inevitably deliver pro level FLCs which will have higher all round performance and capability than existing enthusiast models.
This discussion about naming is not sophistry.
At present there are some very capable FZLCs which are not getting the market recognition which I believe they deserve, due in part I believe, to the market which describes them in demeaning terms as ‘compact’ or ‘point and shoot’ or ‘bridge’ models with the implication that they are second best to something else.
I have seen, for instance, the Nikon P900 and the Panasonic FZ1000 lumped in with ‘compact’ or ‘point and shoot’ cameras in retail outlets and websites. This is misleading to put it mildly. I doubt that many people who have handled a P900 would describe it as compact. Maybe someone whose only previous experience was with 4x5 inch large format.
People who sell, buy and review cameras need a more descriptive and useful basis for categorising various different product types.
Here is a summary of my proposals in table form:
| Major Descriptor | Secondary Descriptor | Target User level |
| Fixed Lens Camera FLC | FZLC FSLC | Entry Enthusiast Professional |
| Interchangeable lens Camera ILC | DSLR MILC | Entry Enthusiast Professional |
This schema is simple, factual and useful. It is not based on unhelpful, outdated, uninformative or misleading appelations.
It will better inform buyers in their search for a suitable camera, allow vendors to provide buyers with more useful information and help clarify the reviewing process for those of us who do such things.
Summary:
It appears the photographic community may at last be moving towards a rational naming system for Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILC).
It is now time for the same process to be applied to Fixed Lens Cameras (FLC).
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