ILC Cameras

One of the major changes in photography in the past few years is the birth of Interchangeable Lens Cameras or ILCs. Back in the days of film you needed to use mirrors in order to be able to see what the camera lens saw. Those cameras were called Single Lens Reflex cameras or SLRs. All Pros and advanced amateurs used SLRs because they wanted to use multiple lenses to take the best possible photographs. There were exceptions of course, like interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras (like the Leica cameras we all loved) and twin lens reflex cameras (like the Rollieflex line)  but they were usually very expensive specialty cameras.

ILC cameras became possible because today’s digital cameras use electronic viewfinders. The image you see in your viewfinder or on your LCD on the back of the camera is a digital presentation, not a true image reflected from mirrors. Some SLRs still exist but the industry is rapidly moving to digital images, no matter what the camera looks like.

The ILCs available today are far smaller and lighter than was possible when you had to use physical mirrors in order to see what your lens sees. I love them dearly and use ILCs for the majority of my shooting. The King (SLRs) is dead, Long live the King (ILCs).