In the digital era we live in these days, we are all familiar with cameras, and with manufacturers now producing affordable consumer level cameras, there are more and more beginners using digital SLRs. But what does SLR mean?
SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. Inside the camera body is a mirror that reflects the light coming from the lens up into an optical viewfinder, by way of either a prism (in higher-end DSLRs) or a series of additional mirrors (usually in lower-end models). This is how you can see what you’re shooting, right through the lens, and is where the term “reflex” comes from — referring to mirror’s reflection.
When the shutter is pressed, that mirror flips up out of the way, the shutter slides open, and light coming from the lens takes a straight shot to the imaging sensor where a photograph is made.
The advantage of this design, compared to that of a mirrorless or point-and-shoot camera, is that you can see, in real-time, the exact scene you’re going to capture via the optical viewfinder.
There’s no lag, as there can be with point-and-shoots and mirrorless cameras as the sensor has to transfer what it is seeing to a separate digital display elsewhere on the camera. On the downside, you can’t preview your exposure settings through the optical viewfinder the way you can on a mirrorless camera. (If you haven’t gathered by now, mirrorless cameras are so named because they don’t have a DSLR’s reflexing mirror).
Another less talked about advantage is that DSLRs have exceptional battery life because the optical viewfinder draws very little power. Beginner models, like Canon's 1000D, are usually good for at least 600 shots, while professional models, like the Canon 5D Mark Iv, have batteries that can last for well over 1,000.
Now that you understand how Digital SLRs work, you will understand more when we delve deeper into the various modules we have lined up for you.
