What is a Digital SLR Camera?

By Mahavir Sanglikar

In simple words, a Digital SLR camera is a Single Lens Reflex camera which works on Digital technology. A Single Lens Reflex camera is the camera which allows the photographer to look through the lens, so that he could know the actual image to be captured.

Single Lens Reflex camera has a mirror and a prism in it. When the view is actually captured the mirror is uplifted and the rays coming through the lens go to the film or the sensor.

In other cameras, the view the photographer sees in the viewfinder is from a slightly different angle. This makes the actual image that is captured slightly different from what the photographer sees in the viewfinder. If the image is a close up one, this difference is very big. Just like we see an object very close to us by left eye and right eye. So for close up shots and Micro photography, Single Lens Reflex Cameras are the best.

A great benefit of SLR cameras is that you can change the lens and use different lenses like Zoom Lens, Telephoto Lens, Wide Angle Lens etc.

The point and shoot digital cameras lacks many feature which are available in DSLR cameras. These cameras have fixed lenses, so you can not change them.

The term SLR is used for both the Film Cameras and Digital Cameras which use Single Lens Reflex System. In Film SLR cameras, a film is used to shoot photographs, while in Digital SLR cameras, an image sensor is used and the images are stored in a memory card. The image sensor transforms optical image into digital image. Thus in digital cameras, film is replaced by a sensor and a memory card.

Film SLR cameras are now not popular, as Digital SLR cameras save a lot of money on film as a memory card stores thousands of images and you can empty the memory card by downloading the images to your computer, and use the card again and again. Further, a Digital Camera have many more functions when compared to Film SLR cameras. For example, you can take video clips using a DSLR camera, which is not possible in Film SLR camera. Moreover, the quality of a Digital image is superior to film image. That is why Digital SLR cameras are very popular in professional photographers, as well as in amateur photographers.

Technology always changes. It replaces older one. Digital cameras have replaced Film cameras and Digital SLR Cameras have replaced Film SLR Cameras.

As market of Film SLR cameras started to collapse, most of the manufacturers of FSLR cameras have started to manufacture Digital SLR cameras. On the other hand, many manufacturers of electronics goods also have started to produce DSLR cameras. Some of the famous brands of DIGITAL SLR Cameras are Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus, Pentax, Sigma, Sony etc. Apart from these manufacturers there are many others who are manufacturing DSLR cameras.