The Fundamentals of DSLR Cameras

What is DSLR?

DSLR is an abbreviation and it stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex, a technique used in professional cameras. In simple terms, DSLRs are cameras which make use of mirrors and interchangeable lenses. They have built in mirrors that direct light to the viewfinder from the lens. The viewfinder is the hole at the back of the camera that people look through to see what they are taking pictures of. These digital cameras are similar to point-and-shoots, but the overall quality of the images is much higher compared to regular cameras. A DSLR has different parts; it has the eyepiece or the viewfinder, the lens, the reflex mirror, the image sensor, the shutter, the matte focusing screen, the condenser lens, the pentaprism and the digital.

How does a DSLR Camera Work?

The mirrors that were built into the DSLR cameras allow the image to bounce up to the viewfinder, it will then pass through a focusing screen and a condenser lens. After that, the images will be reflected off of a prism’s wall for it to reach the photographer’s eye. That will allow you to see the exact image that the lens sees through the eyepiece. When you press the shutter release, the mirror will then flip up to get out of the way, when that happens, the shutter will open causing the light to pass through the lens and then to the imaging sensor. (For a better understanding take a look at the picture. The yellow line represents the path the light follows.)

The process of taking a picture using a DSLR camera does not stop there. The image will still undergo a lot of other complex processes. The camera will take the information from the image sensor and convert it to an appropriate format while saving it on your memory card. The amazing thing is that the whole process of taking an image using a DSLR that I just explained only takes up very little time, a modern digital DSLR camera can do that up to eleven times in just one second. An entry-level DSLR camera is the Nikon D3300. It currently costs under $400 and offers great picture quality considering the low price point.

Advantages of a DSLR Camera

One of the best features of a digital SLR camera is that it allows you to switch lenses. Shooting at different environments means using different kinds of lenses for better lighting or to enable you to zoom at a specific subject you want to focus on. The only disadvantage to this is that lenses are not cheap, some of them can cost as much as the camera itself. Not every lens is compatible with all kinds of DSLR camera but you can use an adaptor to enable you to use a certain lens with your camera.

Aside from the ability to swap lenses, the biggest advantages that DSLRs have against common point-and-shoots is the quality of the photo that they take and their speed. Compact digicams and cellphone cameras cannot match the quality of a DSLR since they have a much larger imaging sensor. The bigger the sensor, the better the photograph you will be able to take. DSLRs also have a huge advantage when it comes to speed and response time. What this means is that you will have a better chance of getting a good picture of your kid playing soccer or baseball with a DSLR than with any other kinds of camera.

Chris

Chris ist the owner and operator of CamcorderChris.com. He has over10 years of experience working with computers, servers, video camcorders, software editing tools, and many other areas of information technology. He regularly blogs about everything camera and photography related on his blog.