What is SLR?
SLR stands for Single Lens Reflexive. This refers to the mirror which is used
to reflect light coming into the camera from the lens into the viewfinder.
This means that what you see through the viewfinder is what's going to be recorded
when you take a picture. This is one of the key advantages of an SLR camera.
Lenses
One of the other key features of SLR cameras is that the lens is interchangable.
You can swap the lens depending on the type of photograph you're
taking. For example, you might need a really powerful zoom for taking shots
of wildlife or a really wide lens for architecture. You can read more about
lens types and considerations on the lens page.
Control
Apart from seeing the image directly through the lens and being able to swap lenses,
the other main advantage of SLR cameras is the ability to control all of the functions
of the camera. Most of these are automaticlly set in a compact camera (or
fixed and unchangeable).
Perhaps the most important features that can be manually controlled are the
Shutter Speed and Aperture. Follow the
links to find out why this is so important for creative photography.
Manual focus is another important feature. This is especially useful when
you want to be able to accurately focus in difficult conditions where auto focus
might struggle e.g. in low light or through windows.
Most modern digital SLRs have various pre-programmed modes to allow
you take take photographs using the most appropriate settings for the conditions.
For example night photography, portrait, sport etc. These can be quite useful
to save time setting things up when you want to take picutes in a hurry.
Many digital SLRs also allow you to choose the way that it processes the data from
the sensor. This can be things like how intense the colours are, how sharp
the focus is, what file type it should record the image as, etc.
This list summariese a few of the main things that you can control manually on most
SLR cameras -
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