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Originally Posted by just4kickz
ae what does SLR mean? and whats a pretty good camera? my friends who used to be in photoclub had like Rebels, the Canon SLRs (i forget which ones), and some other stuff... im looking to buy one but i'm not sure if its worth the investment...
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Single-
Lens
Reflex. It uses a mirror between the lens and the imaging surface, be it film or a CCD, such that the viewfinder utilizes the imaging lens instead of a separate one. At the moment the photograph is 'taken' the mirror folds out of the way and the shutter opens and closes or the CCD is scanned. SLRs will also have more adjustments to contend with such as aperture and shutter speed, white light balance for digitals, manual or auto-focus, etc.
Generally an SLR will have an interchangeable lens whereby you can change from a short focal length lens (i.e., 50mm) to a longer one (i.e., 400mm). Point and shoots tend to have a single focal length lens about the size of your thumbnail. Canon Rebel is/was an SLR; a Canon Powershot isn't. A Nikon D200 or F100 is an SLR; a Coolpix isn't.
The decision on what to buy comes down pretty much on what you intend to use it for. If all you want is to snap some pretty party pictures, a P&S works wonders. If you're interested in wildlife (four legged type) photography where you can't get up close and personal with the subject, a camera with interchangeable lens is better. Landscapes can be photographed with both short lenses and long lenses; SLRs or P&S.