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SLRs
Single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras are the preferred choice of most professional photographers. SLRs use a mirror and a prism viewing system that lets you see directly through the lens when composing your shots. The moment you release the shutter button, the mirror flips up out of the way to allow light through the camera to expose the film. Seeing through the lens gives the photographer the most accurate sense of what the photograph will ultimately look like. SLRs also offer the widest range of creative possibilities, from interchangeable lenses to manual aperture (lens opening) and shutter-speed control.
Beginning photography students traditionally start out with a very basic SLR so they can learn the fundamental functions of a camera such as shutter speed, aperture, and focus. More advanced photographers can choose from a wide range of increasingly sophisticated SLRs, some of which offer intelligent features including autofocus lenses, high-speed motor drives, and a variety of automatic exposure modes.
Aside from exposure control, the best reason to opt for an SLR is to take advantage of the great many lens and filter options. You can purchase wide-angle lenses to capture a large area of space, macro lenses for close-ups of flowers or insects, telephoto lenses for long-range subjects, or the standard 50mm lens, which represents approximately what your eye sees from the same distance as the lens. Extremely long telephoto lenses are available for professional photographers when they need to zoom in on the quarterback from 45 yards away, for example. Obviously, point-and-shoot cameras cannot match this capability. You can also choose from fixed focal-length lenses (common lengths include 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 135mm) and zooms with various focal length ranges (such as 28-70mm or 70-210mm). Fixed focal-length lenses offer the advantage of a smaller minimum aperture for greater depth of field. Zooms reduce the number of lenses you might need to carry around, potentially lightening your load by several pounds. Filters offer additonal options for creative control such as darkening the sky or increasing overall contrast.
As a rule, SLRs make it possible to take higher quality photographs than most point-and-shoot cameras, but they are bulkier and require more overall photographic knowledge and skill to operate. We recommend buying an SLR if your aspirations are to learn the basic workings of a camera or if you intend to create images above and beyond what is generally referred to as the snapshot.
Source: Amazon.com Camera Buying Guide By Cintra Pollack and Walt Opie
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