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03/05/2005 09:13:50 AM · #1 |
Can I ask a dumb question? (since I'm new to the digital scene) I bought the Panasonic FZ20 digital camera for my first digital camera. I know there are also the SLR or DSLR cameras. What's the difference between a digital camera and the DSLRs? The only thing I know is that the SLRs are supposed to be "single lens" but are they supposed to take better/clearer pictures than regular digital cameras? When I bought my camera, since most of the DSLRs were so expensive, I really didn't read up on them that much. Thanks!
Message edited by author 2005-03-05 09:16:26. |
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03/05/2005 09:41:41 AM · #2 |
Hi Glenda,
Take a look here.
SLR
A DSLR is a digital version of the single lens reflex ( SLR )
just able to take a multitude of lenses.
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03/05/2005 09:44:23 AM · #3 |
Hi,
That's not such a dumb question. (I have seen it repeated on numerous occaisions, so at least you are not the first to ask! :-) )
SLR stands for 'Single Lens Reflex' which does confuse some people into thinking that these cameras can therefore only use a 'single lens' when in fact they can take a wide variety of lenses offering huge photographic diversity.
DSLRs tend to have larger sensors than digital compacts which generally equates to higher resolution, lower noise images. (i.e. Better)
Lenses for DSLRs also tend to be of higher quality than the lenses built into Digital compacts. (and DSRL lenses tend not to require the same compromises that are required for compact camera (i.e. size))
DSLR quality does come at a price (of course)
A top quality lens for a Canon DSLR e.g. a 17-40L would cost £500 (just for the lens!) which is higher than the cost of a very good quality compact digital.
I hope this is helpful. Enjoy your Panasonic FZ20 and maybe if you catch the bug graduate to a DSLR in the future. Prices are droping all the time and you can get great results with a reasonable budget.
Chris
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03/05/2005 09:46:41 AM · #4 |
Like other SLR´s DSLR´s have interchangeable lenses and when you look in the viewfinder you are looking through the lens. How "good" or clear the images are depends on the photographer and his methods but on DSLR you can buy lenses of high quality and the glass is most often of better quality than in "regular" digital cameras.
Most DSLR have high quality sensors and you have more features and you can have full manual control.
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03/05/2005 09:52:11 AM · #5 |
Enjoy your nonDSLR camera! While there are advantages to a dSLR, there are a number of advantages to a camera such as yours:
1) Relatively compact, no extra lenses to carry
2) No need to stop and change lenses--keep shooting
3) No dust on sensor worries
4) Almost unlimited depth of field, great for landscapes
5) High depth of field at low F-Stops (wide open), good for indoor family shots
6) Quiet/silent operation
Very inexpensive compared to an SLR and comparable lenses. Your camera has a 36mm to 420mm constant aperture zoom (from memory--close to that). The equivalent lens on an SLR would cost several thousand dollars and would be large and heavy.
So enjoy your camera. There are advantages to SLRs as well. For example, no shutter delay, large sensor, higher quality shots, through the lens non-electronic viewfinder is great for manual focus and tracking subject.
I find there's a place for both types, and after buying a dSLR to replace my broken Canon G2 point and shoot, I ended up buying a Canon S1 so I would also have the above advantages of a non-dSLR camera.
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03/05/2005 10:28:45 AM · #6 |
A bit of history:
The original cameras required individual plates of film, large tripods, and a black hood over your head to view the image. The camera was a "straight-through" set-up, with he light being projected directly on a ground glass at the location of the film plane. The image would be composed, then a film holder would be inserted at the film plane and the image would then be exposed. These cameras still exist; we call them "large format" or "view" cameras.
When roll film became available, it was first used on what are now called "viewfinder" cameras, were you'd frame the shot (approximately) through a tiny rectangular window. Focusing and framing were inherently imprecise with such a setup. The old Kodak "Brownie" box cameras are familiar examples of a simple viewfinder camera, without even any focusing mechanism at all.
A further step in development produced "rangefinder" cameras, with an optical linkage that produced a double image in the viewfinder window. The rangefinder was/is mechanically linked to the lens-focusing ring, so as the focus is altered the double images can be brought into alignment, and you know the lens is correctly focused. Rangefinder cameras are still produced today, and are still he camera of choice for those who value compact size and silent operation. The Leica is a well-known rangefinder camera.
However, all viewfinder and rangefinder cameras have framing problems; you can only approximate what the lens actually sees in the viewfinder, and the problem gets worse and worse (due to parallax) the closer you get to your subject. So the "Twin Lens Reflex" camera was born: The camera is mounted with two identical lenses; one projects directly onto the film plane, and the other uses a mirror to project its image up onto a ground glass on the top of the camera. On sophisticated TLR cameras, there was also built-in parallax correction, with the viewing lens angled an a variable axis to the shooting lens, so both pointed at exactly the same thing at a given focusing distance. TLR cameras provide very precise focus, akin to that of a view camera, but are relatively cumbersome to use compared with a rangefinder camera. Rolleiflex is an example of a TLR camera.
Finally, the Single Lens reflex camera was developed; in these cameras, the single lens serves for both viewing and framing/focusing via a mirror linkage that diverts the light from the lens up into a pentaprism and out through an eye-level viewfinder. When the shutter release is pressed on an SLR, the mirror first pivots out of the way (and the viewfinder goes dark) then the shutter opens and the film is exposed, after which the mirror drops back into place.
Hence, the "SL" part of "SLR" is a reference to the fact that the same lens is used to both view and shoot the picture, where in the original TLR two lenses were needed. Once the SLR was invented, true 'systems" began to develop utilizing interchangeable lenses.
The "reflex" part, incidentally, refers to the mirror that diverts the light to the viewfinder, and is in opposition to a conventional camera of the day, where the light was passed directly to the ground glass at the back of the camera.
Digital SLR cameras are essentially exactly the same as a film SLR camera, except that a sensor replaces the film. "prosumer" digital cameras, like my Nikon 5700, look like small SLR cameras but they aren't, really; the image seen through the viewfinder is electronically generated and projected, whereas on a true SLR the image is optical.
Point-and-shoot digital cameras are more akin to the rangefinder cameras of yore, and the really inexpensive ones are more like the viewfinder cameras used to be.
Robt.
Incidentally, I use the prosumer Nikon for exactly the reasons nshapiro mentionsin his post, and think it unlikely I will change to a dSLR system, even though I once had Nikon, Hasselblad, and Sinar systems in 35mm, medium, and large formats when I was a working pro.
Message edited by author 2005-03-05 10:33:46.
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03/05/2005 11:20:49 AM · #7 |
| Thanks to all of you! You guys are great! My camera does have the Leica lens so I know that's supposed to be a really good lens. I love photography but am a little overwhelmed with how much there is to learn. What did you find to be your best way to learn, working with another photograher, college courses, books, trial and error? Thanks again for being so willing to help! |
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03/05/2005 11:25:39 AM · #8 |
Trial and error.. and DPChallenge (Keeps me clicking away regularly!)
I tend to read photography magazines for ideas, tips and inspiration.
I have also a couple of reference books for both photography and for Photoshop (necessary to get the best from digiatal IMO especially DSLR)
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03/05/2005 11:26:19 AM · #9 |
Yes, the Panasonic has good glass. This camera should do you proud for quite some time. This picture was taken with "your" camera:
As for learning, when I decided to "be" a photographer I apprenticed myself to a local studio and learned as I went. How YOU should do it depends on your goals, and your level of skill at the moment. You have posted no images to DPC so we can't evaluate that. Certainly, if you're a rank "beginner" your local Community College will have courses that will benefit you.
Robt.
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03/05/2005 11:47:47 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by Chrisds:
Trial and error.. and DPChallenge |
Same here. Magazines and books can also be very useful. And the internet is full of usefull stuff to (but beware of all the unusefull stuff). |
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03/05/2005 11:55:20 AM · #11 |
Yeah, I was thinking along the lines of some courses at the community college as a good starting point.
Message edited by author 2005-03-06 13:13:39. |
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