A DSLR camera is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between a DSLR and other digital cameras. In the reflex design, light travels through the lens and then to a mirror that alternates to send the image to either a prism, which shows the image in the optical viewfinder, or the image sensor when the shutter release button is pressed. The viewfinder of a DSLR presents an image that will not differ substantially from what is captured by the cameras sensor as it presents it as a direct optical view through the main camera lens, rather than showing an image through a separate secondary lens.
A DSLR camera operates with a fixed digital sensor and can autofocus and hold thousands of photos on its internal memory card. DSLRs offer professional photos with high image quality and can work with an array of interchangeable lenses. The camera body and lenses can be mixed and matched however the photographer wants them to be.
