Features of a Digital SLR Camera

Whether you've seen Canon's NFL marketing campaign or Nikon's fun Nikon School ads, chances are these advertisements have sparked your shopping spree for a digital SLR camera. Single Lens Reflex (SLR) digital cameras offer a few features that you won't find in the compact point and shoot varieties of digital cameras.

Variety of Lenses
Many photography enthusiasts graduate from a compact point and shoot style camera to an SLR when they realize that an SLR camera can accept a variety of lenses. With an SLR digital camera, you are no longer restricted to the amount of zoom built into the fixed lens of a compact camera.

You can purchase long telephoto lenses to photograph things that you simply can't get close to, such as wildlife, sports events, performances on a stage and travel scenery.

Purchasing a wide angle lens will allow you to get more in the frame in a tight space, such as a cramped living room or narrow workspace.

Macro lenses are available for those who wish to photograph very small objects close-up and in sharp detail. Macro lenses are great for coin collectors, jewelry documentation and recording special markings on antiques.

Optional Auxiliary Flash
SLR digital cameras have a feature called a "hotshoe" on the top of the camera. The hotshoe is where you can attach an auxiliary flash unit. If your subject matter is more than 10 feet away, or you're in a dimly lit area, the use of an external flash may be necessary to properly illuminate your subject.

Although a few upper-end compact cameras have a hotshoe, the price tag will surely reflect this feature. Some Nikon compact digital cameras with a hotshoe are in the same price ranges as a Nikon Digital SLR.

LCD Screen to Review Photos
If you're still using a film based camera, you'll be amazed at the option to review your images immediately after shooting them with a digital SLR camera. You no longer have to wait until you finish the roll of film and make a trip to the photo store for processing. You can review your photo a moment after you shoot it. If it is out of focus, cropped incorrectly or just not to your liking, you can easily snap off a few more frames while you're still amid the subject matter.

Tripod and Monopod friendly
Although digital SLR cameras are heavy, they are tripod and monopod friendly. A special threaded screw mount built into the base of a digital SLR camera is ready to accept a tripod or monopod.

When you need to get into the picture at a Thanksgiving dinner, or family picture around the Christmas tree, try using a tripod to stabilize the digital SLR camera.

If you just need a little extra support to stabilize the lense, try using a monopod. It has one leg, so when it is used in combination with a standing photographer, it acts like a third leg, making your body into a tripod. Monopods are particularly useful when you're photographing something for an extended period of time. The added camera support reduces the chances of tired jittery arms causing blur to your photographs.