ANATOMY OF A

DSLR CAMERA
By Logan Abbott
What Is A DSLR
Camera?
A Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera or DSLR is a
camera that uses the same mechanisms of a single-
reflex camera but introducing a digital imaging
sensor. In the reflex design, visible light travels
through the lens, then a series of mirrors that sends
the light through a prism and allows an image to
appear in the viewfinder or to the image sensor
when the shutter is released. During the 2000’s, the
DSLR camera replaced the film-based camera and
still today remains the most popular type of camera
for professionals around the world. DSLR cameras
are not limited to photographs either, as of 2008
many DSLR camera came out with video shooting
capabilities, starting out on a rocky surface but
rapidly getting better and better, as you would
expect due to innovations in technology in modern
times.
DISSECTING THE DIGITAL SLR CAMERA
Lens
At its core, the modern-day camera lens is
multiple pieces of shaped glass set in series, that
are used to bend visible light in certain ways in
order to form an image on an internal imaging
chip. Lenses come in many different sizes that you
can buy right now ranging from 16mm all the way
up to 5200mm with everything in between. Each
lens has its own unique properties that make it
useful for varying tasks. The smaller or further away
your object(s) are, the larger the lens you want to
use. On the flip side, if your target is close or very
large, you want to use a shorter lens in order to
capture the entire piece. You can think of the lens
as a human eye, nothing is processed here but it is
needed in order to take in the image so that
internal components can decipher it and lock it
away for future use.
Shutter
The shutter of the camera is vital to creating stillness or
dynamic motion within a photograph. In its essence, a
shutter opens and closes via electronically or through a
spring system, in order to control the amount of light
entering the camera at a given time. A mechanical shutter
is used on most high-end cameras however point and
shoot cameras, along with cell phones use electronic
“shutters” that briefly turn the light reading sensor off.
Shutters are measured in fractions of a second 1 s, 1/2 s,
1/4 s … 1/250 s, 1/ 500 s, etc. If you have a subject in
motion, and you wish to “freeze” them in a photo, you will
use a fast shutter speed. On the contrary if you wish to
show the background blur and capture that movement,
you will use a slow shutter speed.
View Finder,
Screen, & Mirrors
Mirrors of a DSLR camera are used to direct light
into the viewfinder so that the photographer can
essentially see what the camera sees much like
how our own eyes work to flip and reverse an
image. The screen is what you would expect. It
displays settings, allows you to view photos and
videos, and on some cameras, allows the
viewfinder to be omitted.
Aperture
An aperture is a hole in the
lens diaphragm which
allows certain light to come
through, changing your
depth of field or focus.
Photographers will adjust
their apertures according to
what is important in the
desired photograph. When
you have chosen your
aperture, you may want to
adjust your shutter speed as
well. Using a low aperture
means more light is
entering the lens, so you
need to use a faster shutter
speed to get the correct
exposure and vice versa.
Flash
In photography, you will encounter times that your setting is just too dark and
that a bit of extra light would exponentially increase the quality of your photo.
A flash is a device used in photography producing a flash of light (usually 1/1000 to
1/200 of a second) to help illuminate a scene. In 1931 Harold Eugene
Edgerton introduced the electronic flash tube to the world. Large photographic
company Kodak, initially was reluctant to embrace this new idea because early
designs were heavy, bulky, and expensive. The electronic flash tube was soon
replaced by the lighter, more compact conventional bulb guns.
The flash of a camera is in sync with the shutter button so that the flash occurs
directly after the shutter opens, to allow the most optimal lighting to be
photographed.