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Old 06-19-2004, 07:52 PM  
Bigjohn
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Deep inside my mind
Posts: 1,118
SLR stands for single-lens reflex. That basically means that there is an angled mirror inside the camera blocking the film (or in a digital's case, the censor).

When you look through the view finder, the image you see is reflected off of the mirror through the lens so you're seeing exactly what the censor will see. When you press the shutter release, the mirror snaps out of the way letting the image hit the censor.

If you take a look at a standard point and shoot, the view finder is a seperate little lens. So what you see through it may not be exactly what the censor will see, especially at close range.
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