Have you wondered what camera would be best for you when in the outdoors? Should you use a smartphone or upgrade to a compact, DSLRA digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera with a digital imaging 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 the viewfinder or the image sensor. The viewfinder of a DSLR presents an image that will not differ substantially from what is captured by the camera's sensor but presents it as a direct optical view through the lens, rather than being captured by the camera's image sensor and displayed by a digital screen. DSLR is often (wrongly) used to describe cameras that are Micro Four Thirds or Bridge Camera  - just because they look similar. This can bee seen when cameras are offered for sale.    or mirrorlessTechnically speaking most DSLR, point-and-shoot and smartphone cameras are mirrorless, in that they don’t have internal mirrors. However, mirrorless camera is a specific term for a camera where the sensor is directly exposed to light and the photographer has a preview of the potential image at all times to view on an electronic viewfinder. For example the Olympus and Panasonic micro four-thirds cameras are mirrorless. camera?