Steve'sDigicams

LINEBACKER 2 · Jun 12, 2005, 10:09 PM

Do Digital SLRs come with a built in zoom like most point and shoots? Like a 3x or whatever. Or do you have to buy accessory lenses?

Steve

sjms · Jun 12, 2005, 10:18 PM

a true Dslr is a body without a lens. you then add which ever lens you wish to use. the choices are manyfrom various zooms, primaries, and macros. also are available are attachments for scoping and astrophotography.

LINEBACKER 2 · Jun 14, 2005, 10:32 PM

So the answer is "no"?

Steve

sjms · Jun 14, 2005, 10:38 PM

you can pick up a used olympus e10 or e20 that had a fixed zoom lens on it and was a Dslr but the newer e1 system went to interchangable lenses for greater versatility.

but to be fairly direct no is the answer in the current Dslr market.

peripatetic · Jun 15, 2005, 10:57 AM

The answer is no, but all the non-pro DSLRs can be bought in a kit with one of the manufacturer's lenses thrown in at a discount.

That discount is usually around $100 less than the price of the body + lens separately.

Some manufacturers give you a choice of kits - e.g. Canon have 2 kit lenses; the EF-S 18-55mm or the more expensive EF-S 17-85mm. On both you can save around $100 by getting the camera plus lens together as a kit.

calr · Jun 15, 2005, 1:47 PM

Interchangable lenses is not what defines a DSLR or SLR camera. The term single-lens-reflex refers to the fact that when you look through the viewfinder, you are looking through the lens. There is a moveable mirror that sits in front of the lens and reflects the image up into a prism which then directs the image to the viewfinder. When you press the shutter release, the mirror is retracted out of the way so that the image from the lens can reach the shutter curtains and film or sensor. When the mirror is retracted, the viewfinder goes dark for a fraction of a second.

Most point and shoots don't have the mirror arrangement. The lens image is always directed to the sensor thus allowing you to preview the image on the LCD screen (an extremely poor quality viewfinder!). If the camera has a viewfinder, it uses its own optics, separate from the lens. As a result, there is no way to look through the viewfinder to determine if the subject is in focus. There is also a parallax error. The viewfinder "sees" the image at a slightly different angle than the lens.

Hope this helps to understand the difference between Point'n'shoot and (D)SLR.

Cal Rasmussen

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Jun 12, 2005, 10:09 PM	#1
LINEBACKER 2 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 423	Do Digital SLRs come with a built in zoom like most point and shoots? Like a 3x or whatever. Or do you have to buy accessory lenses? Steve

Jun 12, 2005, 10:18 PM	#2
sjms Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,735	a true Dslr is a body without a lens. you then add which ever lens you wish to use. the choices are manyfrom various zooms, primaries, and macros. also are available are attachments for scoping and astrophotography.

Jun 14, 2005, 10:32 PM	#3
LINEBACKER 2 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 423	So the answer is "no"? Steve

Jun 14, 2005, 10:38 PM	#4
sjms Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,735	you can pick up a used olympus e10 or e20 that had a fixed zoom lens on it and was a Dslr but the newer e1 system went to interchangable lenses for greater versatility. but to be fairly direct no is the answer in the current Dslr market.

Jun 15, 2005, 10:57 AM	#5
peripatetic Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,599	The answer is no, but all the non-pro DSLRs can be bought in a kit with one of the manufacturer's lenses thrown in at a discount. That discount is usually around $100 less than the price of the body + lens separately. Some manufacturers give you a choice of kits - e.g. Canon have 2 kit lenses; the EF-S 18-55mm or the more expensive EF-S 17-85mm. On both you can save around $100 by getting the camera plus lens together as a kit.

Jun 15, 2005, 1:47 PM	#6
calr Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Beaverton, OR Posts: 8,466	Interchangable lenses is not what defines a DSLR or SLR camera. The term single-lens-reflex refers to the fact that when you look through the viewfinder, you are looking through the lens. There is a moveable mirror that sits in front of the lens and reflects the image up into a prism which then directs the image to the viewfinder. When you press the shutter release, the mirror is retracted out of the way so that the image from the lens can reach the shutter curtains and film or sensor. When the mirror is retracted, the viewfinder goes dark for a fraction of a second. Most point and shoots don't have the mirror arrangement. The lens image is always directed to the sensor thus allowing you to preview the image on the LCD screen (an extremely poor quality viewfinder!). If the camera has a viewfinder, it uses its own optics, separate from the lens. As a result, there is no way to look through the viewfinder to determine if the subject is in focus. There is also a parallax error. The viewfinder "sees" the image at a slightly different angle than the lens. Hope this helps to understand the difference between Point'n'shoot and (D)SLR. Cal Rasmussen