It’s a SLR, Not a DSLR

I was over at DPReview drooling over the new D3 and I started to wonder; why do we keep calling digital SLR cameras DSLRs?

The point in adding the “D” to “SLR” was to reduce confusion when discussing cameras. That, however, was during a time when digital SLRs were fairly young and many photographers still shot film. DSLRs have become so wide-spread anymore—especially in the professional market—an extreme few currently use film anymore. Continuing to add the “D” seems a bit trite now.

Cameras get their name from the means in which the photographer views and composes the scene and not by the recording medium. A view camera comes from a direct view through the bellows and lens. A SLR comes from a mirror (the reflex) directing the view from the lens through a prism viewfinder. Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) is similar to a SLR but with a dedicated lens for the photographers view, and so on and so on.

Calling a digital SLR a “DSLR” is akin to calling your film camera a “VSLR” because you have it loaded with Fuji Velvia.

So I propose the dropping of the “D” and return to calling the cameras what they are. Single Lens Reflex cameras, or SLRs.

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