Filming & Production

DSLR camera

Also called: DSLR, digital SLR

The name describes the mechanism. Light comes through the lens, bounces off a mirror into a pentaprism and reaches an optical viewfinder, with the mirror flipping up when the shot is taken. Canon's 5D Mark II put usable video into that body in 2008 and changed what a low-budget production could look like.

Manufacturers have since moved to mirrorless designs, which are lighter, focus better while recording and preview exposure accurately. A second-hand DSLR is still a real camera for a talking-head channel, though autofocus during recording is the weak point, so set focus manually and stay put.

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