Digital Single-Lens camera is a digital camera that uses a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera. They are mostly preferred by professionals mainly because they have more creative control which means they contain broad array of manual settings in combination with full manual or auto focus and automated settings, and can be used to take photos even with door glass replacement in the way. They have faster shutter speed which aids in having a significant shorter shutter lag than point-and-shoot cameras .Their interchangeable lens make them more versatile while the looking through a viewfinder rather than an LCD screen provides better framing.
These features guides to the most popular DSLR cameras of 2011. These are:
Nikon D90 has a 12.3 megapixel camera-provides rich image quality with high speed processing enhanced by D300 technology, a new D-Movie Mode features 720p HD cinematic quality- A movie function that allows you to shoot movies in three different motion JPEG formats: 320 by 216 pixels, 640 by 424 pixels and 1,280 by 720 pixels as well as a 5.8* AF_S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 ED VR included which offers optical quality in a compact, versatile design. This camera has a continuous shooting as fast as 4.5 frames-per-second which enhances quick shutter speed with ability to shoot at 4.5 frames a sec for up to 100 shots as well as low noise ISO sensitivity from 200 to 3200 a built in image sensor cleaning and an 11-point AF system with Face Priority.
Canon EOS 7D has an 18 megapixel camera resolution, HD video recording with manual exposure control and selectable frame rates, intelligent viewfinder with 100% field of view and a 3-inch high resolution LCD monitor and a 19-point auto-focus system.
Sony Alpha A900 has a 24.6 megapixels camera resolution, a built-in body image stabilizer, Dual card slots; accepts both CompactFlash and memory Stick Media and a solid build throughout with a very positive grip on the right.
Olympus E-3 has a 10.1 megapixels camera resolution, a dust and splash-proof body a Live viewfinder with a flip-and-twist LCD and a Built-in wireless flash controller and auto flash and ISO bracketing.
Pentax K-5 has a 16.3 megapixel CMOS image sensor; 80-12800 range with improved noise performance, a Full HD 1080p video recording at 25fps, large 3-inch LCD with 921,000 dots of resolution which is contained in a full weather sealed and cold-proof design, Image Comparison, Dust Alert and HDR Capture option and the popular Pentax original SR mechanism with user-assisting options like Shake Reduction (SR) which produces sharp, blur-free images.
Splurge: Canon EOS 1D Mark 111 has the new 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, a feature which is unmatched. It creates a sensitive, accurate and extremely low noise capture of image data. It features exceptionally wide ISO range which is the widest range of any DSLR camera in the world, 14-bit converters which are used to process the output of the imaging sensor. Its Dual DIGIC III Image Processors maintains high image quality and still attains higher processing speed. In addition to these features, it has EOS Integrated Cleaning System and Highlight Tone Priority which preserve greater detail in image highlight areas.
The above cameras emerged as the best DSLR cameras for 2011 according to various submitted reviews.