[pastel8739]

DLSR stands for Digital Single-Lens Reflex. An a6700 is indeed digital, has a single lens, and is undoubtedly a camera. All it’s missing is a reflex mechanism. So I’d say that in four out of five ways, it is indeed a DSLR camera.

[arghwhat]

No - it's "single-lens reflex", a single attribute without comma. That is, a mirror redirecting light from a single lens to different targets (viewfinder and film/sensor).

If "four out of five words" was good enough, then an analogue film camera is also a DSLR - it's only missing the "digital" part after all. Seahorse and racehorse is also just one word apart, so basically the same, right?

[fooker]

> an analogue film camera is also a DSLR

Funny you say that, as this is where the term originated.

Electronic (as opposed to mechanical) control of focus and controls were called ‘digital’ long before the advent of digital sensors.

[arghwhat]

The digital camera was invented in 1968, the first auto-focusing SLR is from 1978.

Auto-exposure came a few years before auto focus, but not by much as it still required not only light metering but also multiple mechanical couplings to the lens.

Such cameras (like the famous Canon A-1) were never refered to as "digital cameras", and SLR was used to distinguish from rangefinders primarily.

[josephg]

Sometimes four out of five doesn't cut it. Thats like claiming my car is an electric car because "they both have batteries and motors". Or like saying C is a functional programming language because its a programming language that "has functions".

The defining characteristic of SLR and DSLR cameras is the reflex mechanism, which is a giant mechanism inside the camera that sits in front of the film or sensor. The mechanism uses a mirror to allow the viewfinder to work. And the whole thing needs to physically flip out of the way when you press the shutter button to expose the film. But as a result, SLR / DSLR cameras are usually way bigger physically to make room for the mirror and the reflex mechanism.

Mirrorless cameras like the A6700 don't have this reflex mechanism, so they're not DSLR cameras. They're called mirrorless cameras. Same as the cameras in our phones.

[constantcrying]

DSLR describes the basic operation mechanism of the camera. The A6700 does not have that mechanism, it has no optical viewfinder.

DSLR is an obsolete technology, just like your phone modern cameras can use their digital sensors to give a preview of the actual image on the sensor. Saying that some camera is a DSLR means something, namely that it uses an optical mechanism to project the light through the lense into a viewfinder. It is a technical term with a clear meaning, calling the A6700 a DSLR is wrong.