Digital SLR Terms

Megapixels	Cameras with more megapixels give you the freedom to make huge prints and to crop your photos, but they do not necessarily have higher image quality.
ISO and Image Noise	Increasing the ISO setting lets you take clear photos in dim light without having to use a flash, but it also degrades the image quality.
Dust Control	Dust that lands on an SLR sensor appears as small black spots in every photo you take. Dust controls systems attempt to prevent and eliminate this.
Image Stabilization	There are two types of stabilization: one that's included inside the camera and one that's inside the lens. Regardless of the type, stabilization helps to eliminate blur in your photos caused by camera shake.
Live View	With a live view system, you can compose photos using the LCD screen on the back of the camera in addition to the viewfinder.
Dynamic Range	Your eyes have exceptional dynamic range and can see details in a scene even when there's extreme contrast. Unfortunately, an SLR doesn't work quite as well as your eyes.
HDSLR	An HDSLR is a single camera that can capture both still images and High Definition (HD) video.
Crop Factor	A digital SLR sensor is smaller than a frame of 35mm film, so only a portion of the image that passes through the lens is captured by the sensor.
Autofocus	Autofocus systems can include anywhere from 3 to 9 individual focus points. More important that the number of points is the accuracy of the system.
Continuous Drive	A continuous drive lets you take multiple photos in rapid succession. More expensive cameras have faster continuous drives.
JPG and RAW Files	JPG is the standard format for digital images, and is easy to e-mail, upload and print, but RAW offers significantly more creative freedom.
Aspect Ratio	Wonder why your digital prints never turn out exactly like the image on your computer monitor? The culprit is aspect ratio.