what do the mirrors on a camera actually do

[morgtech]

What do the DSLR mirrors do

 

[harryk]

A Single Reflex Camera (SLR or DSLR) has an angled mirror in front of the sensor. This mirror reflects the light from the lens into the viewfinder. When taking a photograph the mirror flips out of the way and lets the light shine onto the sensor. The advantage of this is that the photographer can look through the viewfinder and see exactly what the sensor will see as it's sharing a lens. Before auto-focus this was vital because the photographer could verify that the image was in focus before triggering the shutter.

 

 

[morgtech]

Cool thx