<p>The DSLR is everywhere. You see it around the necks of tourists, against the faces of pro photographers. Since Canon introduced the Digital Rebel in 2003, the DSLR has come to dominate photography outright. That ubiquity is about to come to an end so abrupt, you might not even have time to notice it.</p><p>No, this isn't another smartphone screed. Yes, they're popular, but they're still not anywhere near winning over the enthusiast demand for more expensive, higher quality devices like DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. This is about a turning point in photography, and the relegation of one of its most popular formats into a purely niche product for pros. It's already begun.Back in the DSLR</p><p>Digital SLR has become such a common acronym that most people confuse it for any camera that has interchangeable lenses. It's actually a very specific type of camera, with one very specific mechanism: the single lens reflex. That SLR mechanism dates back almost a century, and it has dictated many iconic camera attributes such as size, shape, and some aspects of performance.</p><p>The SLR accounts for what you see when you look through your camera's viewfinder. When light enters through the camera's lens, it strikes a little reflex mirror that bounces it up into a prism, then onto ground glass, which is what you look at when you bring the camera up to your eye. When you finally press the shutter button, the mirror swings out of the way so that the light can strike the digital sensor (or film) that sits behind it.</p><p><a href="http://gizmodo.com/the-last-days-of-the-dslr-1465327158">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://techland.time.com/2013/12/05/the-top-cameras-on-the-market-point-and-shoot-mirrorless-dslr/">The Top Cameras on the Market: Point and Shoot, Mirrorless, DSLR</a> (TIME)</p><p><a href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/Digital-Cameras/The-6-best-DSLR-cameras-for-shooting_18724.html">The 6 best DSLR cameras for shooting videos</a> (Digit)</p><p><a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/2013-holiday-christmas-camera-gift-guide-dslrs-or-mirrorless-cameras-buy-canon-nikon-sony-1499596">2013 Holiday And Christmas Camera Gift Guide: DSLRs Or Mirrorless Cameras ...</a> (International Business Times)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=ddTYwnTbw5kSVnMc9ML5pp6YkyAgM&ned=us">10 additional articles.</a></p>