As has been said...SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. The single lens part being that there is only ONE lens attached to the body of the camera. Some other types of cameras such as “Range Finders” and “Medium Formats” have 2 lenses. One that would go to the film and one that would go to the view finder. The problem with that is the photograph would not be exactly what was seen through the eyepiece, it would be slightly off. This is where the “Reflex” part comes in. By using a Mirror or a Prism, the image seen through the lens is bounced up to the eyepiece for viewing, then when the shutter button is pressed the mirror flips out of the way and allows the image to expose the film. This way the photo is exactly what the photographer sees without a slight offset. This was known as “See Through Lens” photography.

In most cases yes. The A/V (Audio Video) output is not disabled when using the Firewire or USB connection. If you use the A/V in/out to pass video through the camcorder to the computer the A/V cables work as input only. A/V in/out is only available on some models.

The compact cameras may not have the speed your looking for when it comes to shutter lag time. A D-SLR has the fastest time. Also a compact camera will not have the sensitivity you will need in low light situations and I have found that some animals have an uncanny knack of closing their eyes when a flash goes off. For that reason a D-SLR would be good for you because the sensitivity can be set very high to not need a flash. D-SLR Cameras are more durable and you can add larger lenses for more Zoom. Canon, Sony and Nikon all have excellent cameras starting around $499.

Night Recording is a feature found on many camcorders that lets you record images in low light without sacrificing color. A few camcorders can shoot in no light (0 lux) using infrared technology. Images shot in total darkness appear as monochrome images in playback mode. Sony has the most camcorders that have Night Shot feature built into them allowing you to shot at 0 lux.