The basics of digital photography are pretty much the same whether you're using a digital compact or DSLR (also referred to simply as an SLR), but there are a few important differences.

Digital Compacts

One of the biggest advantages to digital compacts is the cost. Another thing to consider when buying a DSLR is that you will need to purchase at least one lens for your camera especially if you want to take distant photographs. Digital compacts always come with a built in lens and sometimes even come with a zoom.

If you do have an optical zoom on your digital compact then you'll also be able to take some good quality telephoto pictures. An optical zoom is always far better than a digital zoom because a digital zoom works like cropping – it takes away pixels. The more you zoom with a digital zoom the lower the image quality. On the other hand, an optical zoom maintains the quality of your photo.

Some compacts will take such high quality images that many a pro will use one when they don't want to carry all of their DSLR gear. The quality of the photo depends largely on the photographer's skill.

While digital compacts don't have as many mega pixels as DSLRs, with only 5 mega pixels, you can produce an 8×10 print of the type of quality you'd be proud to display in an 8×10 picture frame on your wall.

Finally, learning the digital photography basics of a compact is far easier then learning how to use a DSLR to its full advantage.

Digital Single Lens Reflexes (DSLRs)

A digital single lens reflex is the digital version of the SLR. DSLR's are also called SLRs but never the other way around. With the debut of the Canon Rebel and other more moderately priced DSLRs (relatively speaking) a few years ago, more photography enthusiasts are discovering the advantages of a DSLR.

The big advantage of the DSLR is its creativity and versatility. 

For example, by using a long telephoto lens you can take a close up of an eagle on the top of a tree and you'll never be able to tell from the picture that he was so far away. With a DSLR, you can find a lens or filter to suit almost any photographic need.

Another benefit of DSLRs is their ability to take sharp pictures of sports or action photos in low light situations where a flash won't work. The larger sensor on a DSLR allows you to do this; whereas with a compact, if you set the ISO high enough to take the shot in the dim light, it would have digital noise (sort of a multi colored grain).  If you're taking still shots, it's not an issue. The problem with Sports Mode in a low light setting is that the shutter must close quickly so there is just not enough light to hit the image sensor even with a large aperture setting. The only way this can be overcome is with a flash or a higher ISO setting.

However, you can get rid of most digital noise by using photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop.

Another DSLR advantage is that you can use an external flash which can make a huge difference.

DSLRs have more megapixels than the best of the digital compacts, meaning you can take and print high quality pictures for framing in large picture frames like 11×14 frames or larger.. And lastly, digital cameras are slower to take pictures than film cameras but DSLRs are much faster than digital compacts.

Remember, digital photography basics start with choosing a camera, but the quality of the photographs largely depend on the skill of the photographer. So no matter what type of camera you have or will be buying, it pays to practice.