A medium format camera can also be a DSLR. An a6700 or an A7 is not a rangefinder, it's a mirrorless camera. You're mixing up characteristics.

DSLR means: it's digital, it uses one lens, and the visor image comes from the same lens that goes to the film, but reflected on a mirror to your eye (probably through a pentaprism, but that can vary), so you can see the same image that will be captured in the sensor.

A rangefinder is a camera where you look... through a rangefinder. It's a visor independent of the film/sensor, like a classic Leica. That means that the image you see is not exactly the same that will reach the sensor/film, as it will go through a different optical system. There are digital rangefinders like the M series Leicas.

Mirrorless means, it doesn't have a mirror to send the image to the visor. The typical mirrorless cameras nowadays get the visor image directly from the sensor, you don't look through a rangefinder. A rangefinder is mirrorless, but not every mirrorless is a rangefinder. Most digital mirrorless cameras aren't rangefinders.

A rangefinder (or mirrorless) camera is not inherently better than a DSLR. Mirrorless cameras can have simpler optical designs that achieve more quality easier, but there are better and worse cameras in both sides.

>A rangefinder is a higher quality camera than an SLR ever was

This does not mean anything at all. The comparison is total nonsense.

>and a full frame mirrorless probably has better quality than a DSLR

No. DSLR and Mirrorless camera differ how the viewfinder works. Generally Mirrorless cameras are newer, but ranking them for quality is totally nonsensical. This is independent of the size of the sensor.

>A medium format camera can be better than all of those.

You are comparing totally different things. A full frame Camera can be Mirrorless or a DSLR. There is no comparison to be made here. You are totally confused about technology and terminology.

Respectfully, its not that simple. I dont think you know what you are talking about.

While I mostly agree its a matter of jargon, the original author never calls their camera a DSLR.

Also yes while yes many cameras do not have moving shutters, they still operate with an electronic shutter which just like a moving one does have various limitations.

I'd argue though to many a photographer, calling any ILC or sufficiently costly camera a DSLR is akin to a post calling an android phone a linux phone. To the layperson the nuance between ubuntu's kernel or a pixel's doesnt matter to them, however to the intended audiences it sure does.

No. When I see a6700 and DSLR used in the same sentence, I have to question whether that is a misunderstanding on the author's side, whether it's actually for Sony a6700 or some other camera, or if anything in the repo makes sense or if the author knows what they are doing. This erodes confidence if the author cannot even get the very basics right.

No - it's "single-lens reflex", a single attribute without comma. That is, a mirror redirecting light from a single lens to different targets (viewfinder and film/sensor).

If "four out of five words" was good enough, then an analogue film camera is also a DSLR - it's only missing the "digital" part after all. Seahorse and racehorse is also just one word apart, so basically the same, right?

Sometimes four out of five doesn't cut it. Thats like claiming my car is an electric car because "they both have batteries and motors". Or like saying C is a functional programming language because its a programming language that "has functions".

The defining characteristic of SLR and DSLR cameras is the reflex mechanism, which is a giant mechanism inside the camera that sits in front of the film or sensor. The mechanism uses a mirror to allow the viewfinder to work. And the whole thing needs to physically flip out of the way when you press the shutter button to expose the film. But as a result, SLR / DSLR cameras are usually way bigger physically to make room for the mirror and the reflex mechanism.

Mirrorless cameras like the A6700 don't have this reflex mechanism, so they're not DSLR cameras. They're called mirrorless cameras. Same as the cameras in our phones.

DSLR describes the basic operation mechanism of the camera. The A6700 does not have that mechanism, it has no optical viewfinder.

DSLR is an obsolete technology, just like your phone modern cameras can use their digital sensors to give a preview of the actual image on the sensor. Saying that some camera is a DSLR means something, namely that it uses an optical mechanism to project the light through the lense into a viewfinder. It is a technical term with a clear meaning, calling the A6700 a DSLR is wrong.