Point & Shoot or DSLR?

When you decide it’s time to switch from film to digital, or it’s time to upgrade your older digital camera, one question you should consider is what type to purchase. There are two general classes of digital cameras – Point & Shoot or Digital Single Lens Reflex. There are advantages to each type.

At one time the differences were great enough that the decision was easy. DSLRs were so expensive that only the professional photographer could justify purchasing one. Now there are inexpensive DSLRs as well as point & shoot cameras that are capable of producing quality images equivalent to the output of DSLRs of only a few years past. Almost any camera on the shelves today is capable of producing images that will meet the needs of most users. It is not a quality issue – it is more what the user wants to do with the camera that determines which to choose.

One obvious difference between the two camera types is the lens. A point & shoot camera has the lens permanently attached; a DSLR has a removable & interchangeable lens. Although point & shoot cameras have been developed with extended zoom ranges of 12:1 or more, a DSLR generally has a wider choice of lens focal lengths & types. If your mission is to photograph birds, you will find the DSLR coupled with a 400mm or 500mm lens will outperform the best of the point & shoot cameras. Of course, a good 500mm lens will cost far more than the DSLR!

The advantage of a permanently attached lens is less opportunity for dust to end up on the sensor. When you change lenses with DSLRs it is possible, in fact likely, that you will end up with dust on the sensor. Depending on the aperture you use making an exposure, the dust may show in the image. Although some cameras have built in sensor cleaning, sooner or later you will either need to wet clean the sensor or send the camera to someone to do it for you. It is not an impossible task, however you will be wiping a cleaning pad across the sensor (well, actually across a filter covering the sensor), scratch it & you’ll be sending it back to the manufacturer for an expensive replacement.

Read on for more differences between the camera types.

Another big difference is the physical size of the camera. Many point & shoot cameras are small enough to easily fit in a shirt pocket. DSLRs and the lens collection that goes with them usually requires at least a small camera bag. Add a few specialized lenses, external flash, etc, and it is easy to end up trying to carry around 50 lbs or more of equipment. The DSLR owner may end up missing many photo opportunities simply because he or she didn’t want to carry everything all the time, while the shirt pocket point & shoot easily goes everywhere. Some DSLR owners keep a point & shoot to carry everywhere & use the DSLR for planned photo opportunities. In any case, the casual photographer will probably prefer a compact point & shoot camera.

Other differences include the size of the sensor (DSLR sensors are usually larger, resulting in lower noise & higher resolution.) Modern point & shoot cameras are perfectly capable of producing high quality large prints, at least up to 20″ X 30″ under ideal lighting conditions, but most DSLRs are capable of producing larger images, and better images under poor lighting conditions.

DSLRs generally turn on, focus & react to pushing the shutter release faster than point & shoot cameras. Although some of the newest point & shoot cameras are getting better, if you need a camera that reacts quickly, a DSLR is probably a better choice. If you want a fast reacting point & shoot, be sure to read reviews of your choice. Check dpreview, Digital Camera Resource Page, or Steve’s Digicams for reviews.
DSLRs often provide more user settings – this can be an advantage to the photographer that wishes to experiment, but overwhelm the beginner with layers & layers of menu items. For example, the Nikon D300 manual has 448 pages! The difference isn’t quite as extreme as this implies – Most entry level DSLRs have “scene” settings that automatically adjust the camera settings, while the most advanced point & shoot cameras have settings for complete manual control. You can be overwhelmed by either! If the manufacturer’s manual is too confusing, look for after market manuals. For example, Thom Hogan produces very good manuals for some Nikon & Fuji DSLRs.

If you like to experiment, it will be easier with the DSLR. For example, although it may be possible to attach a filter to a point & shoot camera, DSLR lenses are designed to accept filters. Accessories for macro (close up) photography such as bellows or extension rings go between the camera body & lens – obviously, they won’t work with a point & shoot. There are often alternatives that work with point & shoot cameras, but a DSLR will be far more flexible.

Do you want to shoot video as well as still images with your camera? Although many point & shoot digital cameras are capable of shooting video and many video cameras will shoot still images, I strongly recommend not planning on one camera to do both. If you must combine them, decide which is your primary use & purchase a camera designed for that. If your primary use is still photography, and you want the ability to shoot video as well, you will be limited to point & shoot cameras. Again, I recommend separate systems – any combination will have compromises that will limit their use.

Finally, cost. In general, you are going to spend far more going the DSLR route. You can purchase a entry level DSLR with a kit lens (a mid range, inexpensive zoom lens that is often supplied with the camera) from either of the two major manufacturers (Canon & Nikon) for around $600.00 – $700.00. While a high end point & shoot such as the newly released Fuji FinePix S100FS can cost more ($800.00), most good quality point & shoot cameras are going to be in the $200.00 – $400.00 range. Once you have purchased the point & shoot camera the additional accessories are going to be minimal; with the DSLR the sky’s the limit! Want that fast f/4 – 500mm lens to take closeups of birds or animals at Yellowstone? Expect to spend around $8000.00. Even simple accessories such as a tripod will be more expensive because the camera & lens will likely be heavier. Although there are users of DSLRs that stick with the camera & kit lens that came with it, most will add accessories. One additional note on costs – if you are switching from film to digital to save money, you are going to have to shoot a lot of pictures to see the savings. Most digital camera users will increase the number of photographs they take, but the initial cost of digital cameras generally far exceeds that of an equivalent film camera & the number of rolls of film the average user takes. There are many other advantages of switching to digital, but cost savings isn’t one of them. See the next paragraph for another reason:

What ever decision you make, it probably won’t be final. With film cameras, you can improve your images by changing the film you put in the camera. Although digital cameras, particularly DSLRs often have firmware updates, the updates rarely improve the overall quality of the image they produce. If you become disappointed with the image quality, features, available accessories, etc you will need to purchase a new camera. In my case I started with an Olympus D400, a 1.2MP camera. Seven cameras later, I am currently using a Nikon D200 & would love to upgrade to either a D300 or D3, Nikon’s first full frame DSLR. Unless it is a fairly recent purchase, most digital camera owners have already replaced their first digital camera.

One last consideration. If you go for the DSLR, think about lenses and accessories. It does not take long before your collection of lenses will be worth more than the camera. You may feel tied to a manufacturer because of your lens collection. Although the major manufactures produce wide ranges of available lenses & third party companies like Sigma, Tamron, Tokina & even Zeiss make lenses for a variety of cameras, be sure the camera you choose has a good accessory & lens path.