P & S cameras

ray wrote:
On Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:38:13 -0800, SMS wrote:

ray wrote:

It's a bit like the "film vs digital" wars. Quite obviously each
has
it's place. I'm willing to grant that ultimately a DSLR may
actually
take 'better' pictures than a P&S. But, quite frankly, I don't
want
to pack thirty pounds of camera gear when I'm out hiking,
bicycling
or showshoeing.

That's quite an exaggeration. The Canon XSi weighs 17 ounces. The
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens weighs 21 ounces (and there
are a lot lighter lenses as well). These aren't the lightest D-SLRs
and lenses either. You can easily keep it under 3 pounds, an order
of magnitude less than 30 pounds. The real issue that is that it's
a
lot bulkier.

And the rest of the lenses I would need to equal the 12x zoom on my
Kodak P850?

Use the 18-270 Tamron intead of the 18-200 Canon and you've got that
zoom range beat.

The Canon G10 weighs 14 ounces. Start adding lens adapters for
telephoto and wide angle, and extension tubes, and you aren't
saving
much in terms of weight and volume and you're adding a lot of
hassle
and getting very inferior results.

What's a canon g10? I don't do canon. I use a Kodak P850.

The fuzz machine? If you're satisfied with what that does then you're
easy to please.

I carry a P&S while bicycling or nordic skiing, but often I'll take
the D-SLR hiking. There's a lot of shots you can't get with a P&S.
I
was down at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz to see the
Monarch butterflies, and a P&S would have been just a joke to try
to
get any decent shots using multiple tele-converters. In fact I
really wanted one of those Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lenses, but
it's not in the budget.

P&S cameras are great for "snapshots."

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Fri, 7 Nov 2008 18:57:46 -0500, "J. Clarke" wrote:

SMS wrote:
J. Clarke wrote:
SMS wrote:
J. Clarke wrote:

Huh? Why would you carry "lens adapters for telephoto and wide
angle, and extension tubes (how does one use an extension tube
with
a P&S anyway)"? If you need a long tele then why would you be
taking a G10 anyway? An SX1IS or SX10 IS will give you nearly
twice
the magnification of the 18-200 with no "lens adapters", and go a
little wider as well, and since it can focus on an object that is
touching the lens there is no need for "extension tubes" either.
The SX1 is nearly $800,

B&H has the SX10 in stock at 350. And my three year old Panasonic
has nearly the same zoom range, as do several older models from
Canon--you don't have to get an SX1 to get that range.

the wide angle is limited to 28mm,

And on a 1.6 crop sensor like the XSi the 18-200 gives the
equivalent
of 28.8 mm on the wide end, so they're roughly even.

Yes, but you can go well beyond 28mm with a wide-angle lens if the
need arises in the future. It's all about not buying into the
planned
obsolescence of the entire system.

System? A point-and-shoot is not a "system".

It very much is, when you include wide-angle and telephoto adapters. Just as you
would include all the many DSLR lenses required to make any DSLR body the least
bit functional.



High ISO performance is one of the areas in which DSLRs have an
advantage, but if you don't need high ISO performance then it's
moot.

Yes, if you always shoot outdoors in bright light, or indoors with a
powerful flash attachment, you don't need high ISO.

And that is how some people work.

--

Then why aren't you educating yourself to the many inexpensive slave-triggers
available for P&S cameras? Afraid that it might make your outrageously
overpriced DSLR investment obsolete? (I already know it is.)

You are so amazingly transparent and insecure in your choices in life.

LOL

On Fri, 7 Nov 2008 19:07:12 -0500, "J. Clarke" wrote:

The fuzz machine? If you're satisfied with what that does then you're
easy to please.

Better to get an award-winning photo, than none at all from a less-capable DSLR.

You ignorantly ****ed-up stupid dslr troll.

J. Clarke wrote:

System? A point-and-shoot is not a "system".

Well you hit on the root of the problem. You're right of course, but
what some people do is to try to turn it into a system with various
adapters and converters. The results are mediocre to be sure, but for
those that don't understand anything about camera optics they thing,
"gee I'll add a telephoto or wide angle adapter to my P&S and it's just
like swapping a lens on a D-SLR, and look how much money I saved." They
don't understand that there's much more to a D-SLR than being just being
able to go very wide or very telephoto, and they don't understand
anything about optics.

On Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:34:55 -0800, SMS wrote:

J. Clarke wrote:

System? A point-and-shoot is not a "system".

Well you hit on the root of the problem. You're right of course, but
what some people do is to try to turn it into a system with various
adapters and converters. The results are mediocre to be sure, but for
those that don't understand anything about camera optics they thing,
"gee I'll add a telephoto or wide angle adapter to my P&S and it's just
like swapping a lens on a D-SLR, and look how much money I saved." They
don't understand that there's much more to a D-SLR than being just being
able to go very wide or very telephoto, and they don't understand
anything about optics.

tsk tsk....

Many points outlined below completely disprove your usual resident-troll
bull****. You can either read it and educate yourself, or don't read it and
continue to prove to everyone that you are nothing but a virtual-photographer
newsgroup-troll and a fool.


1. P&S cameras can have more seamless zoom range than any DSLR glass in
existence. (E.g. 9mm f2.7 - 1248mm f/3.5.) There are now some excellent
wide-angle and telephoto (tel-extender) add-on lenses for many makes and models
of P&S cameras. Add either or both of these small additions to your photography
gear and, with some of the new super-zoom P&S cameras, you can far surpass any
range of focal-lengths and apertures that are available or will ever be made for
larger format cameras.

2. P&S cameras can have much wider apertures at longer focal lengths than any
DSLR glass in existence. (E.g. 549mm f/2.4 and 1248mm f/3.5) when used with
high-quality tel-extenders, which by the way, do not reduce the lens' original
aperture one bit. Only DSLRs suffer from that problem due to the manner in which
their tele-converters work. They can also have higher quality full-frame
180-degree circular fisheye and intermediate super-wide-angle views than any
DSLR and its glass in existence. Some excellent fish-eye adapters can be added
to your P&S camera which do not impart any chromatic-aberration nor
edge-softness. When used with a super-zoom P&S camera this allows you to
seamlessly go from as wide as a 9mm (or even wider) 35mm equivalent focal-length
up to the wide-angle setting of the camera's own lens.

3. P&S smaller sensor cameras can and do have wider dynamic range than larger
sensor cameras E.g. a 1/2.5" sized sensor can have a 10.3EV Dynamic Range vs. an
APS-C's typical 7.0-8.0EV Dynamic Range. One quick example:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/...7ceaf3a1_o.jpg

4. P&S cameras are cost efficient. Due to the smaller (but excellent) sensors
used in many of them today, the lenses for these cameras are much smaller.
Smaller lenses are easier to manufacture to exacting curvatures and are more
easily corrected for aberrations than larger glass used for DSLRs. This also
allows them to perform better at all apertures rather than DSLR glass which is
only good for one aperture setting per lens. Side by side tests prove that P&S
glass can out-resolve even the best DSLR glass ever made. After all is said and
done, you will spend 1/4th to 1/50th the price that you would have to in order
to get comparable performance in a DSLR camera. When you buy a DSLR you are
investing in a body that will require expensive lenses, hand-grips, external
flash units, heavy tripods, more expensive larger filters, etc. etc. The
outrageous costs of owning a DSLR add up fast after that initial DSLR body
purchase. Camera companies count on this, all the way to their banks.

5. P&S cameras are lightweight and convenient. With just one P&S camera plus one
small wide-angle adapter and one small telephoto adapter weighing just a couple
pounds, you have the same amount of zoom range as would require over 10 to 20
pounds of DSLR body and lenses. You can carry the whole P&S kit in one roomy
pocket of a wind-breaker or jacket. The DSLR kit would require a sturdy
backpack. You also don't require a massive tripod. Large tripods are required to
stabilize the heavy and unbalanced mass of the larger DSLR and its massive
lenses. A P&S camera, being so light, can be used on some of the most
inexpensive, compact, and lightweight tripods with excellent results.

6. P&S cameras are silent. For the more common snap-shooter/photographer, you
will not be barred from using your camera at public events, stage-performances,
and ceremonies. Or when trying to capture candid shots, you won't so easily
alert all those within a block around, from the obnoxious noise that your DSLR
is making, that you are capturing anyone's images. For the more dedicated
wildlife photographer a P&S camera will not endanger your life when
photographing potentially dangerous animals by alerting them to your presence.

7. Some P&S cameras can run the revolutionary CHDK software on them, which
allows for lightning-fast motion detection (literally, lightning fast 45ms
response time, able to capture lightning strikes automatically) so that you may
capture more elusive and shy animals (in still-frame and video) where any
evidence of your presence at all might prevent their appearance. Without the
need of carrying a tethered laptop along or any other hardware into remote
areas--which only limits your range, distance, and time allotted for bringing
back that one-of-a-kind image. It also allows for unattended time-lapse
photography for days and weeks at a time, so that you may capture those unusual
or intriguing subject-studies in nature. E.g. a rare slime-mold's propagation,
that you happened to find in a mountain-ravine, 10-days hike from the nearest
laptop or other time-lapse hardware. (The wealth of astounding new features that
CHDK brings to the creative-table of photography are too extensive to begin to
list them all here. See http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK )

8. P&S cameras can have shutter speeds up to 1/40,000th of a second. See:
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CameraFeatures Allowing you to capture fast subject
motion in nature (e.g. insect and hummingbird wings) WITHOUT the need of
artificial and image destroying flash, using available light alone. Nor will
their wing shapes be unnaturally distorted from the focal-plane shutter
distortions imparted in any fast moving objects, as when photographed with all
DSLRs. (See focal-plane-shutter-distortions example-image link in #10.)

9. P&S cameras can have full-frame flash-sync up to and including shutter-speeds
of 1/40,000th of a second. E.g.
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Samples:_...%26_Flash-Sync without
the use of any expensive and specialized focal-plane shutter flash-units that
must strobe for the full duration of the shutter's curtain to pass over the
frame. The other downside to those kinds of flash units, is that the
light-output is greatly reduced the faster the shutter speed. Any shutter speed
used that is faster than your camera's X-Sync speed is cutting off some of the
flash output. Not so when using a leaf-shutter. The full intensity of the flash
is recorded no matter the shutter speed used. Unless, as in the case of CHDK
capable cameras where the camera's shutter speed can even be faster than the
lightning-fast single burst from a flash unit. E.g. If the flash's duration is
1/10,000 of a second, and your CHDK camera's shutter is set to 1/20,000 of a
second, then it will only record half of that flash output. P&S cameras also
don't require any expensive and dedicated external flash unit. Any of them may
be used with any flash unit made by using an inexpensive slave-trigger that can
compensate for any automated pre-flash conditions. Example:
http://www.adorama.com/SZ23504.html

10. P&S cameras do not suffer from focal-plane shutter drawbacks and
limitations. Causing camera shake, moving-subject image distortions
(focal-plane-shutter distortions, e.g.
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/ch...istortions.jpg
do note the distorted tail-rotor too and its shadow on the ground, 90-degrees
from one another), last-century-slow flash-sync, obnoxiously loud slapping
mirrors and shutter curtains, shorter mechanical life, easily damaged, expensive
repair costs, etc.

11. When doing wildlife photography in remote and rugged areas and harsh
environments, or even when the amateur snap-shooter is trying to take their
vacation photos on a beach or dusty intersection on some city street, you're not
worrying about trying to change lenses in time to get that shot (fewer missed
shots), dropping one in the mud, lake, surf, or on concrete while you do, and
not worrying about ruining all the rest of your photos that day from having
gotten dust & crud on the sensor. For the adventurous photographer you're no
longer weighed down by many many extra pounds of unneeded glass, allowing you to
carry more of the important supplies, like food and water, allowing you to trek
much further than you've ever been able to travel before with your old D/SLR
bricks.

12. Smaller sensors and the larger apertures available allow for the deep DOF
required for excellent macro-photography, WITHOUT the need of any image
destroying, subject irritating, natural-look destroying flash. No DSLR on the
planet can compare in the quality of available-light macro photography that can
be accomplished with nearly any smaller-sensor P&S camera.

13. P&S cameras include video, and some even provide for CD-quality stereo audio
recordings, so that you might capture those rare events in nature where a
still-frame alone could never prove all those "scientists" wrong. E.g. recording
the paw-drumming communication patterns of eusocial-living field-mice. With your
P&S video-capable camera in your pocket you won't miss that once-in-a-lifetime
chance to record some unexpected event, like the passage of a bright meteor in
the sky in daytime, a mid-air explosion, or any other newsworthy event. Imagine
the gaping hole in our history of the Hindenberg if there were no film cameras
there at the time. The mystery of how it exploded would have never been solved.
Or the amateur 8mm film of the shooting of President Kennedy. Your video-ready
P&S camera being with you all the time might capture something that will be a
valuable part of human history one day.

14. P&S cameras have 100% viewfinder coverage that exactly matches your final
image. No important bits lost, and no chance of ruining your composition by
trying to "guess" what will show up in the final image. With the ability to
overlay live RGB-histograms, and under/over-exposure area alerts (and dozens of
other important shooting data) directly on your electronic viewfinder display
you are also not going to guess if your exposure might be right this time. Nor
do you have to remove your eye from the view of your subject to check some
external LCD histogram display, ruining your chances of getting that perfect
shot when it happens.

15. P&S cameras can and do focus in lower-light (which is common in natural
settings) than any DSLRs in existence, due to electronic viewfinders and sensors
that can be increased in gain for framing and focusing purposes as light-levels
drop. Some P&S cameras can even take images (AND videos) in total darkness by
using IR illumination alone. (See: Sony) No other multi-purpose cameras are
capable of taking still-frame and videos of nocturnal wildlife as easily nor as
well. Shooting videos and still-frames of nocturnal animals in the total-dark,
without disturbing their natural behavior by the use of flash, from 90 ft. away
with a 549mm f/2.4 lens is not only possible, it's been done, many times, by
myself. (An interesting and true story: one wildlife photographer was nearly
stomped to death by an irate moose that attacked where it saw his camera's flash
come from.)

16. Without the need to use flash in all situations, and a P&S's nearly 100%
silent operation, you are not disturbing your wildlife, neither scaring it away
nor changing their natural behavior with your existence. Nor, as previously
mentioned, drawing its defensive behavior in your direction. You are recording
nature as it is, and should be, not some artificial human-changed distortion of
reality and nature.

17. Nature photography requires that the image be captured with the greatest
degree of accuracy possible. NO focal-plane shutter in existence, with its
inherent focal-plane-shutter distortions imparted on any moving subject will
EVER capture any moving subject in nature 100% accurately. A leaf-shutter or
electronic shutter, as is found in ALL P&S cameras, will capture your moving
subject in nature with 100% accuracy. Your P&S photography will no longer lead a
biologist nor other scientist down another DSLR-distorted path of non-reality.

18. Some P&S cameras have shutter-lag times that are even shorter than all the
popular DSLRs, due to the fact that they don't have to move those agonizingly
slow and loud mirrors and shutter curtains in time before the shot is recorded.
In the hands of an experienced photographer that will always rely on prefocusing
their camera, there is no hit & miss auto-focusing that happens on all
auto-focus systems, DSLRs included. This allows you to take advantage of the
faster shutter response times of P&S cameras. Any pro worth his salt knows that
if you really want to get every shot, you don't depend on automatic anything in
any camera.

19. An electronic viewfinder, as exists in all P&S cameras, can accurately relay
the camera's shutter-speed in real-time. Giving you a 100% accurate preview of
what your final subject is going to look like when shot at 3 seconds or
1/20,000th of a second. Your soft waterfall effects, or the crisp sharp outlines
of your stopped-motion hummingbird wings will be 100% accurately depicted in
your viewfinder before you even record the shot. What you see in a P&S camera is
truly what you get. You won't have to guess in advance at what shutter speed to
use to obtain those artistic effects or those scientifically accurate nature
studies that you require or that your client requires. When testing CHDK P&S
cameras that could have shutter speeds as fast as 1/40,000th of a second, I was
amazed that I could half-depress the shutter and watch in the viewfinder as a
Dremel-Drill's 30,000 rpm rotating disk was stopped in crisp detail in real
time, without ever having taken an example shot yet. Similarly true when
lowering shutter speeds for milky-water effects when shooting rapids and falls,
instantly seeing the effect in your viewfinder. Poor DSLR-trolls will never
realize what they are missing with their anciently slow focal-plane shutters and
wholly inaccurate optical viewfinders.

20. P&S cameras can obtain the very same bokeh (out of focus foreground and
background) as any DSLR by just increasing your focal length, through use of its
own built-in super-zoom lens or attaching a high-quality telextender on the
front. Just back up from your subject more than you usually would with a DSLR.
Framing and the included background is relative to the subject at the time and
has nothing at all to do with the kind of camera and lens in use. Your f/ratio
(which determines your depth-of-field), is a computation of focal-length divided
by aperture diameter. Increase the focal-length and you make your DOF shallower.
No different than opening up the aperture to accomplish the same. The two
methods are identically related where DOF is concerned.

21. P&S cameras will have perfectly fine noise-free images at lower ISOs with
just as much resolution as any DSLR camera. Experienced Pros grew up on ISO25
and ISO64 film all their lives. They won't even care if their P&S camera can't
go above ISO400 without noise. An added bonus is that the P&S camera can have
larger apertures at longer focal-lengths than any DSLR in existence. The time
when you really need a fast lens to prevent camera-shake that gets amplified at
those focal-lengths. Even at low ISOs you can take perfectly fine hand-held
images at super-zoom settings. Whereas the DSLR, with its very small apertures
at long focal lengths require ISOs above 3200 to obtain the same results. They
need high ISOs, you don't. If you really require low-noise high ISOs, there are
some excellent models of Fuji P&S cameras that do have noise-free images up to
ISO1600 and more.

22. Don't for one minute think that the price of your camera will in any way
determine the quality of your photography. Any of the newer cameras of around
$100 or more are plenty good for nearly any talented photographer today. IF they
have talent to begin with. A REAL pro can take an award winning photograph with
a cardboard Brownie Box camera made a century ago. If you can't take excellent
photos on a P&S camera then you won't be able to get good photos on a DSLR
either. Never blame your inability to obtain a good photograph on the kind of
camera that you own. Those who claim they NEED a DSLR are only fooling
themselves and all others. These are the same people that buy a new camera every
year, each time thinking, "Oh, if I only had the right camera, a better camera,
better lenses, faster lenses, then I will be a great photographer!" Camera
company's love these people. They'll never be able to get a camera that will
make their photography better, because they never were a good photographer to
begin with. The irony is that by them thinking that they only need to throw
money at the problem, they'll never look in the mirror to see what the real
problem is. They'll NEVER become good photographers. Perhaps this is why these
self-proclaimed "pros" hate P&S cameras so much. P&S cameras instantly reveal to
them their ****-poor photography skills.

23. Have you ever had the fun of showing some of your exceptional P&S
photography to some self-proclaimed "Pro" who uses $30,000 worth of camera gear.
They are so impressed that they must know how you did it. You smile and tell
them, "Oh, I just use a $150 P&S camera." Don't you just love the look on their
face? A half-life of self-doubt, the realization of all that lost money, and a
sadness just courses through every fiber of their being. Wondering why they
can't get photographs as good after they spent all that time and money. Get good
on your P&S camera and you too can enjoy this fun experience.

24. Did we mention portability yet? I think we did, but it is worth mentioning
the importance of this a few times. A camera in your pocket that is instantly
ready to get any shot during any part of the day will get more award-winning
photographs than that DSLR gear that's sitting back at home, collecting dust,
and waiting to be loaded up into that expensive back-pack or camera bag, hoping
that you'll lug it around again some day.

25. A good P&S camera is a good theft deterrent. When traveling you are not
advertising to the world that you are carrying $20,000 around with you. That's
like having a sign on your back saying, "PLEASE MUG ME! I'M THIS STUPID AND I
DESERVE IT!" Keep a small P&S camera in your pocket and only take it out when
needed. You'll have a better chance of returning home with all your photos. And
should you accidentally lose your P&S camera you're not out $20,000. They are
inexpensive to replace.

There are many more reasons to add to this list but this should be more than
enough for even the most unaware person to realize that P&S cameras are just
better, all around. No doubt about it.

The phenomenon of everyone yelling "You NEED a DSLR!" can be summed up in just
one short phrase:

"If even 5 billion people are saying and doing a foolish thing, it remains a
foolish thing."

SMS wrote:
wrote:

Any opinions anyone? I mean rational opinions, not insults etc. And
no comments on the merits of P/S vs SLR!

I've seen this sort of behavior when people desperately try to defend a
bad purchasing decision that they've made, against all facts and logic.
Or sometimes by people who believe that that these is only one kind of
battery that should ever be used in a camera.
Allen

On Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:07:12 -0500, J. Clarke wrote:

ray wrote:
On Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:38:13 -0800, SMS wrote:

ray wrote:

It's a bit like the "film vs digital" wars. Quite obviously each has
it's place. I'm willing to grant that ultimately a DSLR may actually
take 'better' pictures than a P&S. But, quite frankly, I don't want
to pack thirty pounds of camera gear when I'm out hiking, bicycling
or showshoeing.

That's quite an exaggeration. The Canon XSi weighs 17 ounces. The
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens weighs 21 ounces (and there are
a lot lighter lenses as well). These aren't the lightest D-SLRs and
lenses either. You can easily keep it under 3 pounds, an order of
magnitude less than 30 pounds. The real issue that is that it's a
lot bulkier.

And the rest of the lenses I would need to equal the 12x zoom on my
Kodak P850?

Use the 18-270 Tamron intead of the 18-200 Canon and you've got that
zoom range beat.

I don't have an 18-200 canon - I have an anything canon. I have a Kodak
P850 and it has a max (35mm equiv) of about 420.


The Canon G10 weighs 14 ounces. Start adding lens adapters for
telephoto and wide angle, and extension tubes, and you aren't saving
much in terms of weight and volume and you're adding a lot of hassle
and getting very inferior results.

What's a canon g10? I don't do canon. I use a Kodak P850.

The fuzz machine? If you're satisfied with what that does then you're
easy to please.

Easy to please when it does what I need, yes. This is about sufficiency.



I carry a P&S while bicycling or nordic skiing, but often I'll take
the D-SLR hiking. There's a lot of shots you can't get with a P&S. I
was down at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz to see the
Monarch butterflies, and a P&S would have been just a joke to try to
get any decent shots using multiple tele-converters. In fact I really
wanted one of those Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lenses, but it's not
in the budget.

P&S cameras are great for "snapshots."

--

AnthonyEvans wrote:
On Fri, 7 Nov 2008 18:01:25 -0000, wrote:

I own a P&S and an SLR, each has its uses. Recently I could'nt help but see
all these threads that revolve around the question of which type of camera
is "better". Personally I do not see that this is a question that has any
sense as the two types of camera are designed for different uses. Anyway,
has anyone any idea why the pro P&S posters tend to be so bizarre and quite
frankly not quite right in the head, as witnessed by their somewhat
hysterical postings. I am amazed at the emotion, derision, contempt and
even hatred they are able to put in their postings. Its creepy and
fascinating at the same time.
Any opinions anyone? I mean rational opinions, not insults etc. And no
comments on the merits of P/S vs SLR!


I see. The facts about P&S cameras are so contrary to your own beliefs, drummed

You don't have any facts, idiot. You're just a know-nothing asshole
pushing a religion that nobody's buying.

--
Ray Fischer

SMS wrote:
J. Clarke wrote:

System? A point-and-shoot is not a "system".

Well you hit on the root of the problem. You're right of course, but
what some people do is to try to turn it into a system with various
adapters and converters. The results are mediocre to be sure, but for
those that don't understand anything about camera optics they thing,
"gee I'll add a telephoto or wide angle adapter to my P&S and it's
just like swapping a lens on a D-SLR, and look how much money I
saved." They don't understand that there's much more to a D-SLR than
being just being able to go very wide or very telephoto, and they
don't understand anything about optics.

... and you may find that six months after the particular P&S has been
introduced, that the adapters and converters you wanted to buy are no
longer available. It takes much longer to screw-on and unscrew these
add-ons than changing the typical bayonet lens - you may have to dig into
the menus and tell the camera what you've done as well. Been there, done
that with both types of camera.

Cheers,
David

wrote in message
...

I'm wondering wether P&S cameras are going to become a lot less popular
after Xmas. I notice how SLRs are getting cheaper all the time and mobile
phones with built in cameras are getting better all the time. There is a
growing squeeze on the P&S market at the moment and I think sales of these
cameras may have peaked in the last year or so.

Did that happen with film cameras? No. Not even when some SLRs were
significantly less expensive than some rangefinders.

Then there is the Sigma DP1 retailing at $800, the Leica M8 at $5000, the
Ricoh GX200 at $600 - without a LCD!, all Digital and none a DSLR. The
equation is not a simple either or, and is further complicated by the issue
of sensor dust in the DSLR.