Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

With all the misinformation being posted by our friend with multiple
personalities, I thought that it would be a good idea to repost the
facts regarding the advantages of digital SLRs over digital P&S cameras.
If I've missed any of the advantages please follow-up with them.

Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

1. You shoot in low light.
Modern digital SLRs are able to produce low noise images at ISO speeds
up to 1600, depending on the camera. Point and shoot cameras, with their
small sensors, begin to exhibit noise at ISO 200, with some poorer
models being too noisy even at 100 ISO.

2. You want to use flash attachments.
While a few higher end point and shoot digital models have hot shoes for
an external flash, most do not. Some Canon P&S models without hot shoes
can use a wireless flash, but it's not a great flash unit.

3. You need a wide-angle lens.
Digital SLRs have super-wide-angle zoom lenses available with an
effective focal length of as little as 16mm. There are no point and
shoot digital cameras with lenses that wide. With some point and shoot
cameras you can add on adapters to increase the wide-angle range, but
even the best adapters are of mediocre quality.

4. You need a long telephoto lens.
Whether it’s doing wildlife photography in Alaska, or shooting at
sporting events, only a digital SLR can use long telephoto lenses. If
you only need a specialty lens for rare occasions, you can even rent one
for a couple of days. With some point and shoot cameras you can add on
adapters to increase the telephoto range but even the best adapters are
of mediocre quality.

5. You need fast auto-focus.
Most digital SLRs (with the exception of Pentax) use lenses with
internal high-speed focusing motors). Point and shoot digital cameras
cannot focus nearly as fast.

6. You need low shutter lag.
Whether it’s photographing your child on a merry-go-round, or capturing
the crack of the bat against the baseball, you cannot obtain these shots
with a digital point and shoot camera because the time between when you
press the shutter and the image is captured is far too long. A digital
SLR has a mechanical shutter that opens instantaneously when the shutter
release button is pressed. In a point and shoot camera, the sensor is
activated electronically after it is used to focus the shot.

7. You want to produce images that can be printed in large sizes.
Only a high-resolution digital SLR is suitable for poster size prints.

8. You want an optical viewfinder.
While a few point and shoot cameras have retained an optical viewfinder,
it’s been cost-reduced out of most models. Composing a picture on the
LCD screen, in bright sunlight, is very difficult.

9. You want full manual control.
While some high-end point and shoot models have retained some level of
manual control, most have cost-reduced it out. On some Canon models,
there is third-party software that can get some of the manual control
back, but it's very flaky and complicated.

10. Expandability and upgradability.
Not only a wide variety of specialty lenses, but flash attachments,
filters, vertical grips, remote shutter releases, etc. If you eventually
want to upgrade to a better D-SLR body, a lot of the lenses and
accessories can be used on the new body if it’s from the same manufacturer.

11. Rapid sequencing. For action shots, both of sports and people, you
can get the exact shot you want, even when the people are moving.

12. Cost. Say what? Yes, it’s true. With the free-fall of digital SLR
prices, you can now buy a D-SLR and a decent lens for less than the cost
of a high end point and shoot camera.

13. Wide-range walk-around lenses. It used to be that people would buy a
wide-range “SLR-like” P&S because they could achieve a wide zoom range
from wide-angle to telephoto without needing to change lenses, even
though the quality of these wide-range lenses wasn’t very good at the
ends. Now with several new wide-range D-SLR lenses, there is the option
of not having to change lenses. You can still use higher end wide angle
and telephoto lenses when the need arises, while enjoying the simplicity
of a wide-range zoom lens when you choose to be m

"SMS" wrote in message
...
With all the misinformation being posted by our friend with multiple
personalities, I thought that it would be a good idea to repost the facts
regarding the advantages of digital SLRs over digital P&S cameras. If I've
missed any of the advantages please follow-up with them.

Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

Nothing significant that I would argue with (as to your 13 reasons). But,
please face the fact that P&S cameras are all that MOST common folks really
need. And, the P&S cameras are getting better faster than the DSLRs ...
just my take on this issue.

SMS wrote:
With all the misinformation being posted by our friend with multiple
personalities, I thought that it would be a good idea to repost the
facts regarding the advantages of digital SLRs over digital P&S cameras.
If I've missed any of the advantages please follow-up with them.

Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

snipped

Good list for SLR's.

I know you're putting this up to fight or bait a particular troll, but
really, that's not what the NG is about, is it?

So, what Charles said is quite right as well.

--
-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch.
-- usenet posts from gmail.com and googlemail.com are filtered out.

On Mon, 3 Nov 2008 17:50:17 -0500, "Charles"
wrote:


"SMS" wrote in message
.. .
With all the misinformation being posted by our friend with multiple
personalities, I thought that it would be a good idea to repost the facts
regarding the advantages of digital SLRs over digital P&S cameras. If I've
missed any of the advantages please follow-up with them.

Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

Nothing significant that I would argue with (as to your 13 reasons). But,
please face the fact that P&S cameras are all that MOST common folks really
need. And, the P&S cameras are getting better faster than the DSLRs ...
just my take on this issue.

The 13 reasons for a Digital SLR camera over a P&S camera reminds me
of another discussion a few years ago.

That thread could of been titled.. Thirteen Reasons to choose a Film
camera over a Digital camera.

I wonder how that thread was resolved?.....

While I'd love to have a DSLR, some of the following "information" about p&s
cameras just isn't right, so I had to add my 2 cents worth...



"SMS" wrote in message
...
With all the misinformation being posted by our friend with multiple
personalities, I thought that it would be a good idea to repost the facts
regarding the advantages of digital SLRs over digital P&S cameras. If I've
missed any of the advantages please follow-up with them.

Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

1. You shoot in low light.
Modern digital SLRs are able to produce low noise images at ISO speeds
up to 1600, depending on the camera. Point and shoot cameras, with their
small sensors, begin to exhibit noise at ISO 200, with some poorer
models being too noisy even at 100 ISO.

In general, this is true. But, for most p&s photographers, prints won't
usually get enlarged past 4 x 6, so the noise isn't that big of a deal.

2. You want to use flash attachments.
While a few higher end point and shoot digital models have hot shoes for
an external flash, most do not. Some Canon P&S models without hot shoes
can use a wireless flash, but it's not a great flash unit.

I disagree. The Canon HF DC1 is a great flash. It's easy to use and
produces good results in most situations. It's biggest drawback is its
price -- about $125 to $150. But, even after adding the price of the flash
to most 'A' series cameras, the total cost is reasonable for the results
obtained.


3. You need a wide-angle lens.
Digital SLRs have super-wide-angle zoom lenses available with an
effective focal length of as little as 16mm. There are no point and
shoot digital cameras with lenses that wide. With some point and shoot
cameras you can add on adapters to increase the wide-angle range, but even
the best adapters are of mediocre quality.

I'll agree with this one. However, anyone who wants a lens in the 16mm
range will probably be looking for a DSLR anyway.

4. You need a long telephoto lens.
Whether it’s doing wildlife photography in Alaska, or shooting at
sporting events, only a digital SLR can use long telephoto lenses. If
you only need a specialty lens for rare occasions, you can even rent one
for a couple of days. With some point and shoot cameras you can add on
adapters to increase the telephoto range but even the best adapters are of
mediocre quality.

I have to disagree again. My A720 comes with a 35mm to 210mm equiv lens.
It's pretty good for shooting animals, kids, etc. If you want better, there
are plenty of ultra-zoom lens p&s cameras on the market. The Canon
Powershot SX 1 / 10 is rated at 28mm to 560mm equiv... How much more zoom
does an amateur photog need?


5. You need fast auto-focus.
Most digital SLRs (with the exception of Pentax) use lenses with
internal high-speed focusing motors). Point and shoot digital cameras
cannot focus nearly as fast.

Not always true. The higher end p&s cameras aren't all that much slower at
focusing than the lower end DSLRs. For the money, most are pretty good.


6. You need low shutter lag.
Whether it’s photographing your child on a merry-go-round, or capturing
the crack of the bat against the baseball, you cannot obtain these shots
with a digital point and shoot camera because the time between when you
press the shutter and the image is captured is far too long. A digital
SLR has a mechanical shutter that opens instantaneously when the shutter
release button is pressed. In a point and shoot camera, the sensor is
activated electronically after it is used to focus the shot.

Total hogwash. Before the DSLR shutter can be activated, the mirror has to
be moved out of the way. It all boils down to timing. The more a
photographer uses his / her camera, the better they get at compensating for
shutter and focusing delays. Right now, all of the p&s shooters out there
are sitting back and laughing, thinking to themselves, "I guess I must have
been using a DSLR when I got those great shots of my kids baseball game, day
at the beach, ride on the merry-go-round...



7. You want to produce images that can be printed in large sizes.
Only a high-resolution digital SLR is suitable for poster size prints.


Strangely enough, not everybody wants to print poster sized prints. Some of
us are contented doing 8 x 10s, 11 x 14s, and there are a number of p&s
cameras that can take pics at ISO 100 clean enough to print at these sizes.

8. You want an optical viewfinder.
While a few point and shoot cameras have retained an optical viewfinder,
it’s been cost-reduced out of most models. Composing a picture on the
LCD screen, in bright sunlight, is very difficult.

If everybody wants an optical viewfinder, why aren't camera manufacturers
building them? And, why are DSLRs going "Live View"? I think you have that
one back asswards.


9. You want full manual control.
While some high-end point and shoot models have retained some level of
manual control, most have cost-reduced it out. On some Canon models,
there is third-party software that can get some of the manual control
back, but it's very flaky and complicated.

You really need to do more research. The Canon 'A' series and SX 1 / 10 are
just a few of the p&s cameras that feature full manual control. There's no
difference from using the manual modes on these cameras than using the
equivalent modes with DSLR units.


10. Expandability and upgradability.
Not only a wide variety of specialty lenses, but flash attachments,
filters, vertical grips, remote shutter releases, etc. If you eventually
want to upgrade to a better D-SLR body, a lot of the lenses and
accessories can be used on the new body if it’s from the same
manufacturer.

You need to be more creative.

If you start with the Canon SX 1 / 10, you can work with the same flashes
used on the EOS DSLR cameras. It's a great way to get started in the Canon
line. Just think what it would cost you to start off with a camera equipped
with a 28mm to 560mm lens going the DSLR route...

It is my understanding that the Canon SX 1 / 10 comes packaged with a remote
control. How many DSLRs do that?

You won't need a vertical grip with a camera that fits in the palm of your
hand...

As for filters, who uses filters now? Get a copy of Photoshop instead.


11. Rapid sequencing. For action shots, both of sports and people, you can
get the exact shot you want, even when the people are moving.

Hate to break it to you, but p&s cameras shoot multiple pics, too. Sure,
the burst rate isn't as quick, but your odds are still pretty good. And, if
you aren't prepared to lug the heavier DSLR around all the time, your odds
are WAY better with the p&s camera you have in your pocket than they are
with the DSLR back at home...



12. Cost. Say what? Yes, it’s true. With the free-fall of digital SLR
prices, you can now buy a D-SLR and a decent lens for less than the cost
of a high end point and shoot camera.

????

Even if you can find such a deal, I think I'd go with the high end p&s over
the low end DSLR...


13. Wide-range walk-around lenses. It used to be that people would buy a
wide-range “SLR-like” P&S because they could achieve a wide zoom range
from wide-angle to telephoto without needing to change lenses, even though
the quality of these wide-range lenses wasn’t very good at the ends. Now
with several new wide-range D-SLR lenses, there is the option of not
having to change lenses. You can still use higher end wide angle and
telephoto lenses when the need arises, while enjoying the simplicity of a
wide-range zoom lens when you choose to be m

But, can you stick the DSLR in your pocket?

I don't go anywhere without my p&s camera.

How many DSLR shutterbugs can say that?

Don't get me wrong. I think that DSLR cameras are great, and I hope to
upgrade to one, eventually. But, after I upgrade, the DSLR will be used
only for images I will want to print very large, or for the ones I want to
catch in extreme lighting conditions. I'm guessing I'll still take more
pics with the p&s than I will with the DSLR.

Take Care,
Dudley

On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:41:54 -0800, SMS wrote:


Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

With an honest reply to this highly deceptive sack-of-**** DSLR-troll.


1. You shoot in low light.
Modern digital SLRs are able to produce low noise images at ISO speeds
up to 1600, depending on the camera. Point and shoot cameras, with their
small sensors, begin to exhibit noise at ISO 200, with some poorer
models being too noisy even at 100 ISO.

Not true.

The only drawback, for the untalented photographer, is not having very high ISO
images devoid of excessive noise. This is offset when needing long-zoom ratios
at the P&S camera's available larger apertures where there is then no real need
for high ISOs, the time when DSLRs' long lenses with much smaller apertures
require it the most. Talented and experienced photographers grew up on ASA25 and
ASA64 film, some using nothing more than that their whole lives. Talented
photographers see no real need for high ISOs (unless to compensate for drawbacks
in the equipment, or when needed by an inexperienced or talentless hack). That's
it, that's the only thing going for the larger sensor cameras. Nothing more than
that. A minor perk that's not even needed by a talented photographer.

If you really need high ISOs, then ome P&S cameras have noise-free ISOs up to
3200 and more. Catch up.


2. You want to use flash attachments.
While a few higher end point and shoot digital models have hot shoes for
an external flash, most do not. Some Canon P&S models without hot shoes
can use a wireless flash, but it's not a great flash unit.

Not true.

Every last one of them can trigger off-camera digital slave triggers,
inexpensively, using any flash unit available. Compensating for any pre-flashes
that any digital camera's on-board flash will produce.

E.g. http://www.adorama.com/SZ23504.html


3. You need a wide-angle lens.
Digital SLRs have super-wide-angle zoom lenses available with an
effective focal length of as little as 16mm. There are no point and
shoot digital cameras with lenses that wide. With some point and shoot
cameras you can add on adapters to increase the wide-angle range, but
even the best adapters are of mediocre quality.

Not true.

P&S cameras can have more seamless zoom range than any DSLR glass in existence.
(E.g. 9mm f2.7 - 1248mm f/3.5.) (100% proved in another thread.) By use of
high-quality add-on lenses that don't degrade the image.



4. You need a long telephoto lens.
Whether it’s doing wildlife photography in Alaska, or shooting at
sporting events, only a digital SLR can use long telephoto lenses. If
you only need a specialty lens for rare occasions, you can even rent one
for a couple of days. With some point and shoot cameras you can add on
adapters to increase the telephoto range but even the best adapters are
of mediocre quality.

Not true.

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), and higher quality
full-frame 180-degree circular fisheye and intermediate super-wide-angle views
than any DSLR and its glass in existence. (100% proved in another thread.)



5. You need fast auto-focus.
Most digital SLRs (with the exception of Pentax) use lenses with
internal high-speed focusing motors). Point and shoot digital cameras
cannot focus nearly as fast.


Not true.

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.)

6. You need low shutter lag.
Whether it’s photographing your child on a merry-go-round, or capturing
the crack of the bat against the baseball, you cannot obtain these shots
with a digital point and shoot camera because the time between when you
press the shutter and the image is captured is far too long. A digital
SLR has a mechanical shutter that opens instantaneously when the shutter
release button is pressed. In a point and shoot camera, the sensor is
activated electronically after it is used to focus the shot.

Not true.

Electronic triggering will always be faster than any last-century mechanical
contraption.

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.



7. You want to produce images that can be printed in large sizes.
Only a high-resolution digital SLR is suitable for poster size prints.

Not true.

Newer P&S cameras have just as much resolution as any DSLR.


8. You want an optical viewfinder.
While a few point and shoot cameras have retained an optical viewfinder,
it’s been cost-reduced out of most models. Composing a picture on the
LCD screen, in bright sunlight, is very difficult.

Not true.


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.)



9. You want full manual control.
While some high-end point and shoot models have retained some level of
manual control, most have cost-reduced it out. On some Canon models,
there is third-party software that can get some of the manual control
back, but it's very flaky and complicated.

Not true.

See http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK Many low-end P&S models now have had full
manual control given back to them.



10. Expandability and upgradability.
Not only a wide variety of specialty lenses, but flash attachments,
filters, vertical grips, remote shutter releases, etc. If you eventually
want to upgrade to a better D-SLR body, a lot of the lenses and
accessories can be used on the new body if it’s from the same manufacturer.

Very true.

DSLRs require all those add-ons to make them the least bit useful. Whereas a P&S
camera has all those features self-contained in one compact, inexpensive,
lightweight camera.


11. Rapid sequencing. For action shots, both of sports and people, you
can get the exact shot you want, even when the people are moving.

See the P&S cameras with burst modes at 60 full-frames per second, and up to
1,200 frames per second at reduced resolution.

Why must you lie so much to retain your false beliefs?


12. Cost. Say what? Yes, it’s true. With the free-fall of digital SLR
prices, you can now buy a D-SLR and a decent lens for less than the cost
of a high end point and shoot camera.

Now add in the price of all the lenses and accessories to make that DSLR camera
body functional. Again you lose. You always will. Because you are a loser.


13. Wide-range walk-around lenses. It used to be that people would buy a
wide-range “SLR-like” P&S because they could achieve a wide zoom range
from wide-angle to telephoto without needing to change lenses, even
though the quality of these wide-range lenses wasn’t very good at the
ends. Now with several new wide-range D-SLR lenses, there is the option
of not having to change lenses. You can still use higher end wide angle
and telephoto lenses when the need arises, while enjoying the simplicity
of a wide-range zoom lens when you choose to be m

P&S cameras can have more seamless zoom range than any DSLR glass in existence.
(E.g. 9mm f2.7 - 1248mm f/3.5.) (100% proved in another thread.)


In case you missed them, here's just a few of the vast benefits of P&S cameras
and the huge related drawbacks of ALL DSLRs (some sections further edited for
clarity):


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.) (100% proved in another thread.)

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), and higher quality
full-frame 180-degree circular fisheye and intermediate super-wide-angle views
than any DSLR and its glass in existence. (100% proved in another thread.)

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 silent. They will not endanger your life when photographing
potentially dangerous wildlife by alerting them to your presence. Or for the
more common snap-shooter/photographer, you will not be barred from using your
camera at public events 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.

5. P&S cameras can have shutter speeds up to 1/40,000th of a second. 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 #7.)

6. 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

7. 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.

8. Some P&S cameras can run the revolutionary CHDK software on them, which
allows for lightning-fast motion detection (literally, lightning fast, 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 )

9. 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 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.)

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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 background included 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.

19. ..... this is getting tedious, restating again just some of the
resident-troll's misinformation that I've already disproved, dozens of times
over. I just thought it might be fun to list a few of them all in one place to
make their glaringly obvious stupidity (and the ignorance and inexperience of
all the other virtual-photographer DSLR-trolls) even more glaringly obvious to
the world.

"PaulMcGowan" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:41:54 -0800, SMS wrote:



Oh no! Here we go again.

I quite agree that a lot of the 13 reasons given for DSLRs are not exclusive
to DSLRs.

However you are again claiming that your 19 reasons have been proved, when
they are in fact only claims.

Your long winded arguments without ever naming any of the equipment you
claim to use, do not prove anything. This reticence prevents others from
attempting to replicate your experiments, and thus verifying it.

The fact that you keep using different names, and sometimes appear to be
replying to your own postings, does tend to indicate that you are not the
most trustworthy poster.

Insulting others does not in any way make your claims more believable.

Roy G

Ps
I am not a moron or a troll.

SMS wrote:
With all the misinformation being posted by our friend with multiple
personalities, I thought that it would be a good idea to repost the
facts regarding the advantages of digital SLRs over digital P&S cameras.
If I've missed any of the advantages please follow-up with them.

Thirteen Reasons to choose a Digital SLR over a Point and Shoot

1. You shoot in low light.
Modern digital SLRs are able to produce low noise images at ISO speeds
up to 1600, depending on the camera. Point and shoot cameras, with their
small sensors, begin to exhibit noise at ISO 200, with some poorer
models being too noisy even at 100 ISO.

2. You want to use flash attachments.
While a few higher end point and shoot digital models have hot shoes for
an external flash, most do not. Some Canon P&S models without hot shoes
can use a wireless flash, but it's not a great flash unit.

3. You need a wide-angle lens.
Digital SLRs have super-wide-angle zoom lenses available with an
effective focal length of as little as 16mm. There are no point and
shoot digital cameras with lenses that wide. With some point and shoot
cameras you can add on adapters to increase the wide-angle range, but
even the best adapters are of mediocre quality.

4. You need a long telephoto lens.
Whether it’s doing wildlife photography in Alaska, or shooting at
sporting events, only a digital SLR can use long telephoto lenses. If
you only need a specialty lens for rare occasions, you can even rent one
for a couple of days. With some point and shoot cameras you can add on
adapters to increase the telephoto range but even the best adapters are
of mediocre quality.

5. You need fast auto-focus.
Most digital SLRs (with the exception of Pentax) use lenses with
internal high-speed focusing motors). Point and shoot digital cameras
cannot focus nearly as fast.

6. You need low shutter lag.
Whether it’s photographing your child on a merry-go-round, or capturing
the crack of the bat against the baseball, you cannot obtain these shots
with a digital point and shoot camera because the time between when you
press the shutter and the image is captured is far too long. A digital
SLR has a mechanical shutter that opens instantaneously when the shutter
release button is pressed. In a point and shoot camera, the sensor is
activated electronically after it is used to focus the shot.

7. You want to produce images that can be printed in large sizes.
Only a high-resolution digital SLR is suitable for poster size prints.

8. You want an optical viewfinder.
While a few point and shoot cameras have retained an optical viewfinder,
it’s been cost-reduced out of most models. Composing a picture on the
LCD screen, in bright sunlight, is very difficult.

9. You want full manual control.
While some high-end point and shoot models have retained some level of
manual control, most have cost-reduced it out. On some Canon models,
there is third-party software that can get some of the manual control
back, but it's very flaky and complicated.

10. Expandability and upgradability.
Not only a wide variety of specialty lenses, but flash attachments,
filters, vertical grips, remote shutter releases, etc. If you eventually
want to upgrade to a better D-SLR body, a lot of the lenses and
accessories can be used on the new body if it’s from the same manufacturer.

11. Rapid sequencing. For action shots, both of sports and people, you
can get the exact shot you want, even when the people are moving.

12. Cost. Say what? Yes, it’s true. With the free-fall of digital SLR
prices, you can now buy a D-SLR and a decent lens for less than the cost
of a high end point and shoot camera.

13. Wide-range walk-around lenses. It used to be that people would buy a
wide-range “SLR-like” P&S because they could achieve a wide zoom range
from wide-angle to telephoto without needing to change lenses, even
though the quality of these wide-range lenses wasn’t very good at the
ends. Now with several new wide-range D-SLR lenses, there is the option
of not having to change lenses. You can still use higher end wide angle
and telephoto lenses when the need arises, while enjoying the simplicity
of a wide-range zoom lens when you choose to be m
Hi,

I used to carry around 2 SLR film bodies, 5 lenses, flash, motor drive,
etc. with 16 pounds (about 7 kilos) on my shoulder. Yes, I got great
pictures, but yes, the outfit often stayed home. I now use a digital
point-and-shoot with a 4:1 zoom lens, and very little time lag. I get
excellent pictures which I print up to 11 x 14" even when cropped. I
carry the camera with me all the time. I'm not worried about an
expensive bunch of equipment beings stolen from me, as it was twice.
For flash boost, I use the small Canon slave-type flash.

My camera fits in my jacket pocket. To me, a good camera in my pocket is
better than a great camera outfit left at home.

Each type of camera has its place, and its supporters. So be it.

Regards,

Morton

Each type of camera has its place, and its supporters. So be it.

Regards,

Morton

This is why camera companies have marketing divisions as well as research
and development divisions...

Take care,
Dudley

On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:57:10 -0600, PaulMcGowan
wrote:

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), and higher quality
full-frame 180-degree circular fisheye and intermediate super-wide-angle views
than any DSLR and its glass in existence. (100% proved in another thread.)

You have been asked to identify this lens system before. So far I have
not seen you do it.

What's more, I have a strong suspicion that you are not talking focal
length but equivalent focal length.



Eric Stevens