Posted by M.Kumar at 25 June , 2009

With the advancement of technology and slashing prices of DSLRs these days many of you guys ask or at least have this question before upgrading from Point-n-Shoot camera to a DSLR. I get a lot of such queries from my friends and relatives, in fact I had this same question when I upgraded my gears to DSLR.

In this post I’ll try to cover all the aspects of ones needs to upgrade from Point-n-Shoot Camera to DSLR. I’ll compare the two and leave upon you to make the final decision. I’ll also provide links to various websites where you can gather more resources for your research.

In the first part I would like to brief out the strengths and weaknesses of a Point-n-Shoot Cameras and in the similar manner I’ll write about the DSLRs in concluding part.

Point-n-Shoot Characteristics

Point-and-shoot digital camera is defined by its in built lens which never separates from its body. The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) always gets a continuous electronic version of the image. The image that the photographer sees through the viewfinder of a point-n-shoot camera is not the same image that passes through the primary lens of the camera. Rather, the image in the viewfinder passes through a separate lens. These cameras have focus-free lenses, with fixed apertures. These cameras also have a mode dial which enables you to easily select preprogrammed settings based on the scene (indoor, outdoor, day, night, portrait, landscape, macro, sports, etc.) without knowing the technical photography terms.

Point-n-Shoot Anatomy

1. Light passes through the lens and strikes a micro processing chip called Optics board which drives the lens motors for auto focusing and zooming.
2. Then it passes through another micro processing chip called Signal processing board which carries out the analog to digital conversion, auto focus, contrast, and data compression.
3. The final processed image is then passed over to the image sensor.
4. Image sensor passes it to the LCD.

Viewfinder sees altogether different image from a separate fixed lens.

Point-n-Shoot Pros

• Size- These cameras are typically smaller in size. With the advancement of technology today’s point-n-shoot camera can easily be slithered into your tight jean’s back pockets.
• Weight- These are very light in weight and as said these don’t require any separate carrying case or backpack. These cameras have fixed lenses thus eliminating the factor of carrying separate lenses.
• Auto- These cameras have capability to make decisions based on the scene and the mode you selected. You don’t have to learn the technical aspect of photography. The quality of the captured images from these cameras varies greatly. Now-a-days DSLRs are also equipped with same feature along with their primary controls and functionality.
• Maintenance- These require a minimal maintenance attention. Just dust out the front lens and LCD with a soft cloth and that is it.
• Compatibility- Most of these cameras are built in with USB port to bridge them directly to photo printers or computers thus making them more compatible with the advancing technologies.
• Live View- The provided LCD screen at the back of your point-n-shoot camera is very useful. In fact you will use it 100% to frame a scene. I don’t remember if I have used the viewfinder of my point-n-shoot ever.

• Price- Generally point-n-shoot cameras are cheaper but you may want to go up to a range where you can even buy a startup DSLR.

Point-n-Shoot Cons

• Quality- These cameras have a very small sensor. The photosites (or simply color pixels) falling on a bigger sensor makes a great positive impact on the quality of a picture. The smaller body of these cameras can accommodate smaller sensors.
• Metering- These cameras may or may not have light meter. A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, a light meter is often used to determine the proper exposure for a photograph.
• ISO Range- ISO in photography terms is camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. Generally point-n-shoot cameras have only up to 1600 ISO which limits us shooting in different conditions. The ranges are changing these days, many manufacturers are providing up to 3200 ISO which is coming close to DSLRs.
• Fixed Apertures- Mostly these cameras have fixed apertures making them less effective in terms of exposure. Due to fixed apertures the models with flash have no way of controlling exposure from flash. One has to be very close to the subject to get a flash picture.
• Longer Shutter lag- Point-n-shoot cameras have a one to two second shutter lag time between the time you press shutter release button and the time when photo is actually captured. The longer shutter lag time makes it difficult to take photos quickly and you can miss an important act of sports or babies or any other event.
• Startup time- These cameras take at least a second or two to start up. This can also result in missing an important act. You can’t keep them on due to the fact that you don’t have option to shut down the electronic viewer which drains out the battery with in a couple of hours. Now-a-days we can see improvements in this aspect, we can keep the camera on and if it is not used for couple of minutes it goes into sleep mode but again it takes a longer startup time.
• Limited Manual Controls- Due to the size priority given to these cameras, they have all their controls hidden into their menus. No manual or instant reachable controls are provided to customize the shooting mode.
• LCD Framing: These cameras have LCD screen to frame a scene which never gives proper exposure. Photographer is not at all able to capture what he/she is viewing on the screen. If you are standing in a bright day light you will hardly see anything on the screen. Increasing brightness of the display only makes it easier to see the display but will never set proper exposure.
• Fixed Lens- Once bought you will never ever have an option to change lens. You will get stuck with only one lens.

In concluding part I’ll brief out all about DSLR Cameras. So stay on and give your feedback or questions on this. I’ll love to answer your queries.

Please leave a comment so as to let me know that this post is at least helping some one

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Tags: Digital Camera, DSLR, Exposure, Fixed Apertures, Fixed Lens, Image Sensor, ISO, ISO Range, LCD Framing, Lens, Live View, Manual Controls, Point-and-shoot, Point-n-Shoot Anatomy, Point-n-Shoot Characteristics, Point-n-Shoot Cons, Point-n-Shoot Pros, Point-nshoot charecteristics, Shutter Lag, Startup Time
Posted in: Photography