Point and Shoot vs. DSLR

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Digital cameras have improved dramatically in quality and price over the past few years, but what kind of camera should you buy?

Point and shoot cameras are small, cheap, and easy to use. If you don’t want to carry a camera bag or be bothered with fancy settings, a point in shoot is the way to go. A compact camera that takes nice photos that you always have with you can be much better than a fancy DSLR that is always left at home. However, there are some drawbacks. Many point and shoots take 10 mega-pixel photos or better, but mega-pixels don’t tell the whole story. A DSLR with 10 MP will take better looking photos than a point and shoot with 10 MP. The image sensor won’t be nearly as good, which reduces the quality of the image no matter how high the resolution, giving you grainier images than you’d see with a DSLR.

Cnet.com rates the Canon PowerShot S90IS ($399) as the best point and shoot and the Kodak Easyshare Z915 ($120) as the best budget point and shoot.

If you are an aspiring photographer, a point and shoot will not be good enough. My favorite thing about my DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) is that there is no lag, it takes photos as I press the shutter button. It’s so much easier to capture the moment! The superior image sensor (up to 25 times better than that of a point and shoot) allows the camera to take photos at a higher shutter speed, reducing your chances for getting a grainy image. My second favorite thing about a DSLR is your ability to control depth of field. You know how professional photographs often have a blurry background? You can do that with a DSRL and impress your friends. As you develop as a photographer you will appreciate being able to adjust the settings for different situations and you can use different lenses (wide angle, long range, etc.) and different flashes.

Cnet.com rates Nikon D5000($665) as the best entry level DSLR, but you can’t go wrong with the Canon Digital Rebel ($559).