Point and Shoot vs. DSLR?

When people argue Point and Shoot over DSLR, I call them amateurs! So what if you got a good eye... you don't understand photography at all!

So many amateurs think that Point and Shoot cameras are a gift from heaven... it's sooo annoying how they say, "Don't get a DSLR, all you need is a point and shoot!"

Well guess what... you're sooo wrong! Real photography isn't about aiming a camera at an object and pressing a button. The eye of a camera and our human eyes see things differently. The manual features of a DSLR are needed to take real photographs!

Hollar back if you know what I mean!

You are so right. Leaving out the aesthetics of Photography for the moment, just on an equipment level, and the ability to change the lens, you can attach a DSLR to an astronomical telescope at one extreme, or a microscope at the other, and everything in between. Once you start going into flash photography a DSLR wins again with it's ability to use off camera flash, trailing curtain flash on even entry level DSLR's - no contest.

Regarding aesthetics, the ability to view through the lens so you can preview depth of field is basic, before you press the shutter.

It's true that good photographs can be taken on any camera, in the same way as a poker can make a sound soldered joint, but you increase your chances of success by using the right tool.

Using a 'point and shoot' as opposed to a DSLR for anything approaching serious Photography, is a bit like using a knife as a screwdriver, maybe without the blood. The DSLR is the right tool for the job!!

A basic DSLR can still be used, initially, with auto everything until you grow into what the camera can really do. A much better long term investment.

I'm not totally against point and shoot, they are good for 'candid' photography or street photography, where a hunking great DSLR would be inappropriate. I have a selection one of which is always with me, but, for me they tend to be for recording events or as 'notebook' type of pictures of a location that I might go back and record later with the control only a DSLR offers.

Chris

I know what you mean. You are correct. A TRUE photographer will not use a point and shoot. S/he will want the control and artistic options that they would have with a SLR, either digital or not.

But, that being said, the rest of us LOVE and rely on our Point and Shoot/Superzoom/Etc. digital cameras.

I am not, nor do I claim to be, a photographer.

I take pictures. Pictures that will mean something to me and my family for (hopefully) decades to come. For this, I only need to point and shoot.

Ok, I'm here to play devil's advocate.

As a professional photographer, I love and live by my DSLR. I love the speed, the reaction time I get from the camera. I would never give it up -- not for all the gold in China!

But here's the truth... an excellent photographer can take an excellent picture with a point and shoot. Photography is about the power of the human eye to interpret and capture the scene. If the photographer knows what he or she is doing, no amount of camera "trouble" will get in the way.

There are some modern amazing point and shoots. Some of them actually have manual features!! For example, I highly recommend Canon Powershots to all my friends. You can literally switch to manual, aperture or shutter speed mode! The power to preview your photo perfectly is amazing!

Some of my favorite professional work was done on a point and shoot.

Real photographs are the ones that do their job. The camera doesn't do the job for you. Your talents and skills are what makes a photo great or so-so!

Go forth and photograph cheerfully :o)!

I'm willing to play Devils' Advocate here too. Meet Ron Rosenstock ( http://ronrosenstock.com/), Ron is considered one of the top 100 living photographers in the WORLD! He has been shooting with large format cameras for over 30 years and his work hangs in museums globally. He just recently went digital and he always carries a point and shoot and if you saw his images he has created with it you would eat your words off the computer screen. Then there's Flint Gennari (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus... a Staten Island gutsy photographer who swears by his Canon point and shoot. (sure he owns others, but again, his images are wonderful!) I have met and spoken to both these men and can assure you, you are missing a lot because of your attitude.

i think it depends on the photographer. i have a canon powershot and there are so many manual settings that u can change. but on the other hand i have never used a DSLR.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Scratch Adams, Avedon, Bresson, all the Westons, and countless others for failing to use a DSLR? How many useful pictures would you see any more if Photoshop, Paint, etc had never been invented?

Using a point and shoot doesn't make you an amateur, I know a lot of so called photographers who owns a DSLR camera and only uses the "Auto" function. In order to be a good photographer you must be able to have an eye for beauty. To see composition, lighting and all that other stuff before you even click the camera.

A lot of the thought process goes on even before the photographer hits the click button.

Swabbie is wrong. I'm a pro photographer with talent on loan from God. I use a point and shoot(Exilim1070) sometimes when I don't have my Nikon D300. I can shoot much better pics with a point and shoot than an amateur who barely knows how to hold a DSLR in their hands.
It's not about the camera, it's the talent holding it. If you truly know photography, not even a point and shoot will hinder your skills and knowledge.

http://www.geocities.com/mjmedrano
http://wwwyoutube.com/photog1a

Let me join the chorus disagreeing with you.

I have been an amateur photographer for almost 50 years now. There is hardly a type of camera that I have not used at one time or another. I "went digital" six years ago and I have owned 5 point and shoots (unless I lost track here...) and 4 digital SLR's, if you count my wife's camera. I am presently using a Nikon D200 and D300 and my D70s is for sale.

My current point and shoot camera is a Canon Powershot SD950-IS. With this camera, I feel that I have a tool that is up to the task of making decent images. I needed something that would approach an SLR in image quality and this camera does a credible job.

Why did I get a point and shoot camera when I have a stable full of excellent Nikon DSLR's? With the Canon, I can have a camera with me almost all the time. When I see something that presents a photo opportunity, I no longer say, "I WISH I had brought my camera with me," because I have a decent camera tucked into my pocket.

Part of the challenge in using a consumer-oriented point and shoot camera is to learn how to overcome the lack of certain features so that you can trick the camera into doing what you want it to. I don't think that a typical amateur would even know what I am talking about, but since I understand the functions of an all-manual camera, I can try to figure out how to change the aperture or shutter speed to suit my purposes. At least I understand what my purposes are.

I wish LINKS were working here, because I would like to show you some of my point and shoot images and let you decide if they represent "real" photography or not.

If you feel like the struggle, click on my avatar and you will see my Flickr link in my profile. Search my tags for SD900 and SD950. Many of these are for demo purposes of one sort or another, but some of them are decent photography. And, I maintain that I get what I want almost 100% of the time.

(Okay, links are back, so I added them in.......)

If you go to the trouble, see these SD900 images:
Flag Near Sunset http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Crane Sunset 2 http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
CHOP_ER No 1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Barn No. 10 http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Pink Roses http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Sarah's Yellow Rose 2007 http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

See these SD950-IS images:
Golden Trees (both versions - one was enhanced in post)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Union Lake
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Geese at the Raceway - not "great art," but a good photograph
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Hump Bridge and Geese - ditto
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

I'm totally satisfied with this particular point and shoot camera.

I have taught photography and I am showing my work in a juried gallery show, so while I am an amateur, I DO understand photography. And I do occasionally use a point and shoot camera.

Yes and DSLR is a level below the top cameras.

http://www.linhof.de/german/index.html

http://www.hasselbladusa.com/

You must have had bad experiences with people and Point and Shoots. I use a point and shoot for most of my pictures, but started out on a SLR. I compose my shot and use the manual setting for the majority of my photos. The only auto function that I use is the focus. Mine does not have the easy focus like the DSLR's, so I try to avoid it. Take a look at my photos to see some of the work I have done with my camera. Just go to my profile and click on the link at the bottom. A lot of my pictures have not been edited.