For those of you looking to buy your first camera this blog post might come in handy. See below the no jargon straight shooter tips and if you want more in depth information mention it in my future, what do you want to know post :-)

PS I wrote this in my terms. I’m a photographer not a typist or publisher, excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes I just want to help you all here the best way I can without charging you for it. Id rather charge for one on one time the important and most beneficial stuff, but we can’t move onto that without a base of knowledge.

Nikon Image.jpg — What’s DSLR Mean?

DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex

““Digital” as appose to film development
”Single Lens” one lens attached at a time (too easy right)
”Reflex” the reflection of the image you see through your viewfinder off the internal mirror

So this is it in the most basic example I know it might not help you understand the difference but that will come as you read on this is simply what it stands for!”

Point and Shoot

Literally that pick it up turn it on point at your subject and hit the shutter/capture button.

“Now don’t get fooled by a point and shoot that looks a bit like a DSLR, they look like they have a big lens on the front however the lens is not interchangeable and therefore are point and shoot.”

Ok now that we sort of know what we are talking about when it comes to their names lets look at some of pro’s and con’s of each camera. This will help you understand the basic or fundamental differences without going into too much detail. More detail will come along after your first homework assignment haha yep you gotta work with me here to really get anything out of my advice! See below a table and following a little more detail on each item.

quality ps+vs+dslr.jpg — Image Quality

This image clearly shows you the difference in image quality between a DSRL and a point and shoot. See how the point and shoot or compact camera is not sharp it looks muddy and the colour doesn’t look right either.

POINT AND SHOOT PROS

First and foremost, it is the Size. You can simply slip them into your pocket and carry them anywhere. Heck, some of the new phones have excellent cameras and you don’t even need a dedicated point and shoot camera anymore…hitting those ski slopes and keeping good memories is easier than ever.

Weight. Most point and shoot cameras are very light weight. You do not need extra bags, tripods or other accessories to carry around. There are, however, advanced “SLR-like” point and shoot cameras that tend to get bigger and bulkier, due to their super zoom capabilities.

Fixed Lens. Point and shoot have non interchangeable lenses so no worrying and what size lens you need for when. Which also means no carrying said lenses around.

Complexity. I’ve put this as a con because I like to control my setting but if this doesn’t interest you this is a con for you. This means you simply use auto or if your feeling adventurous switch over to, portrait or action mode but any of these modes although slightly change the settings that’s all the moment you get.

Price. Point and shoot are so inexpensive and so awesome for their money value if your after this type of camera.

POINT AND SHOOT CONS

Low Quality. Even if you guy a point and shoot with a high megapixel rating they still have small sensors which are no match to a DLSR. Therefore low quality in comparison so if you want to print your images quite large and display them on your wall you might be disappointed with the quality. Obviously print quality can effect this too but if you file to start with is low range your stuck.

Depth of Field/Limited Control. We will go into this more a little later but to give you the non technical facts. Point and shoot are set to a large depth of field. This means if you taking a photo of a landscape or a large group of people you will have no trouble. However if your taking a picture of your little one sitting in a wading pool in your backyard; the point and shoot will have trouble determining your subject from your background. In short you wont get the blurring bushes of clothes line behind them it will all be mostly in focus or look like they are sitting right in front of their background. You also cant change the shutter speed so your running little boy might turn out blurred when you don’t want that eg Slow Speed. You also cant extend your exposure time to allow more light in which is what is needed for night photography.

Set Width/Fixed Lens. Because you cant change you lenses you are stuck within a specific range of width for your images. Being able to change lenses avoids this. For example if your capturing a landscape or say the inside of a building you will want a wide angle lens (24-35mm) or for tiny details of a newborn baby you will want a macro which are usually around 100mm for newborn photography. A point and shoot camera is stuck around 30-35mm. Don’t get me wrong you can zoom in and out or move closer to your subject or further away but I have found the further away you move with a smaller sensor camera the lower the quality again.

Restricted Settings of Point & Shoot.

See how the image on the left looks messy and your eye is drawn to the background. This is because the Point and Shoot camera has limited settings which don’t allow you to change them to blur distracting background.

DSLR PROS

Higher Quality. A point and shoot camera’s sensor is around 5% the size of a DSLR. A bigger sensor helps reduce noise. Noise is the grainy or pixilated look of an image. If you zoom in far enough on a DSLR image that is exposed correctly you will see pixilation but that is zoomed right in, grain shouldn’t effect the focus/softness of your image if exposed correctly.

Greater Depth of Field. So as not to baffle you with too much technical jargon lets just say here if you want images of your kids with a nice blurry background and your kids stand out as the main focus of the image, you need to be able to play with your depth of field settings. Which you can do on a DSLR.

Fast objects. If you want to capture your kids running around and get them in focus while moving you need to also be able to play with your shutter speed settings. Which you can do on a DSLR.

See what you shoot. Point and shoot cameras mostly use what is called live view, this is where you view what your capturing on an LCD screen on the rear of the camera. Its harder to track fast moving objects in these screens. There is also usually a delay in what you are seeing on the LCD screen and by the time you press the button and the camera kicks into gear and take your image therefore lag time or slow response. You don’t miss these cute moments with a DSLR what you see through your viewfinder is true to life and much less lag time.

Changable lenses. There are a huge variety of different lenses available. I wont bombard you here but trust me when I say once you know how to use your camera you are going to want to change lenses depending on what your capturing. Using the right lens only assists with your images looking the way you want, ease of use and quality/sharpness of your images.

DSLR CONS

Price. I’m not going to lie a good quality DSLR will cost you much more than a point and shoot. But think of your camera in terms of a car or your brand of makeup. If your going to use the DSLR to its full potential or at least use alot of the features you wont mind spending the extra cash. You don’t buy a Ferrari to drive it at 20km/h on a dirt track do you, if your going to use it to drive fast on a road or a race track then you spend the extra money for the extra speed (I’m not condoning hooning although I do have a need for speed lol). Or you not going to go and buy a cheap supermarket brand makeup for young looking skin, when you need some help covering blemishes or wrinkles) if you have the spare cash you go and buy a more expensive range/brand that will lay the foundation for flawless skin (excuse the pun). But if you don’t have the cash or the drive to learn this beast its a big big big con.

Size and Weight. Again no BS here if your used to a point and shoot camera buying a DSLR will be a shock. Compared to a point and shoot they are big and heavy and that’s without adding a 200mm lens to them. But its like going to the gym the more you use it, the more you get used to it and wont notice. It always amazing me how at the end of shooting say an 8 hour wedding day, its never my arms that ache from holding cameras all day, its my legs from holding me up. Or am I just getting old here haha. But if you want to shove it in your small handbag a DSLR is not for you.

Complex. There is no beating around the bush jumping up to a DSLR is scary, they are complex they have a million settings, its hard to understand how each setting effect the other let alone what each setting does. But learn it the right way and you benefit in the long run. As I mentioned I’m self taught I learnt from trial and error but I know this is how I best learn, I learn from making mistakes, I learn from pulling things apart (in theory I cant afford to pull my DSLR’s literally apart) but learning from trial and error will help you understand or pick up where you are going wrong quickly in the future. Its like getting a new phone takes some getting used to, where things are and what they do, but who in their right mind could go back to an old Nokia 6810 or whatever now). If you don’t have the mind or time for learning it this is definitely a con.

DSLR’s need maintenance. Its might be a sensor clean, it might be an update of firmware or simply new lenses to better improve your imagery, let along the eventual upgrade to a bigger and better DSLR which is eventually inevitable unless you stop using it when your kids grown up. But hey then there are grandkids right hahaha.

shooting-comparison - Auto and Manual.jpg — DSLR More Control of your image.

These images look like they are both from a DSLR but they are a great explanation of the difference between shooting in auto compared to learning how to use your DSLR and using manual settings. See how the whole image on the left is quite dark her skin looks dull and she is not separated from her background. The image on the right is perfectly exposed for a clean fresh image and she pops from the screen due to the background blur.

So let me summerise all of this for you, trying not to be bias because at the end of the day I just want people taking pictures. I don’t care if its with your phone, a point and shoot or a DSLR. Its just hard not to rave about something you love so much haha.

If you have a point and shoot camera, you take your pictures, you delete the ones that don’t work out and you keep the ones you love and never give it another thought. Then you DO NOT need to upgrade to a DSLR!

If you own a point and shoot and look at the images that don’t work out and wonder why? now I mean really wonder why it didn’t work. Not feel disappointed because it could have been really cute and shrug it off. I mean deep in your gut really think or wish to yourself if only I knew how to avoid that happening next time. If you have the spare time to learn your DSLR and how it really works and you have the motivation to practice on anything. And of course the cash to spend on a DSLR then I think you should really consider it.

Ask yourself (really think about each one) these questions and decide for yourself:

1. Do I really have the time and money to invest?
2. Is this going to be an ongoing thing or short term fad?
eg is it going to stop when the kids get a little older and grumpy when you want to take a million photos of them. or will you find something else to capture instead?
3. Do you need a more advanced camera for more than just pictures of your family or kids right now? Because don’t forget you can pay professionals to do it for you and it will be a lot cheaper on your wallet and mentality! Its got to be at minimum a hobby :-)

Those of you who already have a DSLR in your cupboard collecting dust or stuck on auto, this is your chance to learn about that beast and have some fun!

But if you have a friend considering upgrading and they are going through what you went through when you bought your camera speak up. Tell them your story how long its been in your cupboard or how often it has come out of the box or tag them in our group so they can learn more about it. I’m on a mission to pull out all those mushroom DSLR’s and give them new life or stop them being buried!

PPS Full disclaimer I am not technically trained and I do not sell or have any affilations with any camera stores/brands ect (I’m just a Nikon girl) this is purely my opinion and based on my experience. Technology changes so quickly some of what I say might not be specifically correct at the time if there is something brand new on the market. Also sample images are not mine.

Point and Shoot Camera Versus DSLR