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What benefits does a DSLR have over a P&S?
- Thread starter Scotttyd
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Peter_C
Contributor
1: Your pocket book will not be as heavy to carry around.
2: When you get divorced for spending $10K on a camera she will not get as much money.
3: You will look way cooler with a BIG ole camera.
4: People will want to talk to you, because they will think you are knowledgeable.
5: The DSLR takes better pictures.
Have fun!
2: When you get divorced for spending $10K on a camera she will not get as much money.
3: You will look way cooler with a BIG ole camera.
4: People will want to talk to you, because they will think you are knowledgeable.
5: The DSLR takes better pictures.
Have fun!
bvanant
Contributor
Number 5 is the answer. Given the same scene with the same photographer, the pictures from the DSLR will be noticeably better. As for #4, I was sitting in the bar in Port Moresby listening to a really obnoxious guy telling two young and impressionable girls that he was a "real" photographer, not some yokel with a P&S. On the way out, I asked him what he was shooting; it was a G9 in a Canon housing. I just smiled and kept walking.
Bill
I understand Scotttyd question... and all here have absolutely corrected put a great good deal of tech info on the play.
But there is one point often not contemplated, all these techies are most of the time transformed in:
PRODUCTIVITY
In the hands of a skilled photographer, all those technical points are transformed in a better productivity. We have the chance to come back from a trip let's say with a lot more publishable pics than we would have been with a P&S.
If you take one picture and analyze it, yes, there is no much difference, anyone can do that with a correctly configured P&S. But sometimes on a DSLR it is a lot easier to get this result while on a P&S one would have to sweat his hart out to get it.
This is not only true for DSLR vs. P&S.
Among the DSLRs it is also true.
One comparison I do is the D90 vs D300(s)... Even the D90 having a slight advantage on IQ (DxOMark) the overall productivity advantage of the D300 provides better pics at the end of the day. Like the sealed magnesium body (that would allow it's use under heavy circunstances and represent a lower breakage rate, the faster with greater sensor AF module, better light metering, better viewfinder, more menu options etc...
All the techies we describe don't really represent a better picture (as I am sure Doubilet is a better photographer than me even with a SeaLife!!!) but they represent a greater productivity, and a good chance of getting home with more keepers than let's say a less productive camera.
But there is one point often not contemplated, all these techies are most of the time transformed in:
PRODUCTIVITY
In the hands of a skilled photographer, all those technical points are transformed in a better productivity. We have the chance to come back from a trip let's say with a lot more publishable pics than we would have been with a P&S.
If you take one picture and analyze it, yes, there is no much difference, anyone can do that with a correctly configured P&S. But sometimes on a DSLR it is a lot easier to get this result while on a P&S one would have to sweat his hart out to get it.
This is not only true for DSLR vs. P&S.
Among the DSLRs it is also true.
One comparison I do is the D90 vs D300(s)... Even the D90 having a slight advantage on IQ (DxOMark) the overall productivity advantage of the D300 provides better pics at the end of the day. Like the sealed magnesium body (that would allow it's use under heavy circunstances and represent a lower breakage rate, the faster with greater sensor AF module, better light metering, better viewfinder, more menu options etc...
All the techies we describe don't really represent a better picture (as I am sure Doubilet is a better photographer than me even with a SeaLife!!!) but they represent a greater productivity, and a good chance of getting home with more keepers than let's say a less productive camera.
Apart from it's greater flexibility, for me an SLR scores most heavily in the real time and higher definition view through an optical finder. Then there's reduced shutter lag, probably better focussing and higher quality lenses.
Which to use depends on personal perspective. Some dive to photograph, others photograph to record their dive.
Which to use depends on personal perspective. Some dive to photograph, others photograph to record their dive.
AndyT
Contributor
Since moving over to a dSLR I can definitely see an improvement in image quality which was probably to be expected given an improved sensor and way better lenses. My number of keepers has certainly improved dramatically. As Mariozi said you don't have to work as hard to get a decent image. I often had to take the same shot several times to make sure I had something that was sharp. My number of OOF's has dropped to just a few shots out of a hundred.
Something not mentioned is faster write time to the card. This means that you are ready to shoot again instantly, instead of having to wait the 5 or so seconds it takes for the file to write to the card. This is provided that your strobes are ready to fire again.
The picture below shows this. We had a Whaleshark swim past us on a safety stop. When I pressed the shutter I realised that I had clipped off the pectoral fin. I waited an agonizing 5 seconds before the RAW file had written to the card, by which time the animal had swum past us. It was this that finally pushed me to upgrade to a dSLR.
Something not mentioned is faster write time to the card. This means that you are ready to shoot again instantly, instead of having to wait the 5 or so seconds it takes for the file to write to the card. This is provided that your strobes are ready to fire again.
The picture below shows this. We had a Whaleshark swim past us on a safety stop. When I pressed the shutter I realised that I had clipped off the pectoral fin. I waited an agonizing 5 seconds before the RAW file had written to the card, by which time the animal had swum past us. It was this that finally pushed me to upgrade to a dSLR.
I generally agree with a lot of the points people have made.
* dSLR have bigger sensors = wider dynamic range, bigger photosites to capture more detail, wider variety of lenses to choose, fast response, etc.
What I don't agree with (and I use BOTH a dSLR and recently a small Canon S90, see Canon corner for recent samples) is a dSLR makes "better pictures".
I see people with 26 lbs. of set up including dual strobes, 8" port etc. who can't even take a snapshot
They believe throwing $$$$ at the situation "guarantees" them better pics. Which isn't true....
Side by side yes, the dSLR sensor, lenses etc. will have more detail in a larger file. But in today's UW imaging world people are more obsessed with specifications then the impact of an image is all I'm saying.
Most UW photographers subconsciously (I do it too) repeat the same shots they've seen in magazines, books or taken by other UW photographers. They fear any graininess, dramatic lighting or other "imperfections" that make many surface images totally unique.
This is where I had a ball using a P&S two weeks ago. Throwing caution to the wind I shot the little Canon S90 sensor purposely pushing in new directions especially above water. I will continue to expand ideas I have to UW shooting and likely when I get my next dSLR incorporate he same ideas.
Do you have to work harder with a P&S to get critter shots? Absolutely.....But it's a trade off in weight, carrying size and cost that people should weigh before making a decision to get one system or the other.
I have people shooting Canon G7 - G11 with a wide beam strobe and wide angle lens that produce great photos they hang on their wall up to 12 X 18. Many folks with smaller cameras like the Canon SX200 IS and now the lower noise at higher ISO Canon S90 have printed great images up to 11 X 14, too.
99% of my customers upgrade from P&S to dSLR for one reason. Shutter lag and capturing fast moving creatures easier.
Many (if not most) don't use their camera enough above water to reliably get decent exposures figured out and need coaching which I'm happy to provide on dive trips.
So I guess in summary I don't know what is considered "better". The only person who has to like your images is YOU!
Hope these thoughts make you think and no harm intended to anyone's opinion
Safe Diving!
David Haas
P.S. - On small sensors even with the newest low noise Canon G11 and S90 I shoot highest level JPEG and judge photo by the histogram versus LCD.
Maybe shooting some super well lit still life you could could gain a bit of dynamic range from the little sensor shooting RAW. But not at the expense of long write times even as fast as the newest P&S cameras that shoot RAW have improved.
JMHO
* dSLR have bigger sensors = wider dynamic range, bigger photosites to capture more detail, wider variety of lenses to choose, fast response, etc.
What I don't agree with (and I use BOTH a dSLR and recently a small Canon S90, see Canon corner for recent samples) is a dSLR makes "better pictures".
I see people with 26 lbs. of set up including dual strobes, 8" port etc. who can't even take a snapshot
They believe throwing $$$$ at the situation "guarantees" them better pics. Which isn't true....Side by side yes, the dSLR sensor, lenses etc. will have more detail in a larger file. But in today's UW imaging world people are more obsessed with specifications then the impact of an image is all I'm saying.
Most UW photographers subconsciously (I do it too) repeat the same shots they've seen in magazines, books or taken by other UW photographers. They fear any graininess, dramatic lighting or other "imperfections" that make many surface images totally unique.
This is where I had a ball using a P&S two weeks ago. Throwing caution to the wind I shot the little Canon S90 sensor purposely pushing in new directions especially above water. I will continue to expand ideas I have to UW shooting and likely when I get my next dSLR incorporate he same ideas.
Do you have to work harder with a P&S to get critter shots? Absolutely.....But it's a trade off in weight, carrying size and cost that people should weigh before making a decision to get one system or the other.
I have people shooting Canon G7 - G11 with a wide beam strobe and wide angle lens that produce great photos they hang on their wall up to 12 X 18. Many folks with smaller cameras like the Canon SX200 IS and now the lower noise at higher ISO Canon S90 have printed great images up to 11 X 14, too.
99% of my customers upgrade from P&S to dSLR for one reason. Shutter lag and capturing fast moving creatures easier.
Many (if not most) don't use their camera enough above water to reliably get decent exposures figured out and need coaching which I'm happy to provide on dive trips.
So I guess in summary I don't know what is considered "better". The only person who has to like your images is YOU!
Hope these thoughts make you think and no harm intended to anyone's opinion
Safe Diving!
David Haas
P.S. - On small sensors even with the newest low noise Canon G11 and S90 I shoot highest level JPEG and judge photo by the histogram versus LCD.
Maybe shooting some super well lit still life you could could gain a bit of dynamic range from the little sensor shooting RAW. But not at the expense of long write times even as fast as the newest P&S cameras that shoot RAW have improved.
JMHO
bvanant
Contributor
Dave: What I mean is that given the same scene, and the same strobes and the same photographer with the same "vision" the DSLR will give you images that are "better" to pretty much any casual observer. In photo class we have done this often, over and over. Same setup, same photographer etc, and maybe 1% of the time does anyone pick the P&S over the DSLR and usually (like 90% of the time) full frame wins over APS-C sensors (this with the same lenses). That doesn't mean that you won't like your pics with the S90/G11 or whatever flavor of P&S that you have, just that if you had taken the same pics with a different camera you would most likely get pics you like better. In any case, shoot what you brought, have fun and enjoy.
Bill
Bill
bvanant
Contributor
