Do you want to buy a compact point and shoot camera to click casual pictures and are confused in deciding which lightweight digicam to buy? We study the basic differences between a point and shoot & a DSLR and help you in evaluating the features that are important to you.
First, lets see the different types of digital cameras available in the market currently.
- Point and shoot: Compact or ultra compact cameras which have a fixed lens & flash; and have automatic settings for casual photography by non professionals.
- Prosumer: Also known as Bridge cameras, they are somewhere in between consumer and professional.
- Digital SLR: Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras used by professional photographers which have changeable lens & flash; and allows live optical viewing through the lens taking the image instead of a LCD.
We shall restrict this article to cover Point and Shoot cameras only. However most of the technical points explained below are applicable for all kinds of digicams.
How many Megapixels ?
First let us try to understand the relation between megapixels and image resolution. For example, an image that is 2048 pixels wide and 1536 pixels high (2048X1536) contains 3 million pixels (by multiplying) and is regarded as a 3 Megapixel image.
The image resolution and megapixels matter in deciding:
a. How large you can print the image, and
b. To what detail can you zoom the image on screen
A 8 MP camera will allow you to print a 16×20 inch image. You will never need to print an image that large and probably you won’t have a printer that can print it either. However, the advantage is that you will be able to zoom in to great details on the image.
A 5 MP camera will suffice for most users. It will allow you to print an 8×10 inch photo with all details still intact.
And if you’re only shooting photos to post on the web or just email them to your friends, then a 3 MP camera is also fine.
Also, what is more important is the size of the sensor rather than number of pixels. Many manufacturers place a 8 MP sensor on the same chip which can accommodate only a 5 MP sensor. This is done by interpolation which involves “guessing” some pixels around the ones clicked. The quality will be not be as good as if the picture was taken with a true 8 MP chip.
Moreover, remember that higher resolution images take up more space on your camera’s memory card, so you may be able to take only a small number of shots before you have to download them to your computer. Plus, storing your digital photos will require more hard disk space. If you are going to click photos by 10 Megapixel cameras and then resize them to 1024×768 (1 Megapixel) on your computer then not only is the purpose of higher megapixel cameras defeated; you also have to carry out the additional task of resizing.
How Much Zoom ?
There are two types of zooms that are advertised on a digital camera: Optical zoom and Digital zoom. Completely ignore the digital zoom, and check the optical zoom specifications only.
Optical Zoom: If you are primarily taking photos of friends and family, and in family functions, then a 3x optical zoom is sufficient. If you shoot nature photos outdoors then a 4x or 5x zoom can help you take pictures from far without sacrificing detail. Optical zoom of more than 5x are not required plus not available for point and shoot cameras.
Digital Zoom: Digital zoom involves interpolation or “guesswork” and is not real zoom. This kind of zooming can also be done on computers and results in fuzzy images.
LCD and Viewfinder
The size of the LCD screen normally varies from 1.8 to 3 inches. Larger the size of the LCD, larger can you see the just-taken images on the camera. However, the large LCD also consumes more battery. It’s important that the LCD is clearly visible in sunlight.
Also check that there is a viewfinder, which is a convenient backup for viewing the image area when the battery is low and the LCD can’t be turned on.
Aperture and Shutter Speed
Point and shoot cameras normally come with automatic mode in which both the aperture and shutter speed is automatically determined by the camera. In some advanced digicams, you might have the option of manually setting either or both.
If these terms make no sense to you, ensure that the camera has automatic mode to take care of everything. Manufacturers further think of various lighting situations and equip point and shoot cameras with scene modes like “Night”, “Twilight” and “Portrait”. They are really just automatic aperture and shutter settings that are designed to give optimum results in tricky lighting conditions.
What Kind of Battery ?
This is one of the last things that people check while buying a digicam. There are two kinds of batteries used by most digicams:
Standard AA size batteries; and
Rechargeable & proprietary Lithium-ion batteries made by the manufacturer.
Cameras using rechargeable Li-ion batteries are normally preferable but make sure you keep one additional spare battery with you during outings. Cameras using cheaper AA sized batteries have the advantage that the batteries are available everywhere, but you will get fewer shots on one charge of AA batteries compared to Li-ion batteries.
Video Recording capabilities
Check that the digicam can capture video in addition to still images. This option is useful for taking short clips when you don’t have a camcorder. The digicam should support VGA (640×480) at 30fps video recording with sound.
Storage card
If you click photos at a higher resolution, then you will need larger storage. Try to get the largest memory card your budget permits. You may also want to check for the type of card supported such as SD (Secure Digital) Cards, and the newer SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards.
Connectivity options
USB cable connectivity is standard on all digicams. In addition it is nice to have a TV-Out connector to watch the images & videos on TV. Optional connectivity options include Bluetooth, Wifi and Pictbridge
Extra features:
Macro mode to shoot close-ups of near objects; Image stabilization to control blurring of photos taken by hand without a tripod and eliminate impact of camera shake; Automatic flash with Red eye reduction; and Self timer.
Brands
Popular Point and Shoot digicam brands include Sony Cybershot, Nikon Coolpix, Canon Powershot, Kodak Easyshare, Casio Elixim, Fujufilm Finepix and Olympus. Do check out the extensive reviews on DPreview before you choose your digicam.
Thanks for the buying guide info. This is good stuff. Do you think DSLR cameras are worth the price? Is the quality really that much greater than point and shoot? I found this site http://www.dslrcamerareviews.com that gives some info on them. Just trying to decide whether to buy a DSLR or point and shoot. Thanks for any advice.
You should buy a DSLR only if you know how to operate them and have some knowledge of professional photography.
Even if you don’t know what each and every setting does, a DSLR will shoot better than pretty much all point and shoot cameras that I can think of. Just get one with some nice scene selection modes and you are good to go. Here, check out a few of these reviews:
http://www.timeforadslr.com/dslr-camera-reviews/
(lean toward the D40 to keep the costs low)