P&S vs DSLR

[jamesev]

I think I read somewhere in a book that although a P&S may say f3.5 and have an effective focal length eg say 50mm this will not give the same results as say a DSLR with the same settings especially when it comes to DOF

Is this true?

I was asked if a photo style could be recreated, any by recreated, mean person in office foreground with blurred background. They had a Samsung P&S that allowed f3.5 however at 1/250 the shots came out dark and I couldn't really tell if it was producing the desired effect

Any comments would be helpful as I have no experience with P&Ss

[OsmosisStudios]

You should get the same EXPOSURE, but in terms of actual look, no, they'll be vastly different. And it's all down to sensor size: a larger sensor (like in a dSLR) gives a shallower DoF than a point and shoot sensor because of the size. I wont get into the technical "circles of confusion" explanation, because, frankly, it doesnt matter.

For fun: Try shooting f/2.8 on medium format, full-frame, APS-C, and a P&S camera. You'll see essentially the same image exposure wise (as long as your settings remain the same) but you'll get VASTLY different DoF results.

[jml79]

In order to get shallow DOF like a DSLR you will have to use a very long focal length and be a long way away. This is possible with a P&S superzoom but not with many regular P & S cameras.

[jamesev]

Once again thank you for your knowledgable responses