Compact v DSLR

[ednorm]

I think with an SLR or a DSLR its all about the control you can apply, thats the allure as you are in control. If you take your point and shoot camera and shoot a scene you generally get the whole scene in an averaged out even exposure, thats pretty nice in a lot of situations. With a DSLR you can focus on a subject in the foreground and leave the background out of focus, or focus on the center of a scene or the background and the attention of the shot is on the place you have focused on. There is a lot you can do with post processing too, I am not much of a fan of that, I do not own photoshop, I do use Picassa a free program that allows you to add fill light and has several auto settings that enable you to change things like contrast, color temperature and it has effects like black and white etc that are fun to use on certain pics, but, I mostly try to get good shots directly from my camera and this can be done with a little practise. Should you keep it, thats one you have to figure out yourself, I can tell you that you will be able to blow the point and shoot away in terms of quality and control in most situations once you get used to using you DSLR. Good luck, and most importantly, Have Fun !!

ed

[MistyGeek]

Hi Mate,

DSLR photography is tricky.

I have a Lumix P&S and a Canon 500d. If you are using your DSLR in auto mode then you may aswell stick to your P&S. However if you bought the Canon to improve your photography and photography skills then you need to stick at it, hang around here, buy some DSLR magazines and some apps for your phone and practice.

Around the internet there are some great PDF's that really helped me when i first got my Canon, just understanding what all the functions and how the camera actually works will help you loads when your out and about.

Post Processing is important too.. you should get lightroom or some photo editing tool to change your levels of saturation hue contrast etc.. if you shoot in raw you can sharpen up the images change your white balance on the PC with the canon software.

Another thing join flickr not only will you able to show your images here much easier but you will see lots of photos from other flickr members that will inspire you and encourage you to get as good as them.

Welcome to DPS, stick around im a fairly new member here too but you can get some great advice from some of the pro's here.

Regards

[chriskey]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I do keep reading the manual and I'm sure I'll stick with it. Your words of encouragement have helped me already. Just one question though, for landscape shots, would you suggest using the A-DEP (Automatic depth of field function) or what would you do?

[RichardTaylor]

My350D had A-DEP and I never ever used it.
I preferred aperture priority or manual (If the lighting was difficult).
The two DSLR bodies I mostly use now do not have it.

[inkista]

A-DEP sucks. It doesn't do what it says it does.

I'd recommend just stopping down to f/8-f/16 and learning about hyperfocal distances.

With the old (non-IS, fuzzier) 18-55 kit lens, and an old 8MP 350D (XT), this is a landscape shot that I got:


Canon 350D. EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 II, @18mm, iso 400, f/13, 1/125s. Handheld.

So is it your gear? Or is it you?

Setting your shutter speed faster is probably the wrong thing to do in this instance. You want more light to come from the shutter speed, so you can "stop down" (make your aperture smaller) to get more DoF, which will throw more of the scene into focus. Check the aperture setting in your EXIF data. If the f-number is lower than f/5.6, that's probably your problem. (Remember, the lower the f-number, the larger your aperture is).

Because of the sensor size difference between a compact and a dSLR, you need to be at much smaller aperture settings on a dSLR to achieve a comparable depth-of-field to what you got with a compact camera.

The book I'd recommend taking a look at it is Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure.

[chriskey]

I think its definitely me!!!! I love your pic and am taking in all the advice you kind folks are giving. Can't wait to get out and about again to try all these tips!!

[3bayjunkie]

yeah, if you are interested in photography definately keep the SLR, your point and shoot cannot compare to photo quality, for one thing i bet it has a 1.2.3" which is only about 6 x 4mm compared to your canon 22.3 x 14.9mm. Another thing, you should really research your camera before you buy, that way you know all of what it can do and understand how you will be able to use it. here is a good site to check out. this is a hands on review of your camera:
Canon EOS 500D / Digital Rebel T1i Review: 2. Specifications: Digital Photography Review

this should really help you understand how to use it. good luck!

[Michael_2010]

If all you want are some nice snap shots to share with your friends, the P&S is probably going to provide that with the least amount of expense and a very shallow learning curve. If you want creative control over your given subject, then ya gotta go with the dSLR. It is really about that simple. The P&S is programmed to deal with averages and produce average results without much mental commitment on the owner's part. The dSLR is more like a small package containing assorted paints, brushes and canvases. The owner just has to learn how to reach in that box and pull out the right tools for the given situation.

Plus, I think that people that are into this hobby really love their gear.

[chriskey]

Originally Posted by 3bayjunkie

yeah, if you are interested in photography definately keep the SLR, your point and shoot cannot compare to photo quality, for one thing i bet it has a 1.2.3" which is only about 6 x 4mm compared to your canon 22.3 x 14.9mm. Another thing, you should really research your camera before you buy, that way you know all of what it can do and understand how you will be able to use it. here is a good site to check out. this is a hands on review of your camera:
Canon EOS 500D / Digital Rebel T1i Review: 2. Specifications: Digital Photography Review

this should really help you understand how to use it. good luck!

Wow.....looks like I also need to learn a new language...thanks for this