What am I missing in the DSLR world?

[peaceluvr]

Hi, I've been shooting with a Sony Cybershot DSC-H5 for years. It's a point and shoot camera with 12x optical zoom. I've been very happy with the photos, but lately I've wondered if I could take better photos with a DSLR. I know that "serious" photographers use DSLRs. I just take photos to amuse myself, family, and friends and record memories. Of course, the photos are all on Flickr for everyone to see.

I know that good photos depend as much on the photographer's eye as the camera, but what am I missing in the DSLR world? If I wouldn't switch lenses much, is there any point to investing in a DSLR?

Thanks.

[inkista]

If you don't plan to switch lenses at all, then maybe not.

The main versatility of a dSLR is in the ability to use a variety of special purpose lenses. I'm always making the analogy that the difference between a P&S and a dSLR is like the difference between a swiss army knife and a big red tool box. Sure, you can do a lot with a swiss army knife, but the big red tool box has nearly endless possibilities and makes some jobs a lot easier. Conversely, the swiss army knife makes it a lot easier on the back and wallet.

Image quality actually isn't the big bugaboo to make you switch, though it's the one everyone wants to sell you on. For me, the biggest difference is that a dSLR puts time under your control. You can time a shot. No shutter delay. Mash the button at the exact moment you want to snag and it's yours. No waiting for your camera to catch up or turn on. You want to do long exposures? No 15 second limits on your shutter speed. You want to do star trails for an hour long exposure? It's yours. Time is at your command. To me, that's a big one.

The other big difference is that a dSLR because of its larger sensor and the ability to mount lenses with very wide max. apertures, gives you more control over depth of field. You don't have to use macro mode or telephoto focal lengths to get out of focus blur on the background. All you really need is a $100 50mm f/1.8 lens, and fuzzy backgrounds'r'us.

The third most notable difference, again because of the larger sensor and the ability to use a fast prime, is that low light performance is a whole 'nother beast with a dSLR. ISO is still usable up in the 800-3200 range, depending on what body you get. You have apertures much wider than f/2.8 available to you. Upshot? You can shoot indoors without a flash. And when it comes to flash? A dSLR with an external flash unit can make light from a flash look absolutely natural, and not that dead-white-deer-in-the-headlights thing a P&S pop-up flash does. If you aren't going nuts with Strobist off-camera studio-like lighting.

Now, on the flip side, you get used to hauling pounds of camera equipment with you in a bag: bodies, lenses, flashes, tripod--you don't necessarily get to travel light any more when you hit the dSLR world. The learning curve is steep at first. You end up learning not only about the basics of exposure and photography, but also about gear out the yin-yang. You become much poorer, since everything costs so much more (the camera is only the basis of all your other purchases). And on top of that--you have to learn how to post-process your pictures to get the most out of them--no more relying on the one-size-fits-all (over)cooking of JPEGs in the camera.

And you lose macro and supertelephoto right off the bat--you have to get specialized lenses to do what your bridge camera can do all by itself. And the flip side of getting blurred backgrounds is you can get stuff out of focus.

Moving from a P&S to a dSLR is not a straightforward "upgrade", it's more of a sideways shift in your picture-taking paradigm. Most of the folks I know who own a dSLR also own a P&S digicam and use both. They're two different kinds of tools.

[Doug Pardee]

Originally Posted by peaceluvr

If I wouldn't switch lenses much, is there any point to investing in a DSLR?

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what you value.

Four years after getting my DSLR, I still have just one lens. That was the plan from the beginning.

I went with the DSLR for the following reasons that were important to me at the time:
• Low-light (high ISO) performance
• Fast reactions to controls, fast frame-to-frame shooting
• Really usable optical viewfinder
• Manual controls that really are usable, including manual focus
• Quality lens, with real filter threads
• Image stabilization available (no longer much of an issue)
• Hot-shoe for external flash
• Raw data capture (which I no longer use much at all)
• Quality JPEG conversions—as opposed to "high-pop-factor" conversions
• 3:2 aspect ratio (not a big deal, but it's my preference)
• Compact Flash (CF) storage (no longer an issue)
• Longer battery life
• Proper tripod mount
• Long-time familiarity with film SLRs

There were probably other considerations, but those are the ones that I can think of off of the top of my head.

One final pedagogical note: you're not "investing" in a DSLR. You're buying it. There is no investment value in a digital camera.

[peaceluvr]

Thanks for your responses. I see that with a DSLR, I have a lot more options for being creative and also get better performance than with a point and shoot. It also sounds like I'd be getting into an expensive hobby. I don't have to worry about buying lenses for my current camera, and it's lightweight and very portable. I can even fit in in my purse (though it is kind of a big purse).

I think for now I'm going to stick with my current camera. Until the economy is a bit more stable, I can't justify spending thousands of dollars on a camera and lenses.

Thanks again.

[zarquon]

Sounds like a good plan, it is an expensive hobby. too expensive I used a P&S for years before upgrading to my first Digital Rebel, and the biggest reason for me was the wait from pushing the button and taking the picture. I missed a ton of good photos to that delay.

then again, I've also missed a ton of good photos by just not having a camera with me since I don't always want to carry around my dSLR

Whenever I see someone with a Point and Shoot, i just Point and Laugh.

[beth0b]

Originally Posted by maxharvard

Whenever I see someone with a Point and Shoot, i just Point and Laugh.

Hahahahah I seriously just laughed out loud.. This has got to the best thing I have read on this site hahah!

needed to lighten up these serious threads