Point & Shoot

Silverbackmp · Jan 10, 2008

The picture below was shot with an older 5MP Pentax point n shoot. Granted it is a composite of one photo exposed for the sky and one photo exposed for the land but this is still a valid technique even with an DSLR. It is an accurate representation of the scene.

gpimages · Jan 10, 2008

Honeybee,
I keep an Olympus point and shoot in the car at all times. Every couple of months I download and sort the pics off of it. A while back I was looking over the pics and was quite proud of a couple of very good sunset pics. I was tooting my own horn and showing my wife the pics. She very humbly told me that those were pics SHE took! Point is, it's not just the camera. My wife who doesn't take pictures all the time, has a very good eye for what is a good picture. If you have an eye for photography and the desire, just keep taking pictures!

Honeybee · Jan 10, 2008

gpimages said:
Honeybee,
I keep an Olympus point and shoot in the car at all times. Every couple of months I download and sort the pics off of it. A while back I was looking over the pics and was quite proud of a couple of very good sunset pics. I was tooting my own horn and showing my wife the pics. She very humbly told me that those were pics SHE took! Point is, it's not just the camera. My wife who doesn't take pictures all the time, has a very good eye for what is a good picture. If you have an eye for photography and the desire, just keep taking pictures!

that's a funny story! burst your bubble?

But yeah, i like to think i have an 'eye' for photography but mainly it's something i've come to love doing.

gpimages · Jan 10, 2008

Honeybee,
Yep.....it was funny and humbling for me. I certainly am no expert but I do know how fun it is to take pictures. Keep on taking them and posting them!

Pinus strobus · Jan 12, 2008

I used a P&S for a couple of years before I bought my DSLR. It took me forever to get a digital camera of any kind, since I didnt own a computer. I still use my p&s all of the time while working, I am not a pro photographer, it is much easier to carry around my small p&s all day than it is to carry my dslr.

mrodgers · Jan 13, 2008

P&S vs. dSLR. I gather from this forum and others that I have been on, that these are the only 2 categories of cameras. I feel differently. I view P&S as the little ultra-compact cameras that don't have a viewfinder and don't have any manual settings other than the "scene" settings.

I had a question I posted a while ago here about P&S cameras and I got as a response, "anything that is not SLR is a P&S camera".

The fact is, the difference in an SLR camera is the way the image is sent from the lens, directed on mirrors to both the viewfinder and the image sensor. dSLRs also utilize a better quality image sensor than all other cameras. Other than that, what does a dSLR have that mine doesn't have? I have Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Program select, and full manual mode. I can also select my ISO from 64 to 1600, change the flash settings, change the exposure compensation, view and compose according to a histogram. That tells me it is NOT simply a point and shoot. All cameras have a point and shoot mode, or Auto mode, including dSLRs.

To the original poster, you are not alone out there with a non-dSLR. I only wish I could waste the money on a dSLR. I wish I could work where these people work. For the price of a nice dSLR, flash unit, extra lens, and something to carry it all with, I could buy my self a much needed upgraded car to get to work!

Oh yeah. Before the holidays, we were not very busy at work. I as well as the other guy I work with were looking on the internet at cameras. I was deciding on a $200 camera while he was loading up the Rebel XTi. After the holidays I asked how his camera worked out for him. He was looking at $1000 that included the camera, lens that normally comes with it and various other lenses, filters, and accessories. When he called, they talked him out of that and into a different "package". All-in-all, he spends $1500 while I spend $200. My hopes are to learn how to use all the features of manual control and different modes. I asked how his was and he says, "Takes great pictures! I put it on automatic and it does EVERYTHING for me. All automatic!" So, I spend $200 to learn a bit of photography and camera settings and he spends $1500 on a Point-and-Shoot LOL

.

seisky · Jan 13, 2008

I'm getting a Fujfilm S700(P&S) soon to learn how to use manual controls and get the most out of pictures. Point and shoot cameras can take amazing pictures, you just need to know how to use the camera.

ianm · Jan 13, 2008

I'm. or i'll phrase that correctly, i've been using a point a shoot for my photos so far - just an Olympus C350 - had it about 3 years i think, it's been useful and should be getting my first dslr at the end of this month beginning of feb

VADER1775 · Jan 15, 2008

"Photography is art. It's abstract. Therefore it's difficult for many people to grasp. It's easy and lazy to think a camera makes the photos. It's easy to blame bad photos on a camera. When you get better you'll realize you would have been better off to pay more attention to your images and less to your camera"... Ken Rockwell

Honeybee · Jan 16, 2008

mrodgers said:
P&S vs. dSLR. I gather from this forum and others that I have been on, that these are the only 2 categories of cameras. I feel differently. I view P&S as the little ultra-compact cameras that don't have a viewfinder and don't have any manual settings other than the "scene" settings.

I had a question I posted a while ago here about P&S cameras and I got as a response, "anything that is not SLR is a P&S camera".

The fact is, the difference in an SLR camera is the way the image is sent from the lens, directed on mirrors to both the viewfinder and the image sensor. dSLRs also utilize a better quality image sensor than all other cameras. Other than that, what does a dSLR have that mine doesn't have? I have Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Program select, and full manual mode. I can also select my ISO from 64 to 1600, change the flash settings, change the exposure compensation, view and compose according to a histogram. That tells me it is NOT simply a point and shoot. All cameras have a point and shoot mode, or Auto mode, including dSLRs.

To the original poster, you are not alone out there with a non-dSLR. I only wish I could waste the money on a dSLR. I wish I could work where these people work. For the price of a nice dSLR, flash unit, extra lens, and something to carry it all with, I could buy my self a much needed upgraded car to get to work!

Oh yeah. Before the holidays, we were not very busy at work. I as well as the other guy I work with were looking on the internet at cameras. I was deciding on a $200 camera while he was loading up the Rebel XTi. After the holidays I asked how his camera worked out for him. He was looking at $1000 that included the camera, lens that normally comes with it and various other lenses, filters, and accessories. When he called, they talked him out of that and into a different "package". All-in-all, he spends $1500 while I spend $200. My hopes are to learn how to use all the features of manual control and different modes. I asked how his was and he says, "Takes great pictures! I put it on automatic and it does EVERYTHING for me. All automatic!" So, I spend $200 to learn a bit of photography and camera settings and he spends $1500 on a Point-and-Shoot LOL .

That's a great story!

But the way you put it (p&s vs. slr) is wonderful. I too, wish I could afford a $1000 camera. But I'm working with what I got and I love it all the same as a high priced camera. And as you said...it does do the same things as a SLR. I'm continuing to work on my "skills". I already have seen improvement in my work as I've been learning. So thanks for your input. Much apprecitated!

To everyone else who responded....thank you too!!!

Sontizzle · Jan 16, 2008

P&S lack the control of setting your ISO, aperature, shutter speed, etc which combined make for a great photo. ive had a few P&S cameras and just bought a DSLR the other day and there is a HUGE difference between them.

LaFoto · Jan 16, 2008

Without having read through all the replies that have been given already, I want to say that I ALSO have a compact digital camera (which I refuse to call "a point&shoot", since that denomination alone characterises the way compact cameras are supposed to be used, and that does not cover the truth about how I use mine when I use it), and I still use that one from time to time.

The thing is, I was with an SLR before I "went digital", took my first steps into digital photography with a borrowed "compact" (well, it was as "compact" as the first mobile phones were :shock: ... which also were about as "compact" as if a piece of furniture is

), then had to give it back but replaced it with the very Powershot I am talking about.

But having come from the SLR-world, I soon longed for a dSLR... and saw my wish granted on my birthday 2 years ago. That is the story ...

Already familiar with the wider range of possibilities an SLR can offer, I too soon felt the limitations of a compact digital camera, but this is not to say that camera was/is unable to produce good photography!