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DSLR v P&S

  • Thread starter Thread starter morris
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Hello Morris

I certainly agree with you about how much camera gear you should carry on vacation depending where you are going. I am going to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in september and I plan to take my D80 and 18-200VR lens that will occupy my Tamrac Velocity 7 bag. Those two items don't weight too much and I will have a couple of batteries and blower along with 4 memory cards. I will also take my Canon power shot A570 IS camera that has a 3 " screen and has a 36-140 zoom lens. It takes fine photos for what it is ( 7 megs)I will have that in a separate bag where some books and mags will be. Zion is between 5 and 6000 feet Altitude and Bryce is at 8500 feet so you have to take it slow walking around up there. My wife will take snapshots with the Canon so I will only use the D80 and 18-200VR lens In Bryce you basically drive to one overlook to another and just get out and take some shots and will not have to walk much unless you are into hiking which I am not
good subject Morris
Lowell
 
cmvsm said:
As has been experienced by me and others on this thread, P&S cameras
do have their place in every bag, but they cannot match the speed or
versatility of a DSLR in every area of shooting as you suggest in
your post.
Click to expand...
That's not actually what I suggested, but I certainly do agree that D-SLR's have capabilities that P&S cameras don't have, and that is why I use them. My point was that for many people it really won't matter because of the type of photography they do and the uses they make of their images.

Personally, I currently have three SLR's and a dozen lenses, as well as four P&S cameras and make use of them all at different times for different reasons. One of the P&S cameras is an underwater camera, and the other a 10x zoom perfect as a pocketable travel camera. Recently, there have been far too many new users of SLR's that are simply using their cameras as they would a P&S. They don't need an SLR but have been influenced through advertising, internet discussion forums, and word of mouth to buy expensive gear that they presume will take better photographs of the same subject matter they traditionally shot, like family events, travel photographs, and the like.
 
i couldn't agree with you more, morris! i think that on the upside, point and shoot cameras are easy to take everywhere, don't allow you to get too fussy about camera settings, and let you have fun. slrs obviously have more options and allow for technically superior photos, but ultimately, the photographer is the only one who can take an interesting picture (and this can be done with any camera).
 
Rob Paul said:
Recently, there have been far too many new users of SLR's that are
simply using their cameras as they would a P&S. They don't need an
SLR but have been influenced through advertising, internet discussion
forums, and word of mouth to buy expensive gear that they presume
will take better photographs of the same subject matter they
traditionally shot, like family events, travel photographs, and the
like.
Click to expand...
Agreed!
 
Because I've just damaged my trusted sd700is--what P&S do you use if you consider (as I do) that image quality is just as important as convenience?

Sometimes it's just not convenient to pack my d80+grip and lenses.

DaveL
(rigorously looking at galleries wherever I find them!)
Past: F2; F3MD; Leica M3; Leica M4P; F90S and others...
 
Morris mentioned his companions had 2 P&S superzooms. If they were the P80, Pany FZ series, Olympus UZ, etc. then they have plenty of manual controls. On the other hand, if they were cameras like the Pany TZ5 10x zoom there is no viewfinder and very few manual controls.

I find that my Pansonic FZ8 (a 12x ultra zoom) has more manual controls then the D40 I used for 1500 images last summer (loaned to me) and only weighs 12 ounces. Yes, low light and/or high contrast situations provide a challenge but there are plenty of controls for those of us who want to play with the camera. But it also takes video clips and allows 5 seconds of audio each time I press the shutter. (Wish I owned it last summer while photographing a buffulo herd as it passed by me in Yellowstone!!)

Peter F.

P.S. So I wont be thought of as a troll suggesting Pany products, I still browse this fine forum for Nikon ideas because the D40 I borrowed took some awesome pictures I have printed at 18" and 20" wide (something I won't even try with the pany FZ8). I hope to be soon buying my first dSLR and am waiting to see what September brings for new product!
 
Recently lugged a D80 + 18-200 + 50mm + 10-20 + SB-800 on a mountain... Ouch!! And I didn't even pull out the 10-20 because I was too lazy to mount it. Shot a few wide open with the 50mm and the rest with the 18-200, experimented a little with the SB-800... absolutely not worth all the hassle

--
http://donandre.ipernity.com
 
Morris, next time give your DSLR to your wife to take some pictures and you take pictures with her P&S. Then we could compare if a picture from a P&S done by a good photographer is better than a picture done on a DSLR by a "not so good photographer" (I hope your wife forgives me ;).
 
I'd like to find a nice point and shoot to carry around when I'm not packing my D40, but I just can't find one that give me the results like my D40 can in every situation. There's plenty of cameras with more pixels, and there are those super zooms, but I like my images more out of my D40. I guess, I'm just too picky. Fortnately I got the Tamrac Velocity 7x to hold my gear, so I don't mind packing my D40 with me everywhere.

-- NHT
 
I recently retrieved my Canon S3is from my youngest son who hasn't seemed very interested in shooting it, and have amazed myself at some of the wide DOF macros and beautifully detailed scenics this li'l 6Mp P&S can deliver! Am even considering taking it with me to Montana on my upcoming week-long vacation as a substitute for my much bulkier D40x equipment bag.
Canon S3is captures a good friend of mine canoeing last weekend-



-Aside from my blowing the hi-light reflections in the water, i'm very happy with this shot.
--
David~



. . . shoot like there's no film in the thing!
 
I agree. When I had the Canon S3, there were times during post processing and after printing that I had to check which camera its images came from. I've got a great one on my desk of my son and I that I thought was taken with my D50, but it was the Canon. It did tend to blow out highlights quite easily though.
 
Don't all cameras work like "Point and Shoot"?

You "point" the camera, and then "shoot".

:-)

Seriously though, these P&S cameras are no slouches any longer.

I have a colleague who travels around the world and goes on hikings. He uses a Canon Powershot (a P&S) and comes back with astonishingly superior images.
 
One reason your friend might be taking such great pix is that some of us (me included) take more pictures if it is easy to do. Your friend might actually be taking twice as many pictures as he/she would with a dSLR with multiple lenses. The more pictures you take the more likely you'll have winners.

Peter F.
 
Morris,

Yes when hiking equipment weight becomes a major issue. I just got back from a backpacking trip to Norway. Hiking 20 to 30 miles with a 6000 foot elevation gain and with 30 lbs on your back is pretty tough. Add to that your camera and equipment. Like a fool I took my tripod. Eventually I hid the tripod and picked it up on my way back. It was just not worth the weight.

Next time I will have to plan for lighter equipment.
 
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