"Oh, the joys", of a point and shoot !!



5 Reasons PNS Cameras Are Better Than DSLR's

DSLR's do have advantages but they also come with their own set of disadvantages as well. Also point and shoots do have disadvantages but they have certain advantages over DSLR's in certain ways and situations. Let me list them out for you.

1. DSLR's are heavy, bulky and unportable : Photography is about going places and shooting interesting things. However most DSLR's are very heavy and bulky which makes them quite unportable and uncomfortable to travel with. Most DSLR's with affixed lenses will weight over a kilo and need to be kept in specially designed bags for them. If you are hanging them from your neck then you will need wide straps and a strong neck if you dont want a neck pain. The DSLR's weight makes it difficult to keep it steady in the hand, so you need to take an tripod for it so you dont get shaky pictures. While these may not deter the determined photographer, it will put off a lot of people subconsciously from taking their camera along on the outing.

However a PNS doesn't have these disadvantages most PNS cameras don't weight over 400grams and you can slip them into your pocket or purse. You don't have to put them into a special bag or hang them from your neck. The light weight makes it easy to hold up in your hands wich means you can spend more time in composing your shot.

2. Image quality of DSLR's are overrated : The image quality of DSLR's especially of those taken during the day or in well lit conditions are overrated at times. I have seen photos taken from DSLR's which look worse then those from point and shoots especially in the popular and convenient auto mode.

In darkness the DSLR's undoubtedly have an advantage over PNS's but this advantage is negated if you use the flash or longer exposure times. Also you can enhance photos taken from PNS cameras on image editing software and make it look as good as those from much better cameras. Image editing software's are becoming an great equaliser with increasing sophistication and ease of use.

3. DSLR's attract unwarranted attention : The big pro looking DSLR's can attract a lot of unwarranted attention from people around you and cause them to disturb you. A person wielding a big black DSLR can often be mistaken for a journalist who is upto no good. whereas a person with an amateurish point and shoot will hardly ever attract any attention and keep people off your hair.

4. High cost of DSLR's : DSLRS are much more expensive then PNS cameras to start off with, but it doesn't end there. As soon as you discover that you're not getting that perfect shot that you wanted you are told that you need to invest even more on lenses, flashes, filters, extension tubes, and so on. With a point and shoot your options are pretty limited, so your investment isn't going to be much beyond the cost of the camera itself, if at all.

5. DSLRS' stress you out and take the fun out of photography : A DSLR can put a lot of stress on you in various ways. A DSLR doesn't guarantee that you will be able to take great pics but It puts pressure on you to take good photographs and not make mistakes. After all you got such a good camera and you still cant come up with great pics? How can you justify that to yourself and to your peers? If the camera is not at fault then you must be at fault. A DSLR has a whole lot of complex controls and has a steep learning curve which is not easy for everybody to learn unlike in PNS cameras where there are only limited controls. All this stress can cause a lot of demoralisation and cause people to lose interest in photography itself.

Another problem is that you have to take extra care of that costly DSLR. Its high value immediately attracts the attention of thieves so you have to keep it safe all the time. They are also fragile and very expensive to repair (if they can be repaired that is ) so you have to put in conscious effort to keep it safe.


To conclude, I think DSLR's aren't meant for everybody but for people who have a great interest in photography and are willing to put in much time, effort money into photography. A more causal photographer would probably be much better off with an PNS.

I was playing around with the buttons on my Nikon D300 and somehow put it in bracketing mode 1 full stop apart. Next day when I was taking pictures I couldn't figure out why most of them were either underexposed or overexposed. I was getting so frustrated that I had to take about 7 pictures of each scene to get one shot that was well exposed. My family was even more frustrated! My husband was making comments like "that person only had to take one picture with a point and shoot camera." The worst part is that I was at Glacier National Park when this happened so missed getting a lot of good shots. Of course I didn't have my manual with me and didn't figure out the problem until after I got home. Boo Hoo :(

I was playing around with the buttons on my Nikon D300 and somehow put it in bracketing mode 1 full stop apart. Next day when I was taking pictures I couldn't figure out why most of them were either underexposed or overexposed. I was getting so frustrated that I had to take about 7 pictures of each scene to get one shot that was well exposed. My family was even more frustrated! My husband was making comments like "that person only had to take one picture with a point and shoot camera." The worst part is that I was at Glacier National Park when this happened so missed getting a lot of good shots. Of course I didn't have my manual with me and didn't figure out the problem until after I got home. Boo Hoo :(

"Oh, the joys", of a point and shoot !!



5 Reasons PNS Cameras Are Better Than DSLR's

DSLR's do have advantages but they also come with their own set of disadvantages as well. Also point and shoots do have disadvantages but they have certain advantages over DSLR's in certain ways and situations. Let me list them out for you.

1. DSLR's are heavy, bulky and unportable : Photography is about going places and shooting interesting things. However most DSLR's are very heavy and bulky which makes them quite unportable and uncomfortable to travel with. Most DSLR's with affixed lenses will weight over a kilo and need to be kept in specially designed bags for them. If you are hanging them from your neck then you will need wide straps and a strong neck if you dont want a neck pain. The DSLR's weight makes it difficult to keep it steady in the hand, so you need to take an tripod for it so you dont get shaky pictures. While these may not deter the determined photographer, it will put off a lot of people subconsciously from taking their camera along on the outing.

However a PNS doesn't have these disadvantages most PNS cameras don't weight over 400grams and you can slip them into your pocket or purse. You don't have to put them into a special bag or hang them from your neck. The light weight makes it easy to hold up in your hands wich means you can spend more time in composing your shot.

2. Image quality of DSLR's are overrated : The image quality of DSLR's especially of those taken during the day or in well lit conditions are overrated at times. I have seen photos taken from DSLR's which look worse then those from point and shoots especially in the popular and convenient auto mode.

In darkness the DSLR's undoubtedly have an advantage over PNS's but this advantage is negated if you use the flash or longer exposure times. Also you can enhance photos taken from PNS cameras on image editing software and make it look as good as those from much better cameras. Image editing software's are becoming an great equaliser with increasing sophistication and ease of use.

3. DSLR's attract unwarranted attention : The big pro looking DSLR's can attract a lot of unwarranted attention from people around you and cause them to disturb you. A person wielding a big black DSLR can often be mistaken for a journalist who is upto no good. whereas a person with an amateurish point and shoot will hardly ever attract any attention and keep people off your hair.

4. High cost of DSLR's : DSLRS are much more expensive then PNS cameras to start off with, but it doesn't end there. As soon as you discover that you're not getting that perfect shot that you wanted you are told that you need to invest even more on lenses, flashes, filters, extension tubes, and so on. With a point and shoot your options are pretty limited, so your investment isn't going to be much beyond the cost of the camera itself, if at all.

5. DSLRS' stress you out and take the fun out of photography : A DSLR can put a lot of stress on you in various ways. A DSLR doesn't guarantee that you will be able to take great pics but It puts pressure on you to take good photographs and not make mistakes. After all you got such a good camera and you still cant come up with great pics? How can you justify that to yourself and to your peers? If the camera is not at fault then you must be at fault. A DSLR has a whole lot of complex controls and has a steep learning curve which is not easy for everybody to learn unlike in PNS cameras where there are only limited controls. All this stress can cause a lot of demoralisation and cause people to lose interest in photography itself.

Another problem is that you have to take extra care of that costly DSLR. Its high value immediately attracts the attention of thieves so you have to keep it safe all the time. They are also fragile and very expensive to repair (if they can be repaired that is ) so you have to put in conscious effort to keep it safe.


To conclude, I think DSLR's aren't meant for everybody but for people who have a great interest in photography and are willing to put in much time, effort money into photography. A more causal photographer would probably be much better off with an PNS.