Friday 30 September 2016

Mirrorless vs DSLR

DSLR cameras by design have some inherent flaws and limitations. Part of it has to do with the fact that SLR cameras were initially developed for film. When digital evolved, it was treated just like film and was housed in the same mechanical body. Aside from the circuitry required for a digital sensor and other electronics, new digital film media and the back LCD, the rest of the SLR components did not change. Same mechanical mirror, same pentaprism / optical viewfinder, same phase detection system for autofocus operation. While new technological advances eventually led to extending of features of these cameras (In-camera editing, HDR, GPS, WiFi, etc), DSLRs continued to stay bulky for a couple of reasons. First, the mirror inside DSLR cameras had to be the same in size as the digital sensor, taking up plenty of space. Second, the pentaprism that converts vertical rays to horizontal in the viewfinder also had to match the size of the mirror, making the top portion of DSLRs bulky.



Lastly, manufacturers wanted to keep existing lenses compatible with digital cameras, so that the transition from film to digital was not too costly or too limiting for the consumer. This meant that manufacturers also had to keep the “flange distance” (which is the distance between the camera mount and the film / sensor plane) the same between the two formats. Although smaller APS-C / DX sensors and lenses seemed like a great way to reduce the bulk of DSLR systems, the flange distance / compatibility concerns left them fairly large and heavy physically. 35mm eventually came back with modern full-frame digital sensors, so the mirror and pentaprism sizes again went back to what they were in film days. On one hand, keeping the flange distance the same allowed for maximum compatibility when mounting lenses between film, APS-C and full-frame DSLRs, without the need to re-design and re-market lenses for each format. On the other hand, DSLRs simply cannot go beyond their minimum size requirements and the presence of the mirror is what continues to make them so much more complex to build and support.

DSLR Camera Limitations

Due to the mirror dependency of DSLRs for “through the lens” viewing, they have the following limitations:


  1. Size and Bulk: the reflex system needs space for both the mirror and the prism, which means that DSLRs will always have a wider camera body and a protruding top. It also means that the viewfinder must be fixed in the same spot on every DSLR, in-line with the optical axis and digital sensor – basically, there is no other place to put it. As a result, most DSLRs have somewhat similar exterior looks.
  2. Weight: large size and bulk also translates to more weight. While most entry-level DSLRs have plastic bodies and internal components to make them lighter, the minimum height and depth issue to house the mirror + pentaprism/pentamirror means lots of wasted space that needs to be covered. In addition, it would be unwise to cover such a large area with a very thin layer of plastic just to make it appear smaller / lighter – the underlying idea of a DSLR is ruggedness, even on a basic body. On top of that, DSLR lenses are typically large and heavy (especially those with a full image circle that were created for 35mm film / full-frame), so a super light camera body would result in balance issues. In essence, it is the larger physical size of DSLR systems that directly affects the weight.
  3. Complex Mirror and Shutter Design: every actuation requires the mirror to move up and down to let the light pass through directly onto the sensor. This alone creates a number of issues:



  • Mirror Slap: the most amount of noise you hear on SLR cameras comes from the mirror slapping up and down (the shutter is much quieter in comparison). This mirror slap results in loud noise and camera shake. Although manufacturers have been coming up with creative ways to reduce noise by slowing down the mirror movement (Nikon’s “Quiet” mode for example), it is still quite loud. Camera shake can also become an issue when shooting at long focal lengths and slow shutter speeds. Once again, DSLR manufacturers had to come up with features like “Mirror Lock-Up” and “Exposure Delay” to allow mirror to be lifted, then exposure taken after a set delay – all to reduce vibrations.
  • Movement of Air: as the mirror flips up and down, it moves plenty of air inside the camera chamber. And with air, it also moves dust and other debris around, which eventually ends up on the camera sensor. Some people argue that their DSLR cameras are better suited for changing lenses than mirrorless cameras, because there is a mirror between the sensor and the mount. There might be some truth to that. However, what happens with that dust after the mirror moves inside the chamber? All that dust will obviously circulate inside the chamber. In my experience shooting with a number of different mirrorless cameras, I found them to be actually less prone to dust than any of my DSLRs.
  • Frame Speed Limitation: while the modern mirror and shutter mechanisms are very impressive, they are limited by the physical speed at which the mirror flips up and down. When the Nikon D4 fires at 11 frames per second, the mirror literally goes up and down 11 times within each second, with the shutter opening and closing in between! It has to be a perfect synchronization of both the mirror and the shutter in order for it all to work. Take a look at the below video that shows this in slow motion (skip to 0:39):

       


Now imagine this process at 15-20 times per second – that’s probably physically impossible.


  • Expensive to Build and Support: the mirror mechanism is very complex and consists of dozens of different parts. Because of that, it is expensive to build and provide technical support if anything goes wrong. Disassembling a DSLR and replacing internal components can be very time consuming.
  1. No Live Preview: when looking through an optical viewfinder, it is impossible to see what the image is           actually going to look like. You have to look at the camera meter (which can be fooled in some                     situations) and adjust the exposure accordingly.
  2.  Secondary Mirror and Phase Detection Accuracy: you might already know that all DSLR cameras               with phase detection autofocus system (more on this below) require a secondary mirror. I wrote about           this in detail in my “how phase detection AF works” article. In short, part of the light that reaches the             mirror ends up on the smaller secondary mirror that sits at a different angle than the primary mirror.               The purpose of the secondary mirror is to pass the incoming light to phase detection sensors that are             located on the bottom of the chamber. The problem with the secondary mirror, is that it has to be                 positioned at a perfect angle and distance for phase detection to work accurately. If there is even a               slight deviation, it will result in missed focus. And even worse, the phase detection sensors and the                 secondary mirror have to stay perfectly parallel to each other. If they don’t, some autofocus points                 might be accurate, while others will constantly miss focus.
  3.  Phase Detection and Lens Calibration Issues: the problem with the traditional DSLR phase detection  system not only lies with the secondary mirror alignment issues, but also requires lenses to be properly calibrated. It becomes a two way game – precise focus requires perfect angle and distance of thsecondary mirror to the phase detection sensors (as explained above), and requires a properly                      calibrated lens to the body. If you had autofocus accuracy problems with your lenses in the past, you            might have had experience sending your gear to the manufacturer. Very often, support techs will ask              the lens in question to be sent together with the camera body. If you wondered why before, now you            have the answer – there are basically two places where things could potentially go wrong. If the                    technician adjusts your lens to their standard camera environment and your camera is slightly off, your            issues might get even worse after such tuning. That’s why it is best to calibrate both the camera and the          lens to resolve those discrepancies.
  4.  Price: although manufacturers have gotten much more efficient over the years in terms of DSLR                      production, assembling the mirror mechanism is no easy task. Lots of moving components mean high            precision assembly systems, the need for lubrication in areas where metal components rub against each          other, etc. In turn, this all results in increased manufacturing costs. And it does not stop there – if                    anything goes wrong with the mirror mechanism, the manufacturer must repair or even potentially                  replace it, which is a very labor-intensive task.

Mirrorless to the Rescue?

With the rise of cameras without a mirror (hence the name “mirrorless”), most manufacturers have already realized that traditional DSLR systems are not going to be the driving force of camera sales in the future. It makes sense from the cost standpoint alone, but if we really look at the current innovation, where are we at with DSLRs? With each iteration of DSLRs, it seems like we are getting closer and closer to hit the wall of innovation. Autofocus performance and accuracy have already pretty much hit the wall. Processors are fast enough to crank HD videos at 60p. Just to keep the word out and sales going, camera manufacturers have been resorting to just re-branding the same camera under a new model name. What else IS there to add? GPS? WiFi? Instant Photo Sharing? More in-camera editing? Those are all great bells and whistles, but are they innovations that will truly drive future sales? I don’t think so.

Mirrorless cameras open up huge opportunities for innovation in the future and solve many of the problems of traditional DSLRs. Let’s go through each point above and discuss additional benefits of mirrorless cameras:



  1. Smaller Size / Bulk and Lighter Weight: removing the mirror and the pentaprism frees up a lot of space. This means that mirrorless cameras can be designed to be smaller, less bulky and lighter compared to DSLRs. With a shorter flange distance, the physical size of both the camera and the lens is reduced. This is especially true for APS-C size sensors (full-frame is tougher to address, as discussed further down in the article). No more wasted space, no need for extra ruggedness to give a feel of a bigger camera. Mirrorless cameras can be made much lighter than DSLRs.

  • The rise of smartphones as compact cameras has taught us a very important lesson – convenience, small size and light weight can potentially overpower quality. The point and shoot sales are significantly down, because most people find their smartphones to be “good enough” for those snapshot moments. All smartphone manufacturers are currently pressing hard on camera features, because they want people to think that they are not just getting a phone, but also a great camera in a single compact package. And judging from the sales figures so far, it is clearly working – more and more people are embracing smartphones and leaving their point and shoot cameras behind. Simply put, smaller size and lighter weight in electronics win in today’s economy. We can observe the same trend in many other gadgets – thinner and lighter TVs, tablets instead of laptops, etc.
  • Hence, people will naturally go after lighter and more compact, especially if the quality is not compromised.
     2.  No Mirror Mechanism: no more mirror flipping up and down means a lot of good things:

  • Less Noise: no more mirror slap, just the click of the shutter is all you hear from the camera.
  • Less Camera Shake: unlike the mirror in a DSLR, the shutter by itself does not produce a lot of vibrations, resulting in less camera shake.
  • No Movement of Air: since there is nothing constantly moving inside the camera chamber, dust is less of an issue (at least in my experience).
  • Easier to Clean: and if dust does end up on the sensor, cleaning mirrorless cameras is easier than DSLRs. You do not need a fully charged battery to lock up the mirror – the sensor is exposed once you dismount the lens. In addition, most mirrorless cameras do not have an opening under the mirror to house a phase detection sensor and other components, so there is very little chance for dust to circulate after the chamber + sensor are fully cleaned.
  • Very Fast FPS Speed: having no mirror means that the capture rate (fps) does not have to be limited by the mirror speed. This means that mirrorless cameras could potentially capture images at much faster frame rates than 10-12 FPS we see today, with much less noise.
  • Cheaper to Build and Support: less moving parts translate to lower cost of manufacturing and support for the manufacturer.

     3.  Live Preview: with mirrorless, you can get a live preview of what you are about to capture – basically           “what you see is what you get”. If you messed up White Balance, Saturation or Contrast, you will see           it in live preview – whether in the EVF (see below) or the LCD.
     4.  No Phase Detection / Secondary Mirror Alignment Issues: now that many of the modern mirrorless               cameras are shipping with hybrid autofocus systems that utilize both phase and contrast detection                   autofocus, you do not have to worry about the alignment of phase detection and secondary mirror. On           a number of new generation mirrorless cameras, the phase detection sensors are located on the actual           sensor, which means that phase detection will never have to be calibrated for distance, since it sits on             the same plane as the sensor that captures the image.
     5.  Price: producing mirrorless cameras is much cheaper than producing DSLRs. As of today, most                   mirrorless camera manufacturers charge heavy premiums for their camera systems, because their                   overall costs are high. While the actual manufacturing costs are lower than DSLRs, companies have to           spend plenty of R&D money on improving autofocus performance and other technologies like EVF.             Plus, since mirrorless cameras are relatively new, companies have to increase their marketing budgets           to educate people. Overtime, however, prices of mirrorless cameras will drop to lower levels than                 even entry-level DSLRs.
     6.  Electronic Viewfider: now here comes the biggest strength of mirrorless cameras and the present +               future innovation with it. Without a doubt, an EVF has huge advantages over OVF. While the current             implementation of EVF might not be as robust and responsive as it should be (see below), it is just a             matter of time before manufacturers fix that. Let’s go over some of the key benefits of EVF over                   OVF:

  • Information Overlay: with OVF, you never get to see more than some basic grids. There is some static information presented in the viewfinder, but it is always fixed and cannot be easily changed. With EVF, you can get any information you want displayed right inside the viewfinder – from live exposure data to histograms. Different warnings could be added, such as a warning for a potentially blurry shot.
  • Live Preview: the same live preview on the LCD can be shown inside the EVF.
  • Image Review: another key feature that you will never get in an OVF is image review. How cool would it be to see the image that you have just captured right inside the viewfinder? With OVF, you are forced to look at the LCD screen, which is a big pain in daylight conditions. People end up buying a Hoodman Loupe just to be able to see their LCD screen in daylight! With EVF, you never have to worry about this, since you could use the viewfinder for reviewing images instead.
  • Focus Peaking: if you don’t know what focus peaking is, check out this video on Youtube:
pelase vist to :https://youtu.be/HGPF375-2rA


Basically, you can nail focus when performing manual focus without having to rely on your eyes. The area that is in focus gets painted with an overlay color of your choice and you can stop exactly where you want it to be. You would never be able to do this with an OVF in a DSLR.


  • No More Viewfinder Coverage: with OVF, you typically get something like 95% viewfinder coverage, especially on lower-end DSLR models. This basically means that what you see in the viewfinder is about 5% smaller than what the camera will capture. With EVF, you no longer have this problem, because it will always be 100% viewfinder coverage, since what you see in the EVF is what the sensor will capture.
  • Much Brighter Display: if the light conditions are poor, you cannot really see much through an OVF. Focusing with OVF in low light is also difficult, because you cannot really tell if the subject is in focus until you take the picture. With EVF, brightness levels can be “normalized”, so that you can see everything as if it was daylight. Some noise might be present, but it is still way better than trying to guess when looking through an OVF.
  • Digital Zoom: this one is by far my most favorite feature! If you have used a Live View mode on your DSLR before, you know how helpful zooming in can be. With most modern DSLRs, you can zoom in to 100% and really nail focus. Well, with mirrorless cameras, this feature can be built right into the viewfinder! So imagine manually focusing with a lens, then zooming in to 100% right inside the viewfinder before you take the picture. A number of mirrorless cameras are already capable of doing this. It goes without saying that an OVF would never be able to zoom like that.
  • Face / Eye Tracking: now we are moving to the coolest part of the EVF technology. Because the EVF shows what actually happens on the sensor, additional technologies for data analysis can be utilized to do very cool things, like face and even eye tracking! I am sure you have seen face tracking on point and shoot cameras, but if you take it a step further, you could have the camera automatically focus on the nearest eye of the person that you are photographing. How cool is that? Sony is already doing this on their new Sony A7/A7R cameras!
  • Potentially unlimited focus points: as you already know, most DSLR cameras have a limited number of focus points that are distributed mostly around the center of the frame. While it works out in most situations, what do you do if you need to move the focus point to an extreme border of the frame? The only option is to focus and recompose, but that might not be always desirable, since you are also shifting the plane of focus. In addition, anything away from the center focus point is typically inaccurate and could result in “focus hunting”, where the camera struggles with AF acquisition and goes back and forth continuously. With mirrorless cameras and phase detection sensors placed directly on the imaging sensor, this limitation can be lifted. Contrast-detection is already possible anywhere in the imaging sensor, while on-sensor phase detection will eventually get to the point where focus points will be distributed all over the sensor.
  • Subject Tracking and other Future Data Analysis: if things like face and eye tracking are possible with mirrorless cameras, you can only imagine what camera manufacturers will be able to do in the future. Imaging having a complex tracking system that intelligently combines sensor data with autofocus and uses it to track a given object, or subject in the frame. Even the top of the line DSLR cameras today have challenges with full subject tracking. If you have tried photographing birds in flight with a DSLR, tracking can get challenging, especially when the bird moves out of the focus point area, or when the light conditions are less than ideal. If data is analyzed on a pixel level and there is no real autofocus area to concentrate on, subject tracking could potentially get super advanced with mirrorless cameras.
  • Eye damage: when looking through a viewfinder, one has to be extremely careful about photographing the sun, especially with long focal length lenses. With EVF, the image is projected through the sensor and there is no harm to your eyes.

Mirrorless Camera Limitations

We’ve gone over the many advantages of mirrorless cameras over DSLRs. Now let’s talk about some of their current limitations:


  1. EVF Lag: some of the current EVF implementations are not very responsive, resulting in considerable lag. While this is certainly a nuisance compared to OVF at the moment, it is a matter of time before that lag is eliminated. The latest EVFs are already much better than what they used to be before. But as EVF technologies evolve, the lag issue will be resolved completely.
  2. Continuous Autofocus / Subject Tracking: while contrast detect has already reached very impressive levels on mirrorless cameras, they are still very weak at continuous autofocus performance and subject tracking. This makes them pretty much unusable for wildlife and sports photography at the moment. However, with the rise of hybrid autofocus systems and their continuous development, we will soon start seeing mirrorless cameras with much better continuous autofocus capabilities. One of the reasons why mirrorless cameras have been slow in this department, is because most mirrorless systems are small and not well-suited to handle large telephoto lenses. So manufacturers have not been putting much of their R&D efforts into this specific area. Again, it is a matter of time until this is implemented on mirrorless cameras.
  3. Battery Life: another big disadvantage of mirrorless cameras at the moment. Providing power to LCD and EVF continuously takes a toll on the battery life, which is why most mirrorless cameras are rated at about 300 shots per battery charge. DSLRs are much more power efficient in comparison, typically in 800+ shot range per charge. While it is not a huge problem for typical camera use, it could be an issue for someone that travels and has very little access to power. Still, I believe that the battery issue is also something that will significantly improve in the future. Batteries will be more powerful and power-hungry LCD screens will be replaced with OLED and other much more efficient technologies.
  4. Red Dot Patterns: due to the very short flange distance, most mirrorless cameras suffer from a “red dot pattern” issue, which becomes clearly visible when shot with the sun in the frame at small apertures. Basically, light rays bounce back and forth between the sensor and the rear lens element, creating grid patterns of red (and sometimes other colors) in images. Unfortunately, there is no way around this limitation on all mirrorless cameras with a short flange distance, as discussed here.
  5. Strong EVF Contrast: most EVFs designed today have very strong, “boosted” contrast, similar to what we see on our TVs. As a result, you see a lot of blacks and whites, but very little gray shades (which help to understand how much dynamic range can be captured). While one could look at the histogram overlay in EVF, it is still a nuisance. Manufacturers will have to find ways to make EVFs display images more naturally.

As you can see, the list is rather short and I expect it to get even shorter within the next few years. I believe that all of the above issues are addressable and they will get better with each iteration of mirrorless cameras.

In summary, I would like to say that DSLRs simply have no way to compete with mirrorless in the future. I am not saying that everyone will be switching to smaller and lighter mirrorless cameras soon – no, we are still far from that point. However, it simply does not make sense for manufacturers like Nikon and Canon to continue investing into making DSLRs better, when the technology advantage is clearly with mirrorless. Below is what I believe what Nikon and Canon should do in the near future.

Nikon’s Mirrorless Future

Currently, Nikon has three different formats and two mounts:


  1. CX – Nikon CX mirrorless mount, cameras with 1″ sensors. Current camera line: Nikon 1 AW1, J3, S1, V2
  2. DX – Nikon F mount, APS-C sensors. Current camera line: Nikon D3200, D5300, D7100, D300s
  3. FX – Nikon F mount, 35mm full-frame sensors. Current camera line: Nikon D610, D800/D800E, D4

When everyone was going mirrorless, Nikon ended up creating a new mirrorless mount – CX with a small 1″ sensor. While the imaging and autofocus technology of Nikon 1 cameras is good and the overall system is fairly compact, the biggest issue is the small sensor size. With a 1″ sensor (which is much smaller than APS-C) as shown below, the Nikon 1 cameras simply cannot compete with APS-C in image quality, bokeh and dynamic range, just like APS-C cannot compete with full-frame, or full-frame cannot compete with medium format. Simply put, Nikon has a sensor size disadvantage with its CX / Nikon 1 system.


So what is the logical way for Nikon to move into mirrorless? Essentially, Nikon has a couple of choices for DX and FX:

DX


  1. Create a different mirrorless mount for APS-C size sensors: this would essentially kill DX. A while ago when I posted the “why DX has no future” article, I received a number of angry comments from some readers. Well, it has been over a year since that article and I still believe that DX has no future in a big DSLR box. To be able to compete with the current APS-C mirrorless market, Nikon needs to create a new mount with a shorter flange distance. This will obviously be very expensive for the company and will take a while to catch up with good lenses. Instead of two mounts, Nikon will have to concentrate on three and phase away DX DSLRs in the future. But if this does not happen and Nikon chooses to keep the flange distance the same, APS-C mirrorless cameras from Nikon will always be at a disadvantage in terms of size and bulk. By creating a new mount for APS-C, Nikon can make smaller / lighter lenses and camera bodies.
  2. Keep the F mount, but get rid of the mirror: this is obviously the easiest and the cheapest route, and the one that ensures compatibility with all Nikon F mount lenses. With the mirror gone, APS-C mirrorless cameras could potentially be smaller in height (no pentaprism), but they would obviously have the same depth, since the mount to sensor distance has to stay the same. Camera bodies would potentially look box-like, which is hard to design with good ergonomics. At the same time, larger camera bodies would balance well with larger / longer lenses.
  3. Kill DX: if Nikon does not want to develop a separate mount for APS-C or transition it over to a mirrorless with the same flange distance, it also has a choice to kill DX completely and only concentrate on CX and FX formats. This scenario is less likely to happen.

FX


  1. Create a different mirrorless mount for full-frame sensors: basically, Nikon could do the same thing Sony did with their A7 and A7R cameras. This scenario is very unlikely to happen, as it would cripple all existing lens owners. With over 80 million lenses sold so far, Nikon would be shooting themselves in the foot by making a new mirrorless full-frame camera mount. Plus, it would be downright silly to attempt to make smaller full-frame cameras. Sony has moved to a smaller camera body, but they have to make compromises with lenses. It is optically impossible to make full-frame lenses with a full image circle much smaller than what they are today on DSLRs. Sony found a compromise by making lenses slower (f/4 vs f/2.8), so anything faster will result in huge lenses and balance issues. Nikon should stick to keeping the F mount for full-frame, as discussed below.
  2. Keep the F mount, but get rid of the mirror: this is most likely what Nikon will end up doing in the future. All current and old Nikkor lenses will continue to work, since the flange distance will be the same. Pro-level FX cameras will still be heavy and bulky for better balance with long lenses, while smaller and lighter FX cameras will also be available for those that worry about weight.
Canon’s Mirrorless Future

I believe that Canon is in a much better boat than Nikon for moving to mirrorless. First, it has no small-format mount to support like Nikon CX. Second, it has already moved to mirrorless with APS-C size sensor – the Canon EOS M is its first iteration. Naturally, Canon will eventually move all of its APS-C EF-S cameras to the M mount. The only thing that will be left is the full-frame EF mount, which will most likely follow the same destiny as Nikon’s F mount, without a mirror but with the same flange distance. This way, Canon will only concentrate on two mounts – EOS M and EF.

I apologize for making this article so long. If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to share them below.

If you have enjoyed this article, please check out our in-depth Level 1 Photography Basics Course, where we explore all the basics of photography in much more detail. It is an intensive, 5+ hour course with enough material to not only get you started today, but also to serve as a reference material in the future.
DSLR vs Point and Shoot Camera


Why would you pick DSLR vs Point and Shoot Camera or vice-versa? As DSLRs are becoming more and more affordable, a lot of people are wondering if it is time for them to switch to a DSLR and toss their point and shoot cameras. Nowadays, point and shoot cameras have a long list of features and capabilities, compared to even slightly older versions. GPS, face-detection, smile detection and many other new technologies are making their way into the point and shoot market, over-saturating it with new cameras and making it more difficult for people to choose the right camera for their needs. A similar thing is also happening in the DSLR world, where manufacturers are dividing the market into multiple segments, trying to capture a range of potential customers: from entry-level to advanced professional. But one thing for sure – there are many people, who are stuck in the middle, trying to decide whether they want to stay with their point and shoots, or bite the bullet and switch to a DSLR.



                                                NIKON D700 @ 85mm, ISO 250, 1/250, f/2.8

In this article, I will go through the advantages and disadvantages of both DSLRs and point and shoots, so that you can evaluate what’s best for your needs and make the right decision. So, if you are one of those people who are stuck in the middle, this article is for you.

Anyway, let’s analyze the advantages of point and shoot cameras:


  • First and foremost, it is the Size. You can simply slip them into your pocket and carry them anywhere. Heck, some of the new phones have excellent cameras and you don’t even need a dedicated point and shoot camera anymore…hitting those ski slopes and keeping good memories is easier than ever.
  • Weight. Most point and shoot cameras are very light weight. You do not need extra bags, tripods or other accessories to carry around. There are, however, advanced “SLR-like” point and shoot cameras that tend to get bigger and bulkier, due to their super zoom capabilities.
  • Fixed lens. All point and shoot cameras come with fixed lenses. You don’t sweat in trying to change lenses.
  • Massive Depth of Field. In layman’s terms, it means that point and shoot cameras typically cannot separate foreground from background, bringing everything in focus and making the entire scene look sharp. This could be both good and bad.
  • Price. A point-and-shoot camera is always going to be cheaper to purchase and maintain than a DSLR.

Disadvantages of point and shoot cameras:


  • Quality. Due to the smaller size of the camera sensor, point and shoots are no match to DSLRs when it comes to image quality, even with more Megapixels.
  • Downside of a large depth of field. While a point and shoot gets your entire scene nicely in focus, there is not much you can do to isolate your subject from the background and make it look soft and blurry. With DSLR cameras and special lenses, you can get a very shallow depth of field and completely isolate your foreground from the background.
  • Adaptability. Point and shoot cameras are not upgradable. You cannot change their lenses or mount external flashes (with the exception of some high-end models) and the number of external accessories is limited to the brand and make of the camera.
  • Limited control. Unlike DSLRs, point and shoot cameras give much less control over the process of taking pictures. In many compact point and shoot cameras, there is very limited control over aperture and shutter speed, there is no distance marking on the lens and the cameras are tougher to control in manual mode.
  • Shooting in the dark. Point-and-shoot cameras do not have good capabilities for night photography.
  • Inability to capture wide-angle shots. Most point and shoot cameras have lenses that start at 30-35mm, which means that you cannot fit much of the scene and would have to stand back to capture more.
  • Most point and shoot cameras are limited in how fast they can capture an image. Point and shoots are not designed for sports and action photography.


                                           NIKON D700 @ 420mm, ISO 250, 1/2000, f/5.6

Now, let’s talk about the main advantages DSLRs:


  • Better image quality. A DSLR camera typically has a much bigger sensor than a point and shoot camera – a point and shoot typically has a sensor area that is only about 3-5% of a full frame DSLR sensor. Having a big sensor helps to get images that have much less noise (noise is the grain you typically see in a picture) and much better overall image quality.
  • Better sensitivity to light. Less noise means that you can work in very dim environments and capture photographs that you would never be able to with a point and shoot camera.
  • Shutter and focus speeds. DSLRs can acquire focus very quickly and take multiple shots per second. Professional DSLRs are capable of capturing up to 10 frames per second. All professional action and sports photography is done with SLRs.
  • You see what you shoot. A DSLR is constructed with reflex mirrors, which means that you look through the lens, instead of a see-through hole in the camera.
  • Flexible Controls. DSLRs are not necessarily created for “simplicity” as most point and shoots are. So, you will typically find a lot more buttons and controls on a DSLR than on a point and shoot. Once you learn how to use those controls, you can quickly change settings, if necessary.
  • Better investment. Generally, DSLR cameras hold their values much better than point and shoots. Although no digital camera can be considered a good investment, chances of selling your DSLR at a reasonably good price are much higher than even a slightly used point and shoot camera. Our Nikon D80 that we first bought was sold for about 10% less than what we bought it for after a year of moderate use.
  • Ability to use different lenses. There is a big array of lenses that can be mounted and used on DSLRs, from super wide angle to telephoto, depending on your needs. My husband uses long telephoto lenses such as the Nikon 300mm f/4.0 for his bird photography, while I primarily shoot with portrait lenses such as the Nikon 50mm f/1.4. On point and shoots, you are limited to the “optical zoom” of the camera lens. DSLR lenses are also much better optically compared to lenses in point and shoot cameras.
  • Full control over depth of field. You are fully in charge of isolating foreground from background or bring everything in focus through aperture control of the lens. Some portrait and telephoto lenses can really isolate your subjects and create a creamy and beautiful background blur, also known as “bokeh“.
  • Weather sealing. Forget about using a point and shoot in challenging weather conditions. While point and shoot cameras are only suited for normal use, higher-end DSLRs can withstand dust, moisture, rain and snow and severely cold weather. My husband often shoots landscapes in subzero temperatures with his DSLR and he has never had a problem with it.
  • Solid construction. DSLRs are built to last. While there are some parts that are made of tough plastic, the professional DSLRs are made of magnesium-alloy and can take a lot of physical abuse, while point and shoots would quickly break down.


Downside of owning a DSLR:


  • High price tag. DSLR cameras are more expensive than point and shoot cameras. Even a used, entry-level DSLR is probably going to cost more than an advanced point and shoot. But the expense does not stop with the camera – good lenses typically cost more than the camera itself and you will have to cash out on other accessories (larger camera bags, filters, memory cards, etc). To get started, an entry-level camera with a kit lens will cost you anywhere between $500-800. That’s just the initial cost. Overtime, you might spend three times as much on accessories alone.
  • Complexity. DSLR cameras are quite complex to work with. Once you buy a DSLR, you will need to invest a lot of time to learn the main features and figure out what all the buttons do. Some people get easily frustrated with this process. With a DSLR, you will have to learn how to be patient.
  • Ongoing maintenance. The cost of maintenance on a DSLR is much higher than on a point and shoot. The camera sensor can get dirty and dust can get into lenses. While all manufacturers have some sort of a warranty period, there is no guarantee that things will keep on working when the warranty expires. Obviously, the cost of repair on DSLRs and lenses can get outrageously expensive. You will have to learn how to care for your camera and lenses to prevent dust accumulation and other mechanical problems.
  • Weight and Size. These babies are big and heavy! It took me a while to get used to the size and the weight of my camera. My neck would hurt so badly from carrying the camera around. We ended up purchasing special straps to ease the pain. Weight also makes it hard to hold the camera still and you will have to learn how to properly hold it to have less blur in your pictures.
  • Noise. Due to the nature of DSLRs and their construction, every time the shutter opens and closes, there is a substantial amount of noise that comes out of the camera. Some newer cameras now have a special “Quiet” mode (such as Nikon D600), which helps lower the noise.

I am not going to ask if you’ve reached the limit of your point and shoot camera, because most likely, you haven’t. Personally, I used to shoot everything in auto mode, trusting the camera to do all the work for me. I didn’t think about the settings or functions and to be honest, I don’t even remember changing any camera settings, because I didn’t care. If a picture didn’t come out right, I would always blame the camera, thinking that only a DSLR would produce a better image. Now that I know how to use a DSLR, every once in a while when I get a hold of a point and shoot, I realize that it was me who didn’t know how to take pictures, not the camera. But owning a DSLR pushed me to learn photography and get to know the basics such as ISO, aperture and shutter speed. I didn’t think about any of those before, because they were all pre-determined for me by my simple and easy to use point and shoot.

So, keeping in mind all your needs, ask yourself these simple questions to find out if you really need a DSLR:


  1. Am I ready to invest my time and a considerable amount of money into a DSLR?
  2. Am I willing to learn about photography and the camera?
  3. Do I need a more advanced camera for more than just family pictures?
  4. Can my business or family benefit from this purchase?

Then weigh in the advantages and disadvantages from the above list and see what you are leaning to. If you are leaning towards purchasing a DSLR, please take a look at my husband’s DSLR purchase guide. He gives nice pointers on what to pay attention to while purchasing a new camera. Oh, one more thing, do NOT toss your old point and shoot, because you might need it someday!



                                           NIKON D700 @ 110mm, ISO 400, 1/800, f/4.0

Subject isolation with soft background

Here is my quick story to end this article:

As a mother of two children, it is very important for me to preserve my family memories in forms of pictures. I always wanted to have a big album, full of beautiful pictures of my family for us to go back and look at in the future. I didn’t think about cameras or lenses, because I thought that if I wasn’t able to capture those special moments with my point and shoot camera, I could always hire a photographer to take our pictures. But soon after, I realized that there are too many of those special moments that happen in our lives (first smile on my child’s face, first walk, etc.) and it is not always practical and, in some cases impossible, to hire a photographer to save those memories. While trying to document those moments with what I have, I quickly started getting frustrated with bad pictures and memories that were lost forever. I was getting tired of thinking “I wish that image was better” or “I wish it was not as blurry” and really wanted to do something about it. Two years ago, my husband and I finally made the decision to upgrade to a DSLR and I am grateful that we did, because not only am I able to photograph my family and my kids, but also, I always had a passion for photography and I now have the right tools to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional photographer.

If you have enjoyed this article, please check out our in-depth Level 1 Photography Basics Course, where we explore all the basics of photography in much more detail. It is an intensive, 5+ hour course with enough material to not only get you started today, but also to serve as a reference material in the future.
What is a DSLR (Digital SLR)?

DSLR stands for “Digital Single Lens Reflex”. In simple language, DSLR is a digital camera that uses mirrors to direct light from the lens to the viewfinder, which is a hole on the back of the camera that you look through to see what you are taking a picture of.


1) What do DSLR cameras consist of?

Take a look at the following image of an SLR cross section (image courtesy of Wikipedia):



1.Lens
2.Reflex mirror
3.Shutter
4.Image sensor
5.Matte focusing screen
6.Condenser lens
7.Pentaprism
8.Eyepiece/Viewfinder








2) How do DSLR cameras work?

When you look through the viewfinder on the back of the camera, whatever you see is exactly what you are going to get in the photograph. The scene that you are taking a picture of passes through the lens in a form of light into a reflex mirror (#2) that sits at a 45 degree angle inside the camera chamber, which then forwards the light vertically to an optical element called a “pentaprism” (#7). The pentaprism then converts the vertical light to horizontal by redirecting the light through two separate mirrors, right into the viewfinder (#8).

When you take a picture, the reflex mirror (#2) swings upwards, blocking the vertical pathway and letting the light directly through. Then, the shutter (#3) opens up and the light reaches the image sensor (#4). The shutter (#3) remains open for as long as needed for the image sensor (#4) to record the image, then the shutter (#3) closes and the reflex mirror (#2) drops back to the 45 degree angle to continue redirecting the light into the viewfinder.

Obviously, the process doesn’t stop there. Next, a lot of complicated image processing happens on the camera. The camera processor takes the information from the image sensor, converts it into an appropriate format, then writes it into a memory card. The whole process takes very little time and some professional DSLRs can do this 11 times in one second!

The above is a very simple way to explain how DSLR cameras work.

To read a lot more about DSLRs, check out this great article at Wikipedia.

If you have enjoyed this article, please check out our in-depth Level 1 Photography Basics Course, where we explore all the basics of photography in much more detail. It is an intensive, 5+ hour course with enough material to not only get you started today, but also to serve as a reference material in the future.