Q: Why do I need a Digital SLR while most digital point&shoot cameras have manual settings for ISO & aperture?
I am planning a trip to Tanzania safaris. A digital camera is no brainer. However, considering between a digital SLR (dSLR) and a standard digital point & shoot (P&S) camera, I find it hard to justify the cost of dSLR.
Film SLR’s provided 2 advantgaes over P&S cameras: a) interchangeable lenses and b) WYSIWYG pictures.
With P&S cameras advancing so much these days, we get P&S cameras that have zoom ranges longer than 400 mm (e.g, considering the 1.6x differential between the 35 mm format and the digital CCD format, a standard 10x optial zoom in a typical P&S digital camera gives you a zoom of about 400 mm). With image stabilization added in P&S cameras, I do not see a distinct advantage with dSLR’s.
So, if I choose a P&S camera that has:
1) 10x or longer optical zoom
2) image stabilization
3) manual settings for ISO, aperture, and shutter speed
4) fast lens at higher zoom ranges
5) minimum shutter lag
Why would I need a digital SLR?
There are a few more advantages to a digital SLR:
A dSLR is vastly more responsive than a compact. With a dSLR, you press the shutter button and the camera fires. With a compact, the electronic viewfinfer has a delay, and when you press the shutter button you get another delay – without exception, they’re terrible for up close action.
With a dSLR you CAN get fast lenses. Fast autofocus AND great in low light. For $1600 you can get a Canon or Nikon zoom that effectively does 105-300mm tack sharp at f/2.8. With a compact, you’re probably looking at f/5.6 … and you probably need to stop it down to f/8 before it delivers decent image quality. If you’re out at dusk, that could make the difference between getting a few crisp shots, or waiting for the autofocus to get a lock only to discover that your shutter time is impossibly long.
With a dSLR you can set the ISO to 800 and get good image quality. In a pinch, you can crank the ISO up to 3200. With a compact, ISO 400 is usually pretty poor, and you’re lucky if it goes higher at all. Again, a great advantage in low light situations.
With a dSLR you get better continuous shooting. With the entry level models you get 3fps for about the first 8 shots and the buffer clears quickly. With my Nikon D200 I get 5 fps at 10 megapixels for 22 shots before it starts to slow down. Top of the line models do 8+ fps.
All of this extra performance comes at a considerable finanial price however. On the other hand, you could rent the gear, or sell your gear after the trip at only a small loss. Another down side is that a dSLR setup can get pretty bulky and heavy – no problem in a jeep but I’d hate to hike 10 miles with it.
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