differences between DSLR and digital compact camera

This post it specially to one of my friend who asked me what is the different between her small digital compact camera and my giant DSLR that cant even fit into my pocket. Today my post will be on the differences between DSLR and digital compact.

Before trying to understand this, please understand how the system in which a Digital Single Lens-Reflex camera work. DSLR uses TTL (Through the Lens) viewfinder in which when you look through the viewfinder of a DSLR, you are seeing what the lens sees. If the image is out of focus, the photo will be out of focus. However, unlike DSLR, the viewfinder in digital compact camera is separate from the lens and shows you an image of the scene in front of you. The lens may be out of focus but your view in the viewfinder will be sharp.

One of the weak points DSLR do have is that most of the DSLR do not have a Live-View feature; the only way to frame your shot is via the optical viewfinder. Some photographers prefer to use a camera’s LCD for this task. Some DSLR seem to be being released with this feature being added however so if you’re a fan of the LCD framing method you might want to check. I think all digital compact cameras do have a live view function, only some do have a viewfinder, you try observing, how many would use the viewfinder?

DSLR ability to change lenses opens up a world of possibilities for photographers. While my compact camera (Olympus C750UZ) has a nice little 10x (and many these days have longer ones) my DSLR can be fitted with many high quality lenses ranging from wide angle to super long focal lengths depending upon what I’m photographing (and of course my budget). Add to this a large range of other accessories (flashes, filters etc) and a DSLR can be adapted to many different situations. It should be noted that when it comes to lenses that the diversity in quality of lenses is great. Image quality is impacted greatly by the quality of the lens you use.

A factor well worth considering if you’re going to use a DSLR with more than one lens is that every time you change lenses you run the risk of letting dust into your camera. Dust on an image sensor is a real annoyance as it will leave your images looking blotchy. Cleaning your image sensor is not a job for the faint hearted. Digital compact camera doesn’t need maintaining as long as you take good care of it.

If you are thinking about a camera that fit into your pocket easily, don’t ever think of DSLR. Basically, the smallest DSLR is at least double times bigger the size than a standard compact camera. The only reason I take my compact camera out with me is on those occasions when I don’t want to lug my DSLR (and its’ lenses) around with me. DSLR are heavy and sizeable and when you add a lens or two to your kit bag you can end up with quite the load! Compact cameras are light, much lighter.

The price of a DSLR is also much higher as compared to a compact camera. A good and high end lens for DSLR may cost more than the body alone. The prices of some lenses are so expensive that with the same amount of money I could buy a few compact cameras.

While not many compact cameras come with the ability to shoot in manual mode, a DSLR is designed in such a way that it is assumed that the photographer using it will want to control their own settings. While they do come with good auto modes the manual controls are generally built in such a way that they are at the photographers’ finger tips as they are shooting. Compact camera doesn’t have much flexibility to manipulate the camera based on the lighting.

One thing I love about my DSLR is the versatility that it gives me in many areas, especially depth of field. I guess this is really an extension of its manual controls and ability to use a variety of lenses but a DSLR can give you depth of field that puts everything from foreground to background in focus through to nice blurry backgrounds. Compact cameras can’t do that easily.

I hesitate to add this point as there is a large degree of difference in quality between DSLR lenses but in general the lenses that you’ll find on a DSLR are superior to a compact camera. DSLR lenses are larger (more glass can add to the quality) and many of them have many hours of time put into their manufacture (especially when you get into higher end lenses). The sensor on a DSLR is much larger to a normal digital compact camera, thus, the image quality on a DSLR would be higher.

Normal person who is not interested in photography may find DSLR complex. While DSLR are designed for manual use this of course means you need to know how to use the tools that they give you.

A normal digital compact camera may not even have any support for special equipments. DSLR do support many other more advance equipment like lenses, battery grip, external flash series, and filters. One think most of the digital compact camera lack is the ability to take picture in RAW format which is important to us photographers.

I do wish whoever who read this post could understand the differences between a DSLR and a digital compact camera better. Do leave a comment and correct me if you think I’m wrong. Thanks for reading.