Whats going on?!?!

topcatproduction

topcatproduction

Messages
500
Edit My Images
Yes
Ok so I went with my ma this evening to get my old chap a camera for xmas, only wanted a p&s and came out with a really cool looking Sony Cybershot DSC-H20. Got a 10x optical zoom, records HD video (not a selling point in particular for us) etc etc, so I got it home and couldn't resist a play!

Now I'm horrified that from some side by side comparisons (ok only on the lcd screen (which also seems superior to my 400D) the pics just seem miles better! I know I'm still really a newbie, but I honestly thought my DSLR and Sigma 17-70 (also tried kit 18-55) would have kicked the crap out of the P&S Sony! Ok so there is a bit of noise but not a massive amount more than my Canon, and the 10x zoom (not sure what it is the equivalent to on my 1.6 crop sensor) seems great. The 400D needed a flash on the hotshoe to get as bright images as the Sony, and that was at f/2.8 with the siggy.

Now I'm jealous- a £200 camera which does fantastic all round macro, excellent zoom, good flash, video recording, smile, face and blink detection AND image stabilisation which you can fit in your pocket. I'm needing some major reassurance! Maybe I'm that bad and should stick to working on my cars!!! :help:
 
When I first got my 400D I thought the same.
Now i have practised a bit(still not enough) I can see the DSLR is going to be much better.

Practice practice practice............oh and practice some more
 
Echo above really.

All camera's ALL cameras will shoot very well in auto.. Canon / Sony / Nikon And all the others have spent millions on research on the best way forward.

Just because we buy them and stick them in manual does not mean our shots will be better straight away,,



md ?
 
I get what you mean- its versatility thats the main advantage I suppose. ...But I'm still unsure as to how the DSLR's huge sensor (a big proportion of the cost of DSLR's??) cant seem to bang out as good an image as the tiny guts of a compact. Maybe I'm just being ignorant but can someone explain it a bit for me please?!
And do the pictures come out brighter due to a similar size flash to the pop up of the 400D but sensor being miles smaller?
 
My wifes Sony has great low-light capabilities but is nowhere near as good in bright light.
Stick an external flash on the 400D and what a world of difference. Suddenly the point and shoot seems insignificant.

Although, I must admit to popping it in my pocket when going for a walk in areas it's not safe to take a DSLR without getting mugged (and in some museums / galleries in Europe where they are not allowed)
 
I did the same in reverse and was disappointed that my new DSLR took pictures that look the same as my compact. Which is the case, most of the time the pictures do look the same its only at the extremes when you need the DSLR eg. low light, high contrast, fast focusing, very wide or very long lenses.

If you mostly shoot stuff that isn’t moving in good light, with lenses between 24 and about 150 mm you are probably better off with a compact because you will use it more.
 
Photos on a P&S will look the same regardless of who takes the picture. You could get your cat to press the shutter button and it will look the same.

With a DSLR, the person standing behind the camera makes all the difference. Creativity is the name of the game!
 
Relax.

Compact cameras and I suppose some bridge cameras too are balanced towards JPEG output with saturated colours and lots of contrast so that the shots look initially punchy and ready for printing. However the pictures will probably have been processed in camera to within an inch of their lives and there'll probably be very little that you can do to them without it all going horribly wrong.

DSLR output tends to be a little more subdued and this at least gives you more scope for post capture processing so that you end up with an image that looks like what you want it to look like rather than what some technician at Sony or Panasonic thinks that a consumer JPEG should look like.

If you take a close side by side look at shots from your DSLR and a compact what you should see from your DSLR is a greater dynamic range, smother transition of colour, more detail, less noise and less evidence of digital manipulation and processing.

Another way to look at it is that if you want your DSLR shots to look like shots from your compact you should be able to achieve that in post processing but you'll have much less chance of making your compact shots look like DSLR shots once you get up close and really look at them.
 
...and try doing sports photography on a compact, no chance!!
 
The h20 is a good camera, a great compact in fact.
But practice with your DSLR and you will soon get the results you require.

Get an external flash (430ex goes for a good price used if you manage to get one on here) and i'm sure that with time and practice, you will be happy with the results

Mike
 
Steve Smith said:
Not when it's set to automatic.


Steve.
Click to expand...

But then that defeats the purpose of having a DSLR. Might as well use a P&S. Same results but cheaper and a helluva lot less weight to carry. :)
 
topcatproduction said:
Ok so I went with my ma this evening to get my old chap a camera for xmas, only wanted a p&s and came out with a really cool looking Sony Cybershot DSC-H20. Got a 10x optical zoom, records HD video (not a selling point in particular for us) etc etc, so I got it home and couldn't resist a play!

Now I'm horrified that from some side by side comparisons (ok only on the lcd screen (which also seems superior to my 400D) the pics just seem miles better! I know I'm still really a newbie, but I honestly thought my DSLR and Sigma 17-70 (also tried kit 18-55) would have kicked the crap out of the P&S Sony! Ok so there is a bit of noise but not a massive amount more than my Canon, and the 10x zoom (not sure what it is the equivalent to on my 1.6 crop sensor) seems great. The 400D needed a flash on the hotshoe to get as bright images as the Sony, and that was at f/2.8 with the siggy.

Now I'm jealous- a £200 camera which does fantastic all round macro, excellent zoom, good flash, video recording, smile, face and blink detection AND image stabilisation which you can fit in your pocket. I'm needing some major reassurance! Maybe I'm that bad and should stick to working on my cars!!! :help:
Click to expand...

Be reassured, your 400D can do everything any compact can do, it can do much more, and it can do it better. But not so easily, or so cheaply. Sounds like you might get on better with a compact, and there's nothing wrong or surprising about that. I bet almost every DSLR user on here has also got a good compact - I've got three :D

If you only shoot 'regular' stuff, only print small or on screen, don't set-up the camera carefully and know how to adjust the controls according to each particular subject or situation, then a compact will give you pictures at least as good as a DSLR, much more easily and at lower cost.

You can get a fantastic compact these days for £200. A comparable DSLR outfit with two or three lenses, a decent flash and all the parphernalia will cost ten times that, plus a fair bit of knowledge to use.

I use a DSLR because I often take the kind of pictures that a compact simply can't, I enjoy the quality of a big print and frankly, I also enjoy just using the thing, the art and craft etc. But I don't fool myself that quite a lot of the time a compact would do just as well, slipped in my shirt pocket. That'll be my little Pano FX500 then :)

If you want the compact 'look' go into the Picture Style settings and whack up the contrast, sharpness, saturation and colour tone - the results will take your eye out. Then take a few test shots and get it set up just the way you like it. You can't do that with a compact ;)
 
Agree with all of the notes above. You will quickly outgrow a compact camera's capabilities if you start to push yourself photographically. I by no means get out as much as i should do with my DSLR but i do not think i could live with a compact only.

Compact has its uses, again as already noted. But there is nothing like the feeling of nailing a shot when you have decided all of the settings and heard that lovely mirror mechanism.
 
Yes, they are good! BUT with a SLR you get to meet lots of Securtity Guards, PCSOs AND our nice Policemen! Don't get that with a P&S!!!:D

























(Meant to be tongue in cheek and NOT another authority bash thread!!)
 
In my experience - SLR cameras can't do "Auto Mode" nearly as well as modern point and shoot cameras.

So if you never venture out of Auto, ditch the SLR.

If you learn to use the manual features properly, P&S can't come near the quality and scope of an SLR :thumbs:
 
With the Kit Lens and set to Auto, yes, a DSLR may be pretty similar to a compact in terms of capability. Start changing the lenses, and there's no comparison!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top