Another fine post from Darren entitled “Should you buy a DSLR or Point and Shoot Digital Camera?“
“I’m using a compact digicam and i would like to ask it is worth it to upgrade to a DSLR camera? How huge a difference do DSLR cameras make compared to compact digicams?”
It’s a great summary of the issues involved in deciding. I had a conversation with a friend just a couple of weeks ago that covered the same ground. My advice to him in the end, while I really wanted to encourage him to get a DSLR because I think he is a clever guy and could really enjoy it, was to buy a point and shoot because he mainly wanted to snap pics of the kids and vacations. I would say a DSLR is for serious photography hobbyists, not someone who just needs a camera.
The article does point out that DSLR cameras will most often get a better quality result. While he mentions the sensor size, another aspect Darren missed is quality of lenses. Point and shoot cameras are often (not always) made to fit in a pocket. The lenses therefore have to be smaller. They are also consumer cameras, not about to be analysed by picky professionals with large wallets. This means they have to be aggressively priced but can cut corners as most people will not notice. Who is going to care that the picture of your drunk friend vomiting has slight vignetting in the edges?
Complexity and price though are probably the biggest factors in the buying decision, someone who can’t set the VCR is unlikely to want a DSLR just because of the learning curve, even though “prosumer” DSLRs have full automatic modes.
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