SLR Camera Choices Are Best For Quality And VersatilityThe last Camera Choices page was devoted to compact cameras. This class of cameras have very small sensors and matching small lenses and bodies. This makes them very convenient to carry as they will fit in virtually any pocket or bag and be ready for whatever photo opportunities might pop up. Compacts’ drawbacks are the small sensor size, the lack of lens choice and the lack of flash and accessory options available for them. SLR cameras generally have at least an APS size sensor which is many times larger than most compact sensors. This means that each sensing pixel is larger in these cameras and larger pixels mean better image quality and less noise given the same shooting situations. More and more SLR’s are appearing with full-frame(35mm sized) sensors, enhancing the quality/noise performance even more(but at a steep price). As the full-frame sensors become more common their prices should drop to more reasonable levels. An SLR camera choice also means gaining access to a very wide range of lenses. Even the companies with the fewest selections allow lens choices well beyond what is currently available on any compact. Often, the optical quality of the interchangeable lenses is also better than the corresponding built-in lens on a compact camera. These lenses often offer larger maximum f-stops as well, enhancing the low-light abilities of the SLR’s larger sensor even more. To take advantage of this expanded focal-length choice, however, means having to carry those extra lenses along with the larger camera body. Be prepared to add a larger and heavier bag to your photography equipment. Always these inconvenient trade-off to deal with! Another advantage of SLR cameras is the wide range of accessory equipment available for them. Most important of these accessories is a shoe-mount flash with much greater range and usually better exposure control than most built-in flashes. The great majority of SLR’s now come with some sort of wireless off-camera flash control which is a great advantage in most situations where flash is needed(wired flash can be very inconvenient and limiting as can limiting the flash to the hot shoe on the camera body). Remote shutter releases, whether wired or not, are great for getting sharper photos when the camera is on a tripod, either in low light or with long telephoto lenses. An angle finder for the viewfinder makes ground-level or overhead shooting much more convenient when a tilting, live-view LCD screen in not an option. Underwater housings are available for many SLR’s just as for compact cameras and are useful for shooting in rain and dust as well as for use under the surface. All of these accessories expand the range of photographic possibility. Size is also an issue for me when it comes time for camera choices. I am tall and have large hands. Many of the compact cameras available today are very small and I have trouble holding them and operating their tiny controls. This is also an issue with some of the newer SLR’s, which are becoming quite small and light – an advantage in some ways and a disadvantage in other ways. Certainly, with the many choices on the market today, everyone can find both a compact and an SLR that fits both their size and weight preferences. The way an SLR camera operates internally can also be an advantage over using a compact camera. SLR’s tend to be ready to shoot almost instantly while compacts may take a few seconds to get ready. SLR’s usually offer many more options for light metering, flash operation, auto-focusing, shutter speed and f-stop selection and range, ISO(“film”) speed and more that are not available or much harder to access on compacts. All of this extra choice and convenience make it easier(or even possible) to truly get the photo you are seeing in your mind when the shutter button is pressed. My personal solution is to own both an SLR and a compact camera. Whenever possible I carry the SLR with an assortment of lenses and accessories(in a back-pack bag). When it is not convenient or possible to do that, I slip my compact into a shirt or pants pocket and still have a camera available is a photo opportunity presents itself. As always, it is better to get some kind of image than to get no image at all.
Go to the Lens Choice page for more information
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