What is the difference between SLR Digital camera and compact digital camera?

How to Buy a Digital Camera

1. Determine what you need

A mistake I see some digital camera buyers making is that they get sucked into buying cameras that are beyond what they really need. Some questions to ask yourself before you go shopping:

What do you need the camera for?

What type of photography will you be doing? (portraits, landscapes, macro, sports)

What conditions will you be largely photographing in? (indoors, outdoors, low light, bright light)

Will you largely stay in auto mode or do you want to learn the art of photography?

What experience level do you have with cameras?

What type of features are you looking for? (long zoom, image stabilization, large LCD display etc)

How important is size and portability to you?

What is your budget?

Ask yourself these questions before you go to buy a camera and you’ll be in a much better position to make a decision when you see what’s on offer. You’ll probably find the sales person asks you this question anyway – so to have thought about it before hand will help them help you get the right digital camera.

2. Megapixels are NOT everything

One of the features that you’ll see used to sell digital cameras is how many megapixels a digital camera has.

When I first got into digital photography, a few years back, the megapixel rating of cameras was actually quite important as most cameras were at the lower end of today’s modern day range and even a 1 megapixel increase was significant.

These days, with most new cameras coming out with at least 5 megapixels, it isn’t so crucial. In fact at the upper end of the range it can actually be a disadvantage to have images that are so large that they take up enormous amounts of space on memory cards and computers.

One of the main questions to ask when it comes to megapixels is ‘Will you be printing shots’? If so – how large will you be going with them? If you’re only printing images at a normal size then anything over 4 or so megapixels will be fine. If you’re going to start blowing your images up you might want to pay the extra money for something at the upper end of what’s on offer today.

3. Keep in mind the ‘extras’

Photo by fensterbme

Keep in mind as you look at cameras that the price quoted may not be the final outlay that you need to make as there are a variety of other extras that you might want (or need) to fork out for including:

Camera Case

Memory Cards

Spare Batteries/Recharger

Lenses (if you are getting a DSLR)

Filters (and other lens attachments)

Tripods/Monopods

External Flashes

Reflectors

Some retailers will bundle such extras with cameras or will at least give a discount when buying more than one item at once. Keep in mind though that what they offer in bundles might not meet you needs. For example it’s common to get a 16 or 32 megabyte memory card with cameras – however these days you’ll probably want something at least of 500 megabytes (if not a gigabyte or two).

4. Do you already own any potentially compatible gear?

Talking of extra gear – one way to save yourself some cash is if you have accessories from previous digital cameras that are compatible with your new one.

For example memory cards, batteries, lenses (remember that many film camera lenses are actually compatible with digital SLRs from the same manufacturers), flashes, filters etc.

5. DSLR or Point and Shoot?

While digital SLRs are getting more affordable they are not for everyone. Keep in mind that they are usually bigger, heavier, harder to keep clean (if you’re changing lenses) and can be more complicated to operate than point and shoot. Of course there are some upsides also.

If you’re trying to make a decision between a point and shoot and DSLR you might want to read my previous posts titled Should you buy a DSLR or a Point and Shoot Digital Camera? and it’s companion piece How to Choose a DSLR.

6. Optical Zooms are King

Not all ‘zooms’ are created equal.

When you’re looking at different models of digital cameras you’ll often hear their zooms talked about in two ways. Firstly there’s the ‘optical zoom’ and then there’s the ‘digital zoom’.

I would highly recommend that you only take into consideration the ‘optical zoom’ when making a decision about which camera to buy. Digital zooms simply enlarge the pixels in your shot which does make your subject look bigger, but it also makes it look more pixelated and your picture ‘noisier’ (like when you go up close to your TV).

If you’re looking for a zoom lens make sure it’s an optical zoom (most modern cameras have them of at least 3x in length – ie they’ll make your subject three times as big – with an increasing array of ’super zooms’ coming onto the market at up to 12x Optical Zoom).

7. Read reviews

Before buying a digital camera take the time to do a little research. Don’t JUST rely upon the advice of the helpful sales person (who may or may not know anything about cameras and who may or may not have sales incentives for the camera they are recommending).

A compact camera is commony know as a point and shoot. And it is exactly that. It is meant to be compact so you can point it and shoot it without doing anything. An SLR has all the things everybody said because it give the photographer the ability to set up the camera in a way to use their skill and knowledge to achieve the best shot, by isolating or exaggerating an element in the scene. For example I saw one where a white horse stands out over a stormy field. The photographer over exposed the film a little to make the horse much brighter than the field. If he did it with a compact, the automatic meter in the camera would have made the filed lighter and the horse darker, evening out at a boring gray. It may have also focused on the grass, leaving the horse out of focus.

he first major difference between SLRs and digital compact cameras is what prevents most people from buying an SLR: price.

Even though digital SLR prices have come down each and every year, they are still significantly more expensive than their compact cousins.

Let me put it this way: an inexpensive digital SLR camera starts around $450 without a lens. Then you get to tack on an additional $100 for a kit lens or $500 for a high-quality zoom.

If you can't fathom spending $500 to $1,000 on a digital camera, then an SLR is definitely not right for you.

However, if you've been saving you pennies for months and are perfectly aware of how much these cameras cost, then let's take a closer look at some of the other differences between SLRs and digital compacts.

ize and Weight

Anyone who wants a camera that fits in their pocket can forget all about digital SLRs.

Size and weight is the second most obvious difference between SLR and compact digital cameras after price. Even a small-sized digital SLR camera is twice the size and bulk of a compact camera.

While there are many new digital SLR models that are more portable (and are easier to travel with) the addition of a lens to your camera ensures that you'll never be able to stow it away in your shirt pocket or purse.

Limited Movie Mode

Digital SLR cameras that could capture both video and still images made their first appearance in 2008.

Prior to 2008, digital SLR cameras were exclusively for capturing stills.

Even now that video is a more common feature, it does suffer from one major limitation: autofocus won't work while you're capturing video.

This means that you'll have to focus manually, which is pretty tricky when you're taking video of fast-moving subjects.

However, the video captured by digital SLRs does have one advantage over compacts: you can set the camera to capture High Definition (HD) video - the quality makes it suitable for playback on modern HDTVs.

Digital SLRs with video capture also come equipped with HDMI ports, so you can connect the camera directly to your TV to playback both photos and video.

If you're interested, you can find out more about all the digital SLRs with video.

Manual Zoom

Compact digital cameras have electronic zooms: push a button (or lever) and the camera's lens zooms in and out.

Since all digital SLR lenses can be removed from the camera body, the zoom mechanisms are entirely manual: to change the view you have to twist a ring on the lens.

This manual zoom actually results in a faster zoom: you don't have to wait for the motors to move the lens in and out, you can twist the zoom ring as fast or slow as you like.

Zoom Range

Since we're on the topic of lenses, let's talk about another difference between SLR and compact digital cameras: zoom range.

There are many compact cameras on the market today with "mega-zooms". These cameras have 10x or 12x zooms and are capable of taking both wide angle and telephoto shots.

In order to cover a similar range with a digital SLR you have one of two options:

* Buy a mega-zoom lens: these give you the same zoom power as a 10x zoom on a compact, but also cost about $600 USD

* Buy two zoom lenses: with one wide-angle zoom and one telephoto you can cover a lot of range, but at a significant cost ($800 USD or more)

If tons of zoom range is important to you, the compact is clearly the more economical solution.

So What Should You Buy?

Even though I've talked about the difference between SLR and digital compact cameras you still might be on the fence.

Here are a few questions that might help you make up your mind:

* Do you want to take more professional-looking photos?

* Do you want to be able to change the lens attached to your camera?

* Do you want more control over the photos that you take?

* Are you sick and tired of the slow speed of your compact camera?

* Do you want to take lots of photos in dim light?

If you answered YES to every question, get a digital SLR. You'll be happier in the long run.

If you answered NO or MAYBE to one or more, then take a good look at digital compact cameras instead.

You can price compare all digital cameras here

http://www.bizrate.com/search__af_assettype_id--4_...

For an ordinary user, digital cameras are very good as they are user friendly.The price is moderate. SLR cameras are for professionals who desire change in operating lens ( Removable lens) with varying close ups,zoom length, and for high resolutions. SLR cameras are expensive also. But the picture quality is great in SLR cameras as it caters for higher resolutions. The varying lens are too expensive depending on the lens such 18 to 50 mm, 50 to 200 mm and higher.Each lens itself costs more than 300 USD up to 1000 USD

The prices vary from Manufacturer to Manufacturer such as Olympus, Cannon,Niko etc

DSLRs offer all the controls you need to take a picture the way you want it to come out. Compacts don't.

If you know the whats and hows of photography, you won't go for anything less than a dSLR. You won't even be asking this question. Otherwise, you are better off with a compact.

Factors? I'd say price, color and size. If it's cheap, pink and small, it's good enough for my wife.

The main diff is the DSLR's interchangeable lenses. The sensor is larger, they have more useable features (WB, bracketing, ISO and such), size & weight, and "seeing what you get" via the mirror (which "Live View" make sobsolete in some models).

Main factor is determining what camera you want/need is what you'll be using it for. Just don't fall for the "more is better" (megapixel myth).