In my last post I discussed the benefits of shooting with a Point & Shoot camera.  In this second of two parts I discuss the Cons of shooting with a compact point & shoot camera.

The negatives of this camera are few, and I had to work a bit to come up with a meaningful list, but here goes.

Limited ability for shallow depth of field

Depth of field is not unlimited, but you get a lot of it even at the middle apertures like f4.  At f8 (the smallest aperture on the G12) the DOF is pretty huge.  So it’s tough to isolate your subject against an out of focus background.  Even wide open you don’t get the razor-thin DOF you can get with a fast full frame or medium format lens.  In many cases you just work with it and use to your advantage.  Sometimes you can exaggerate the effect by getting close to your subject.

Still fairly noisy at higher ISOs

I’ve gotten some shots at ISO 1600 or 3200 that I’ve printed and they look pretty good.  In-camera JPEG processing does an excellent job at reducing noise, and Lightroom does an excellent job on RAW files as well.  I shot RAW+JPEG for a short while before Lightroom was able to read the RAW files, and it has been an interesting comparison between the camera-processed JPEGs and Lightroom processed RAW files.

Lousy audio quality on video

I didn’t buy my G12 for video and consider that to be a specialty that I’m hoping to avoid or stay at the fringes of.  The little bit of video I have shot has been interesting but the sound is generally useless.  There are probably a number of accessories that could improve that, but for me the whole idea of using this camera is simplicity.

Somewhat limited focal length

It’s the equivalent of 28-140mm so it covers a lot of territory, but it won’t get you a closeup of an elusive grizzly or a closeup of a bee’s knees, but that’s a lot of coverage.  You can go longer or closer with accessory lenses, but that kind of defeats the idea of the compact camera.

A little slow focusing

My G12 focuses pretty well with lots of light, but once it gets dark it struggles a bit.  It has a nice bright blue focus assist light that annoys anyone else taking pictures of whatever you’re taking a picture of (if they even see it, which they might not!).  Don’t count on it focusing on the black bear in the cave.

Optical viewfinder has small area of coverage vs. LCD

I like using an optical viewfinder, and it makes me feel like a doofus to hold camera at arm’s length to take a photo.  But the viewfinder on the G12 only has about 77% coverage, so accurate framing is virtually impossible, and with “only” 10 megapixels you don’t want to do a lot of cropping.

I've heard a lot of "excuseplanations" about why you shouldn't buy a particular camera, but this one has a lot going for it, at least as far as I'm concerned!

 

Point & Shoot Pros and Cons - Part 1

I’ve written previously about how I am really liking the idea of using a compact Point & Shoot camera for a lot of my photography.  I feel these little gems deserve some real respect in terms of their capabilities.  The camera companies seem to be having a lot of success convincing people that they “need” DSLRs, but I disagree.  I don’t think the average consumer needs anything more than a good Point & Shoot camera, and I’m a firm believer that anyone can take excellent photographs with them.

In this first of two parts I’d like to outline the Pros and Cons of shooting with a compact Point & Shoot camera.

Part I: The Pros

Small and light

Let’s face it.  I don’t have a lot of gear compared to many of my friends, but all the DSLR stuff that I use fits in a bag that – even though it is airline “legal” – I would probably end up having to check at the jetway.  On my most recent vacation, I took all the photo gear I needed in a little Delsey “doctor bag” that held all my stuff with room for my phone, iPod and more.  Ironically that bag is the one I used to carry my medium format film gear in.  It’s all I needed!

A very serious camera, but fun to use

My current Point & Shoot camera is a Canon G12.  It’s got an excellent lens, shoots in RAW, has Image Stabilization and lots of other features that make it a great camera.  I don’t shoot in “Auto” mode, but it has a couple of custom presets that I’ve set up to make it a piece of cake to use.

Easy to take anywhere, fits in my pocket

Chase Jarvis published a book of photos taken with an iPhone camera based on the premise that “the best camera is the one you have with you.”  My cell phone takes pretty good pictures too, but not like my G12.  It fits in my briefcase or my pocket and can go anywhere I go.

Inconspicuous – I don’t look like a “pro”

People everywhere – from rent-a-cops in the Charlotte office buildings to native trinket sellers on St. Martin – are leery of tourists with a big SLR and a “pro” looking lens.  My little camera blends in – as much as I blend in anywhere – and I look like everyone else.  After a while nobody notices me, as long as I behave.

Squarish format

The G12 has a frame that is roughly 3x4, a format I came to really like when I shot medium format film.  I take a lot of verticals, and I find the more square format a lot more appealing than the longish 2x3 format of most DSLRs, especially in the vertical orientation.

Large depth of field

Even wide open the small sensor in these cameras gives you lots of depth of field.  And if you stop down to f4 or smaller you hardly have to focus (although I recommend that you do!).  This can be a hindrance in some situations, but it’s just something you learn how to deal with.

Live histogram

This is not exclusive to point & shoots, but I love the fact that my G12 has a live histogram, so I can judge exposure before the shot, instead of having to shoot and adjust, shoot and adjust.  Saves time and memory!

Excellent image quality within limits

I’ve taken photos at ISO 3200 that are pretty amazing when you consider that a few years ago we didn’t dare use film over 1000, and usually not over 400.  It’s not something you’ll use a lot, but it can make the difference between getting a shot and not getting it.  The lens correction and noise reduction in Lightroom and other programs makes the files from my G12 look as good as those from my 5D

No sensor cleaning!

This is a biggie for me, because I’m terrible at cleaning my sensor on my DSLRs.  With the G12 it’s never a problem.

Next: The Cons

Marketing and camera choices

In my last post I talked about people’s fascination with equipment and mentioned that marketing plays a large role in what kind of cameras people buy.  I just returned from a 10-day cruise in the Caribbean (talk about good timing!) and one of the many observations I made during this trip was that it seems like the DSLR has really increased market share over past year or two, at least within the subset of people who travel where and how I do.  I don’t think I have seen such a large percentage of big cameras on a cruise before.  There were a lot of lower-priced models, but I spotted at least one 7D, a couple of D90s and more than a handful of “L” or “EX” lenses.  Me?  I took along my trusty G12 with my G9 as a backup.  Never even pulled the G9 out of the bag.

People often ask me for advice about buying a camera.  I tell most people that a good point & shoot will meet the needs of most people from a photographic standpoint, but I also understand that some people believe that they “need” an SLR for reasons other than image quality.  There is after all a certain “cool factor” to carrying an SLR and a big lens.  I don’t try to steer them either way, but if it becomes clear that they are really looking for me to affirm their desire for an SLR I’m happy to do so, although I point out that they are getting more camera than they need.

I’ve been exploring the idea of shooting “serious” photography with my point & shoot camera and find that it works very well.  I’m having a blast with my G12 and am starting to feel like these little cameras are way underappreciated.  I hope to make this idea the subject of a regular series of posts over the coming year.