Point and Shoot Digital Camera Weaknesses

Point and Shoot Digital Camera Weaknesses

Image Quality - point and shoots generally have small image sensors which means that the quality that they produce is generally lower. This is slowly changing in some point and shoots but in comparison to DSLRs they still have a way to go. It’s worth saying however - that if you’re not planning on using your images for major enlargements or in professional applications that the quality of point and shoot cameras can be more than enough for the average user. Manufacturers are making improvements all the time in their technology and even in the last year or two I’ve noticed significant image quality improvements.

Smaller ISO range - once again this is changing slowly (my point and shoot has the ability to shoot to 1600 ISO) but in general ISO ranges are more limited in point and shoot cameras - this limits them in different shooting conditions.

Speed - point and shoot digital cameras are notorious for their slowness, particularly their ’shutter lag’ (the time between pressing the shutter and when the image is taken. This is constantly being improved but the instantaneous feel of many DSLRs is still not there with point and shoots when it comes to shutter lag, start up and even focusing time.

Reliance upon LCD - most point and shoot digital camera rely almost completely upon their LCD for framing. While some enjoy this others like to use a viewfinder. Most point and shoot cameras have view finders but they are generally so small that they are almost useless. Some models don’t have viewfinders at all.

Manual Controls Limited - most point and shoot cameras do have the ability to play with different settings and controls. They often come with ‘aperture priority’ and ’shutter priority’ modes which are great - but quite often the manual controls are hidden in menu systems and are not as accessible as on a DSLR (if they are there at all).

Less Adaptable - while they are highly portable point and shoot cameras are generally not very adaptable. What you buy when you first get them is what you are stuck with using for years. Some do have lens adapters to give you wider angles or longer zooms but generally most people don’t go for these accessories.