Four dSLR Advantages Unrelated to Single Lens Reflexiveness
Some of the strengths that accrue to dSLRs have nothing to do with the fact that
they are single lens reflex cameras.
¦ Higher sensitivity and reduced noise. The images from most non-dSLRs
begin to break down when sensitivity is increased to ISO 800 or more, primarily
because of excessive noise. Few of these cameras have an elevated ISO
setting that’s really usable. In contrast, many dSLRs (especially Canon’s most
popular models) generate relatively low noise at ISO 1600 and produce
acceptable images at ISO 3200 and beyond. The improved noise characteristics
offered by digital SLRs is due to the larger sensors available in these cameras.
As vendors pack more and more pixels into the tiny CCD sensors found
in non-SLR cameras, the pixels become smaller and more prone to noise. The
larger pixels in the CMOS and CCD sensors of dSLRs have much less of a
tendency to produce the random grain we see as noise, and are more sensitive,
to boot, producing higher effective ISO speeds.
¦ Control over depth-of-field. The larger sensors
require lenses with longer focal lengths, so the dSLR
regains the control over depth-of-field that is such an
important creative tool. Ignore those “35mm equivalent”
specs you see posted for non-dSLR cameras.
That “35mm” zoom setting on your point-and-shoot
digital may be furnished by a lens with a true 6mm
focal length. The same camera’s 210mm telephoto
setting would be produced by a lens with an actual
focal length of 36mm. Instead of the typical telephoto’s
shallow depth-of-field that’s perfect for selective
focus, you’d end up with the equivalent of a
wide-angle lens’s sharpness range. Anyone who’s used
a consumer digital camera knows that, at non-macro
shooting distances, virtually everything in the picture
is sharp at any zoom setting, and at any f/stop. If you
plan to use depth-of-field creatively, as in the photo
shown in Figure 1.5, in which the background was
thrown out of focus to emphasize the flower, you’ll
need a dSLR with a larger sensor.
dSLRs give control of depth-of-field back to the photographer
¦ Digital SLRs work like a camera, not a DVD
player. I owned a Nikon CoolPix 995, which was
one of the best $1,000 digital cameras of its time
back at the turn of the millennium. Even so, this
camera drove me nuts. Even after I’d owned it for a
year I had to take along a cheat sheet that told me
how to activate infrequently used features, such as
manual focus. I used the 995 a lot, but I still had to
refer to my crib notes to see which menu I needed to activate a particular feature,
and then, which buttons to press to make it work. It was a great camera,
but it didn’t work like one.
The same situation exists today with the vast majority of non-dSLR cameras.
I have the opportunity to test eight or ten point-and-shoot cameras in all price
ranges each month, and virtually all of them operate more like VCRs rather
than cameras. When you zoom in and out, do you want to press a couple buttons
and wait while a teeny motor adjusts the lens elements for you, or would
you rather twirl a zoom ring on the lens itself and be done with it? To switch
to manual focus, wouldn’t you prefer to flip an autofocus/manual focus switch
and then twist the focus ring on the lens, instead of pressing a menu key, finding
the focus setting, switching to manual focus, then pressing a pair of leftright
cursor buttons?
Photo enthusiasts won’t put up with that nonsense
when they’re trying to take pictures. The
dSLR I use has separate buttons for burst mode,
ISO settings, white balance, EV adjustments,
metering mode, and resolution. To adjust any
of those, I hold down the appropriate button
and thumb the command dial to choose the setting
I want. Then I set the camera to shutteror
aperture-priority (with a dial, not a menu)
and move the command dial to adjust the
f/stop or shutter speed. In manual exposure
mode, there are separate command dials for
shutter speed and aperture.
That might seem like a lot of buttons to master
on a camera like the one shown in Figure 1.6,
but, trust me, you’ll learn to use them much
more quickly than you’ll memorize the menu
system of the typical point-and-shoot.
Digital SLR cameras are designed to operate like a camera—not like a DVD player.
¦ Faster operation. You’ll find that dSLRs work
much faster than point-and-shoot digital cameras.
One of the metrics I used to measure
point-and-shoot performance when I was
reviewing cameras for CNet Networks is “time to first shot.” That is, once
you decide to take a picture and switch the camera on, how long must you
wait until the camera is actually ready to shoot? Generally, you’ll have to wait
3 to 5 seconds or more, then you may wait another second while the camera
autofocuses and calculates exposure after you’ve pressed the shutter release.
Switch a dSLR on, and it’s ready to go. On more than one occasion, I’ve spotted
an unexpected opportunity, switched my digital SLR on as I brought the
camera to my eye, and then took a picture, all within less than one second.
by
Mastering Digital
SLR Photography,
Second Edition
David D. Busch
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