I've been noticing recently that digital photography has it's own drawbacks when trying to take pictures of kids. Every time I take a picture, the kids want to see it. Makes it hard to get a spontaneous shot when even before you click the shutter the kids are moving towards you to take a look at the LCD. Rather frustraing for a photographer.
The Dreaded Shutter Lag
Which bring up another topic. Shutter Lag. The small point-and-shoot (P&S) cameras have horrible shutter lag. Shutter lag is the length of time it takes for the camera to focus, calculate the proper exposure and actually take the photo. Anyone who has tried to take pictures of small children with a P&S digital knows that I mean. Blurry photos galore, or at the very least not quite the picture you were hoping for (probably because the kids were heading over to see the picture on the camera).
For myself I can drag out the DSLR, slap on a nice lens, pop on the flash if I need to and I'm set. At least that is until I actually want to get in the picture. Handing a big, bulky professional level DSLR (digital single lens reflex) to anyone except another photographer is a bit daunting, even if it's set in full auto mode. Something about the size seems to make them think it's more complicated than a P&S. Of course they may be worried about dropping it too (I try not to think about it).
What To Do?
So what are the options? You can check out the reviews of P&S models at http://www.dpreview.com and hopefully they will have an in-depth review of the models you are considering. The site has excellent reviews of many cameras and includes in their comprehensive reviews the timings of many camera operations, including shutter lag. Find one with a short lag, then go to a store and actually test it.
The other option is to move up to a DSLR. There are many choices today from Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Olympus, Pentax, Samsung and Sony. More often than not these DSLR are going to be rated in Frames Per Second (fps) where the P&S little brothers are more like Seconds Per Frame. Much easier to get the shot you want when the shutter clicks when your finger presses. You can find DSLR's with lenses in the $600 price range. Not a whole lot more than a really nice P&S, and it opens up a lot more options.
Oh Boy, Options
Of course the "lot more options" tends to be "lots more money" too. Yes, interchangeable lenses can be great, but it can also be daunting. There are so many choices available from wide-range zoom lenses to high-cost professional "glass" it does take some consideration.
Then of course there is the sensor size/focal length multiplication issues. With the consumer and prosumer DSLR cameras the sensor is usually not quite the same size as the original 35mm film size. This means all the lenses made for the 35mm format don't give the same "field of view". You will see numbers like 1.5 or 1.6 magnification factor. For example if you have a 50mm lens on a camera with a 1.5 focal length multiplier your 50mm lens will give you images as if you had a 75mm lens on it (50 * 1.5).
The smaller sensor size doesn't make your 50mm lens a 75mm lens, but because the sensor size captures a smaller portion of the full 35mm frame size, the image appears as if you had a 75mm lens. So to compose the same scene on a camera with a focal length multiplier you would have to move back or have a wider angle lens attached.
This can be really nice on the longer lenses where a 400mm lens now looks like a 600mm lens, but it also means a 16mm lens is really only a 24mm lens.
What's Best?
A fine question and one that can only be answered by your own needs. The important considerations, in my mind, are shutter speed, portability and lens requirements.
For myself it means three different cameras. A Canon 1Ds for professional work with a nice selection of lenses, a Canon Digial Rebel XT for home use (with the added benefit of being able to use the professional lenses when needed) and finally a Canon point-and-shoot for portability.
If there is one thing I've learned over the years is that one size does not fit all when dealing with photography.
Update (3/21/07): I just read a nice article that explains zoom lenses pretty well. It's on the NY Times site at: Tweaking the Zoom
Scott Chytil
Scott Chytil Photography
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