Advice on upgrading to DSLR from point and shoot.

[Nitin Deshpande]

Till now I have been using the Samsung S860 point and shoot model. I click photos of stage performances in college, various kinds of insects found in my campus and family vacations. Now I have begin to feel that my camera is not up to the mark for the photography I do. So I wanted to upgrade my camera to
1. A megazoom point and shoot model or
2. A DSLR model.
I have very less knowledge about DSLRs. Till now from what I have read, I have come to know that they have detachable lenses of various range of focal lengths and every lens is used for a particular purpose.
So I needed advice on whether to buy a DSLR or a Point and Shoot.
I have done research on entry level DSLR's like Nikon D3100, D3200, D5100 and Canon 1100D. Considering my budget limit of 30k Indian Rupees (500USD), I'm about to choose between Canon 1100D(With 2 lenses (18-55 and 55-200)) and Nikon D5100(18-55mm). The canon 1100D has lesser features than the D5100(The most important being no Full HD video recording) but comes with an extra lens. I have no idea about whether I need it or not. Considering I choose DSLR over Point and Shoot, help me with my dilemma and do let me know about other choices, if any.

[chauncey]

Give some consideration to these...http://reviews.cnet.com/best-megazoom-cameras/

[Brev00]

The Nikon D5100 is a fine camera that will certainly enhance your photography. Its sensor is routinely praised on Nikon forums as being superior. I got one for my wife. My 86 year-old father finally gave up on film and bought one. My sister, also, used the D5100. I think they all use it like a point and shoot: using auto mode to capture jpeg's. So, it can be useful for a novice but it has the quality to satisfy a more experienced photographer. I don't know about the Canon. Even if you get the larger Canon kit, you will probably want to add more lenses as you discover more types of images you want to capture. Unfortunately, you do have to choose between the systems. Trying out the bodies to get a feel for each one is probably a good idea.

[inkista]

Just me, but be aware that a dSLR is a lot more expensive than a P&S camera. Not just for the camera kit, but also because a dSLR camera body is merely the base of a system. You're liable to want more pieces of that system.

For example, for stage shooting, a long fast prime, say an 85/1.8 or a 135/2 or 135/2.8 might be useful. For a Canon camera, the prices on those lenses ranges from US $400-$1000. You might also want a macro lens for the insects, because along with a larger sensor than a P&S camera, a dSLR comes with a larger lens that has a larger minimum focus distance. An 18-55 kit lens typically won't focus on anything closer than 25cm to the lens. dSLRs don't have macro modes. Expect to eventually pay two to three times as much as you did on the initial camera kit to get a full system.

Yes, the 55-200 or a superzoom P&S will get you the reach you probably want for the stage, but the problem is going to be the maximum aperture of the lens. This is how large the opening in the lens can be held open when you take a shot. The bigger it is, the more light you get in all at once. Superzooms and low-cost telephoto zooms are usually going to be f/5.6 at the long end (zoomed all the way in). To shoot indoors without a flash in lower light, that generally means you'll only get a decent handheld shutter speed if you're using iso settings above 1600. So a superzoom P&S may not be the answer to your problems (although maybe a superzoom with a fast lens, like the Panasonic FZ200, may work). And when you get a dSLR, you may have to go with a shorter lens than you want.

Your current P&S has 100mm "film equivalency" when it's zoomed all the way in. On a 1.5x crop sensor dSLR (Nikon format) that would mean a 66mm lens. On Canon, 62mm. (So, to go longer and faster, as I said, an 85/1.8 might be the lowest-cost lens you could find).

As a P&S shooter, also, you may not be aware that dSLRs make noise when you shoot with them. And you can't turn it off. It's mechanical--the shutterbox mechanism in a dSLR has to swing the mirror you're using to see the light that's coming in front the lens out of the light path between the lens and the sensor, and then bring it back down again when the exposure's over. So you get a ka-clunk noise with every shot. I highly recommend you handle a dSLR before buying one, so you can hear what it's like. For stage shooting, this could be a disadvantage.

There are also two other types of cameras you may want to consider. There are P&S cameras with larger sensors in them these days. Your current camera has a 1/2.5" format sensor in it. This is tiny. A Sony RX-100 has a 1"-format sensor. The Fuji X-S1 has a 2/3"-format sensor. These may be closer to what you want.

And there are also mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras: NEX, micro four-thirds, Nikon 1, Fuji X, etc. You can think of them as a hybrid of P&S technology with some SLR like features. They're roughly as expensive as dSLRs, but they also come in a variety of sensor sizes, the image quality often rivals dSLRs, and they're a lot smaller/lighter/discreet.

[jcuknz]

The trouble with DSLRs is that you will forever be wondering what extra or better lens to buy whereas with the Super-zoom it is all there and you can concentrate on being a photographer, albeit with somr restrictions .... on the other hand unless you really need the long zoom you could be better going for a compromise in the form of micro four thirds with one of the medium long zooms available for it. With MFT you still have the problem of wondering what new lens to get but with the medium long zoom that is less likely ... self control helps or else limited finances.
Personally if I choose the super-zoom it would be a Panasonic FZ200 and if it was a DSLR I'd go for Nikon.

[nimitzbenedicto]

.
To give you an idea of what a Canon G11 mega zoom P&S cam can do, here's some sample shots of a stage concert. ( Beatles vs Stones, Sunset Strip, Hollywood, L.A. 7Nov2013)



Aperture mode. f/6.3, 1/20, ISO3200.




Aperture mode. f/7.1, 1/8, ISO3200.


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[Nitin Deshpande]

@inkista, I found your reply very helpful for choosing a lens in a dSLR, though I had to google most of the terminologies used
What camera body do you suggest? I hav narrowed down options to D5100, D3200, D3100 and Canon 600D.

[inkista]

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To give you an idea of what a Canon G11 mega zoom P&S cam...

The G11, to me, is more of a "enthusiast compact" than a megazoom bridge camera. The zoom factor on the G11 is 5x. While it's a very useful range (28-140 equiv.) it's very similar to what the OP already has, and the sensor is 1/1.7" format, which, while larger than 1/2.3" isn't a LOT larger.

These days, a Nikon 1, Sony X100, or Fuji X20 can beat a Canon Powershot G-series (aside from the G1X), on sensor size. And it's only with the G15/G16 that the G series finally got a fast lens. And then there are the mirrorless compacts.

While the G11 makes iso 3200 look like that, my micro four-thirds camera can make iso 3200 look like this:


Panasonic DMC-G3, Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f/4-5.6 OIS. @200mm, iso 3200, f/5.6, 1/200s, handheld. Shot RAW, processed in Lightroom.

And being able to put the 45-200 on the front of it gave me 400mm equivalency. I own and still use my G9, but to me, the days of the Powershot G series' dominance over the enthusiast market are waning. The sensor's too small vs. the competition, and the EOS M just isn't ready to take its place. Right now, the RX100 is probably the way to go if you have $500 to spend on an enthusiast compact.

[inkista]

@inkista, I found your reply very helpful for choosing a lens in a dSLR, though I had to google most of the terminologies used

Sorry. Here's a nice basic guide to lens features. Probably too late, though.

What camera body do you suggest? I hav narrowed down options to D5100, D3200, D3100 and Canon 600D.

Well, I own a ton of Canon glass, so I'd go for the 600D. So, I have a bias. But just me? If you're looking for low-light performance shooting? I'd go with the Canon for the simple fact that all the entry-level Nikon bodies (D3x00 and D5x00) lack a focus motor, and in Nikon's AF system that means the lens has to have one (designated as AF-S) in order to autofocus. This isn't a huge issue, as most of Nikon's lenses have AF-S (and they're updating the ones that don't). [On the Canon side of the fence, NONE of the bodies have a motor, but all of the lenses do]. There is a good AF-S 85/1.8 on the Nikon side that costs about the same as Canon's. But the 105mm f/2 is a pro portrait lens, closer to Canon's 135 f/2L USM so it's $1000+. There is no equivalent to Canon's midgrade EF 100mm f/2 USM. There's no (current) equivalent to Canon's 135mm f/2.8. If you need a low-cost fast telephoto lens, Canon has a few extra lower-cost (by which I mean $400-$600) options that Nikon doesn't. You could, if you really wanted to bargain hunt and stick with Nikon, find some vintage F-mount lenses and manually focus, but the faster the performance, the tougher it may be to nail the focus that way.

There are a few other features "missing" on the entry-level Nikons that are present on the Canon dRebels, btw. These are mostly "gracenote" features--nothing's a dealbreaker for most people, it's usually the focus motor thing that gets someone to upgrade in in the Nikon lineup a little more quickly than on the Canon side. But for completeness: the D3x00 and D5x00 bodies don't have DoF preview buttons, can't do high-speed sync flash, don't have a remote flash master in the pop-up flash, and don't have true mirror lock-up. And the D3x00 line doesn't have auto exposure bracketing (so if you were planning on being an HDR fiend...). But the lower cost of the Nikon bodies and the ability to trap focus or use vintage lenses without adapters might more than make up for this stuff--it's up to you and how you plan to use the camera.

As I said. Consider the glass you can mount on the front of the camera. Camera bodies come and go. Weirdly, aside from the mount system it locks you into, the choice of which body you start with may be the LEAST important decision you make, since these are digital electronics now, and like cellphones and computers, they break or people want to upgrade them about every three to five years. You may be able to hold out for longer than that, but eventually you'll get another camera body. The lenses/flash/support gear is more likely to stay with you through those body swaps.

Most P&S shooters think of lenses as accessories to the camera. Most SLR shooters tend to think of bodies as accessories for their lenses.

Get a camera body you can afford, that you can figure out how to operate intuitively (i.e., try before you buy), and that can take the glass you want to put on it.

[nimitzbenedicto]

Get a Nikon D5100. Here are some in concert sample pix . SOOC
( Iron Maidens,Roxy Theatre,Hollywood.)


f/5.6, 1/200, ISO3200

[jcuknz]

While appreciative of Victor's images, interesting? exciting?, I note he is shooting at 2500 and 3200 ISO and using f/5.6 whereas with even the rather old G11 they could have been taken at 1200 or 600 ISO depending on which end of the zoom was needed.
The Canon G's have been an interesting 'oddball' camera being themselves and not conforming to competition if any really compete with them [ ? ]... I remember the very good work coming from a G2 ... the latest G16 with its f/1.8 lens is really making for an interesting short zoom camera. A pity that MFT doesn't have an equivalent lens [ I think ] ... and the small market tends to make MFT lenses expensive.... good for Olympus and Panasonic but bad for the consumer ... that Canikon have yet to join MFT instead of making what have turned out to be fringe variations of little appeal.

[HaseebM]

Most has already been replied. All I can say is, I have been using P&S for a long time before I made the transition to DSLR. It has helped me develop interest in photography due to its almost limitness use in both terrestrial as well as astrophotography applications. Only be wary what others here say with regard to future investments in the form of lenses / flashes / strobes / etc., Some of them cost more than the camera body. Either way you also need to consider a good software like Photoshop Elements or PaintshopPro irrespective of the camera. See if you can obtain some good outputs after processing and if that does not meet your expectations, get a DSLR.

[Nitin Deshpande]

Get a Nikon D5100. Here are some in concert sample pix . SOOC
( Iron Maidens,Roxy Theatre,Hollywood.)

What lens has been used for these pics?

[nimitzbenedicto]

What lens has been used for these pics?

kit lens: Nikkor 18-105mm [ $223 refurbished @ Amazon ]



Manual mode: f/5.6, 1/200, ISO3200








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