A DSLR Works Like a Camera

Another reason why digital SLRs have improved performance is that they’re easier to use, so you, as the photographer, can work faster while you shoot.Most point-and-shoot cameras have to be configured for consumers who are more interested in grabbing a quick snapshot than investing some artistry in creating a photograph.

Moreover, point-and-shoot cameras tend to be designed by an engineer who did a really, really good job adding photo capabilities to the vendor’s cell phone line last year, and who obviously must be the best choice to cobble together a full-fledged digital camera. So, like a cell phone, non-SLR digital cameras tend to have most of the controls tucked away out of sight in the menu system, where the average consumer never has to see them and where the photo enthusiast has to hunt for them.

Digital SLRs, on the other hand, are always designed by a team of engineers with extensive photographic experience. They know which controls are essential and which can be buried away in the menus because you access them when setting up the camera and maybe once a month (if that) thereafter.

Digital SLR designers know that you don’t want to go three levels deep into a menu to set the ISO sensitivity or adjust white (color) balance for the type of illumination you’re using. You want to press an ISO or a WB (white balance) key and dial in the setting without giving it much thought. You don’t want to activate an onscreen display to set shutter speed or aperture_ you want to have separate dials for each. Nature intended zooming and manual focusing to be done by twisting a ring on the lens_ not by pressing a little lever and letting a motor adjust the lens at its own pace.Simply having a camera that operates like a camera instead of a DVD player makes your picture-taking much easier and faster.