What dSRL better than Canon Powershot SD850IS?

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Upgrade

by snapshot2 Forum moderator Dec 6, 2009 11:25PM PST

If I buy some expensive pots and pans, will I cook better?
Yes, if I have some really crappy pots and pans.
But I have good pots and pans.
Then expensive pots and pans alone will not make me cook better.

If I buy some expensive pots and pans and put in some effort to learn more about cooking, will I cook better?
Yes.

Do you currently use the available "scene modes" settings on your SD850IS, when taking pictures under the following conditions?
Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids&Pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium.
If you use those scene modes at the appropriate time, your pictures will be improved.

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To get better photos

by hjfok Dec 7, 2009 10:59AM PST

Snapshot2 again has some great advice.

First of all you have to know why you don't get the great shots you hope for. Is it because of the limitations of your current camera or is it because of lack of photographic knowledge? Do you understand some of the basic principle like aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, ISO selection, focus lock, metering, histogram, exposure compensation, bounce flash, second curtain flash, broad light, short light, etc? So you should read and understand the basics, then apply them to your current camera. When you truly find limitations from your camera, you are ready for the upgrade to D-SLR. By that time, you know exactly what you need to make your photos better, not just doing some random shopping for the best kit lens deal out there.

You should understand how to make use of existing light and how to modify the existing light to get the effect you want. When you understand the shortcoming of the lack of a hot shoe and the ability to synchronize multiple flashes, then you know why you need a D-SLR.

Perpectually using the Auto mode will not improve your photos much. Sometimes your photos may look worse if you don't know what you are doing. To get a great portrait with nice bokeh effect, you will use a fast lens with shallow depth of field. If you don't understand DOF, and just shoot like a PS camera, then your photo may just turn out a big blur. This is just one of many different problems you may encounter with D-SLR.

To just echo snapshot2's analogy, a better car does not necessarily make your driving better. When I first earned my driver's license, I always thought that getting a high performance car will improve my driving. So I took my dad's Porche 911 turbo for a joy ride, got stuck in traffic, and almost killed his stick shift gears, not to mention getting quite embarassed by how horribly I handled the manual stick shift. It was definitely not a cool experience I have hoped for. This goes the same with upgrading from PS camera to D-SLR, you need to learn some new skills and practice.

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It's all about evolution!

by ariolamolla Dec 7, 2009 5:44PM PST

Thanks a lot. It's not that i'm bad in photography...i take very good pictures actually. But I think that stepping up to a dSLR is natural evolution, isn't it? It should take better pictures than a powershot, right? Don't you think it's worth e.g. shifting to a Canon Rebel? Won't the change in image quality just by virtue of having a better camera justify upgrading? Please advice...thanks a million

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Evolution and adaptation

by hjfok Dec 10, 2009 10:44AM PST

There is nothing wrong with upgrading. I think what triggers my response is your comment, "I'm not so much for manual controls as I am for better lens and focus and zoom." This statement is not quite what D-SLR is about. D-SLR is about providing the user manual controls. You do have a choice to buy better lens and the focus is faster but you need to be careful in picking the point of focus, otherwise the photo will look blurry. The zoom is actually shorter range than most basic and megazoom compact, and you need to change lenses.
It is natural to evolve from PS camera to D-SLR, but you need to learn how to adapt to the D-SLR controls. The many controls sometimes can be distracting initially. But once you get used to it, it becomes second nature. You do need to learn how to use the semi-auto or manual functions to take full advantage of the D-SLR "better quality".

Canon Rebel is a good entry point, so is Nikon. There are many different choice of lenses and accessories. If you know what is limiting your photography, then it becomes much easier to know what you need to buy. For me, the limiting factor of the PS camera was its slow and poor low light performance, and lack of ability to use external flash and strobes. So I choose a D-SLR with good low light performance and buy fast zoom lenses with wide aperture, and flashes and strobes that can sync with multiple units and the camera. If you don't know what is limiting your photography, then you may not know what will help you take better shots. So that is why I ask you to look deeper into your own photography before making the transition. As an analogy, it is easier for someone who knows his/her goal to pick the right major and achieve success in university than someone who has no clue and just goes to college because everyone else is doing it. Hope this makes sense.

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Actually

by kalel33-20416052469708587370302374692233 Dec 10, 2009 4:05PM PST

I have seen at least a few threads where people that only shoot in auto modes found their Canon SD cameras take better photos than their new DSLRs. There is a learning curve and that's the joy of it. I still love and use my point and shoot cameras for taking very nice photos, but I use the DSLR to take great photos, not because it's a lot better but because it gives me the control that allows me to make the photo exactly the way I want.

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