At some point and time, all those who take pictures or are interested in starting to take pictures will need to decide which type camera they should use. There is no clear cut answer because it all depends on what you are planning to do with your camera. There are basically two types of cameras that the average consumer (non- professionals) can choose from. They are the Point and Shoot type, and the Single Lens Reflex type. In this article I am only addressing digital cameras for both types, since for most purposes, film cameras are dead. I will briefly list some characteristics of both type cameras and hopefully you can decide which is best for you.
First lets look at Point and Shoot cameras. They are the most cost effective. Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras cost a lot more. Point and Shoot cameras are also more convenient to use. Most are small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. Just turn them on and start shooting. They have permanent fixed lenses built into the camera. You wont be able to zoom in and out beyond the capacity of your camera. (but the range on most of them is fine for most casual users). Generally, they come in the JPEG format which compresses the images you take so that you will have more space in your memory card to take and display more pictures. Although the quality is not the same when a photo is compressed, most casual photographers and viewers wont even notice the difference.
Digital Single Lens Reflex Cameras. As I mentioned earlier, they are more costly than point and shoot cameras. They can also take pictures in the JPEG format, but the big difference is they can also take pictures in the RAW format which is not compressed. This will give a much better quality image for those who are really particular about it. Single Lens Reflex cameras can also use interchangeable lenses for various purposes. Meaning you can put on a very wide angle lens and then put on an extreme telephoto lens.
In both cases they will outdo what the point and shoot will do. You also have the option of manual focusing, the ability to use filters and also use a flash that is not built into the camera so that you may improvise with lighting. There are a lot of other things it can do, but it would be too technical to list here in a short article.
So, if you just want to take pictures at the kids birthday party or on holidays, a Point and Shoot camera will more than fulfill your needs. But if you are interested in higher quality images, the ability to control lighting and other factors that go into creating an image, a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera might be better for you.
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