Higher end digital cameras

What do higher end digital cameras do that lower end, "point-n-shoot" digital cameras do not?

I want to buy her a really nice present, and she is about to take a class in photography, but just has a cheap camera. I see they go from $50-$5,000- what's the main difference?

help_me_Rhonda said:

What do higher end digital cameras do that lower end, "point-n-shoot" digital cameras do not?

I want to buy her a really nice present, and she is about to take a class in photography, but just has a cheap camera. I see they go from $50-$5,000- what's the main difference?

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At some point in that spectrum of prices, you get variable focus and aperture. A bit further along you get quick-change lenses.

You get increasing resolution and color fidelity along the same curve as the pricing, too.

Flexibility comes with money.

Been several years since I was into it, but a nice SLR with multiple lenses just allows for more than a point and shoot.

My suggestion is have her take a couple of the classes first then take her with you shopping. If you establish what your budget is and she wants something a little more she can pitch in.

With things like this, which are items that can be kind of personal it's nice to surprise someone but having them be part of the process ensures they will be really happy with the outcome and remember your participation every time they use it. After many years and attempts at surprising me with things like hunting knives, fishing rods, new putters and wedges that inevitably weren't exactly right for me my wife now takes me to the store and we but stuff together. I would put an SLR camera in a similar place.

^^^^ What he said.

SLR or through the lens viewing and focusing. You get what you see. Back in the day I had two SLR cameras. A Canon A! and a Nicon F1, both with multiple lenses. From 50mm to a slim 80-200mm variable zoom. I must have ran 1,000 rolls of film through those.

Today I would get myself a used/refurbished Canon or Nicon.

albertaboy said:

Flexibility comes with money.

Been several years since I was into it, but a nice SLR with multiple lenses just allows for more than a point and shoot.

My suggestion is have her take a couple of the classes first then take her with you shopping. If you establish what your budget is and she wants something a little more she can pitch in.

With things like this, which are items that can be kind of personal it's nice to surprise someone but having them be part of the process ensures they will be really happy with the outcome and remember your participation every time they use it. After many years and attempts at surprising me with things like hunting knives, fishing rods, new putters and wedges that inevitably weren't exactly right for me my wife now takes me to the store and we but stuff together. I would put an SLR camera in a similar place.

Click to expand...

Very sound advice- thanks!

Something like a Nikon D7200 will run circles around any point-and-shoot, and the D7200 is a crop sensor camera (not considered professional). One of the main differences is the ability to emphasize only a particular area of a shot. Point-and-shoots can do this, but at much lower quality. And I'm talking about more than just bokeh. However, bokeh is important! And you simply cannot get the same quality of bokeh with a point-and-shoot. Also, higher end cameras provide:

1. True macro capability
2. Fully manual shutter or aperture, and numerous modes in between
3. Far superior dynamic range with user adjustable levels
4. High shutter speeds
5. True resolution
6. White balance

Well, I could keep going, but for the most part, when it comes to cameras, you get what you pay for. Even the untrained can see the difference between pictures taken with a quality camera vs a point-and-shoot.

I do a lot of photography. If you have additional questions, you are welcome to send me a PM (or ask in here).

We’ve a Canon t3i I think and it takes amazing pics, decent video with horrid audio and it uses a standard size card (micro-cards are a pita). Its also compatible with the older lenses for the film Canon that we had so all our extra lenses and filters we picked up in Japan over a decade ago work on it. Also what kind of photography does she want to do? Still life, sports shots, everything in between, underwater, aerial shots? Other than aerial and underwater, our Canons been great and I have a knock off go pro with case for underwater or near water shots that I won’t risk camera or phone on.

The level of the class she is taking could be a factor.

If it is for beginners a complex camera could be too much. A basic camera would be enough to practice composition and selection.

Many years ago a British magazine sent Bert Hardy, one of its staff photographers, out with a basic Kodak box camera instead of his expensive Leica. The intention was to show the magazine's readers that is the photographer, not the camera, that makes a picture memorable:



The published picture was cropped slightly but it remains one of Bert's most memorable shots.