Start Small: Why You Should Use a Point-and-Shoot
When most people decide they want to get into photography as a form of expression, art, or to document their amazing world travels *wishful thinking ensues*, they immediately want to jump in and get the best DSLR they can afford. But in my opinion, that is the absolute worst thing you can do to yourself if you truly want to become a photographer.
DSLRs are the pinnacle of photographic equipment, the most versatile tool available- but it is that very versatility that makes them so dangerous for beginners. If you start off with a DSLR you are propelling yourself into the complex and confusing world of the exposure triangle before you’re even able to get your footing on the basics. Or worse, you are only using the Auto modes on your camera, and essentially treating it as a point and shoot. If you want to build your craft, you must start from the bottom up.
Consider this: imagine the most beautiful building you’ve seen; think of the details, the colors, designs, textures, the lighting. All of these things are what you remember, what give life to that object. Now try to imagine what the structure of the building looks like under all of that. Nothing fancy, just wooden beams, or reinforced concrete. Now consider this: what would that building look like without its basic structure- its bones. It would be nothing more than a pile of colorful designs.
The architecture of the building is incredible- and the framing of this photo emphasized its powerful structure. Taken 5 years ago in Paris, France.
The same concept applies to photography. The textures, colors, subject, lighting, and expression are all what give a photograph its personality, but the composition is beneath it all. What is included in the frame and How it is included are the most basic and most important foundations of a photograph.
Back to the point and shoot: yes, the point and shoot limits you, but as any artist will tell you, limitation is good. It forces you to develop what you can with what you have, and to stretch your creativity and imagination to its fullest.
One of my earliest photographs- taken 8 years ago in Avignon, France on my Polaroid digital camera. Notice the strong lines created by the hallway and the light.
My first digital camera was a simple Polaroid I used for four years before upgrading to my first serious camera: a Sony DSC-WX300, which I used for 2 more years before upgrading to an entry level DSLR.
The DSC-WX300 was a tiny camera- if I held out my hand flat, it would easily fit. And it wasn’t too expensive either- about $350. At this point you might think Uh that’s expensive. I could buy an entry DSLR body for that much. True. But this tiny camera boasted 30x optical/digital zoom, and the quality of the photos didn’t start declining until about 20x (the end of the optical zoom). This meant that with one tiny body I essentially had the focal range of everything from a wide angle to a long telephoto lens.
The other important benefit of this camera’s size was that I could carry it virtually everywhere. At approximately the same size as a cell phone, there are few places that camera could not fit. And being so tiny, it weighed virtually nothing- something I sorely missed while carrying my 15 pounds of equipment on my back for several weeks traveling New Zealand in 2018.
The desaturated colors of this photo draw the viewer's eye to the unique angle of the tree. Taken 5 years ago in Catalonia, Spain.
Another benefit of the small size is that it is inconspicuous. If you want to work on street or candid photography and, like me, are terrified of people, you can bet no one’s going to be paying much attention to you with such an innocuous looking device. What’s more, a tiny camera is hardly a target for thieves when you’re traveling, especially when there are dozens of other tourists advertising their expensive models on their neck straps and hanging them carelessly over their shoulders (a pet peeve I’ll address later).
At this point, a concern some might bring up is photo quality- won’t my photos come out worse if they’re not on a DSLR? Maybe back when digital cameras were getting started, but today, no. All the photos in this post were taken on a point and shoot, the most recent is from 4 years ago, and cameras have only gotten better since.
The technology packed into these tiny devices means that unless you’re planning on printing large, doing significant editing, or projecting your photos onto a wall, no one is going to see a difference in the quality. [the possible exception is low light, but in that case, you have to be using a more advanced (and expensive!) DSLR body and lens anyway] Furthermore, the little computers shoved into point and shoots these days and the copious amount of presets they offer mean that you are equipped to photograph most of what you’ll come across.
Portrait of a cat grooming taken in Catalonia, Spain 5 years ago. Not the strongest composition, but notice the crisp detail.
If planning to buy a point and shoot, I would not go under $300, as that’s where you’ll start to see a rapid decline in usability and photo quality, but I’d also look for these features:
At least 12 megapixels (but don’t bother searching for one with more than 20, it doesn’t matter at that point)
A significant optical zoom (at least 20x if you’re interested in wildlife)
Ability to manually choose your white balance
Ability to turn off the flash, and to force the flash to fire
Good AF (auto-focus) tracking
Sport, Portrait, and Landscape modes
Program Auto (P) mode – the middle ground between auto and manual, which allows you to control the exposure of your photo while the camera takes care of shutter speed, aperture, and (sometimes) ISO.
BONUS: manual ISO selection, which can give you more freedom with P mode, but be wary, when used without intent, it can ruin photos and set you back creatively.
An abuse of high ISO: the colors in the sky took on a totally different (and unrealistic) tone. Taken 6 years ago in Paris, France.
From my experience, and from what I’ve heard from other photographers, Sony is ahead of the game in compact systems, including their point and shoots. But a camera is a personal choice and one of the other brands, Olympus, Fuji, Nikon, or Canon may offer something which better suits your needs.
So if you’re just getting started in photography and looking for your first camera, do yourself a favor: start small and watch your creativity blossom under the pressure; you’ll be miles ahead of the others when you do upgrade to a well earned DSLR.