Head 2 Head A showdown among natural PC competitors
20 MA XIMUMPC MARCH 2005
THIS MONTH: SLR vs. Point-and-Shoot
T
he SLR has been king of small-format photography for
decades. In the digital age, however, people wonder
whether it’s still worth paying a premium for an SLR
body rather than opting for an advanced point-and-shoot.
To answer this question, we compare the $900 OlympusC-8080 point-and-shoot with the $1500 Canon EOS 20D
SLR—each represents the top of its respective category. So
what do you get when you chose one body over the other,
and what do you sacrifi ce? Read on for the results.
—GORDON MAH UNGSLR: CANON EOS 20D
In good light, you’d be hard pressed to see the differences
between the images shot with these two 8MP cameras.Viewfinder: With all SLRs, you see your subject directly through the
lens via a set of mirrors and prisms. Although the Canon’s 20D doesn’t
have the best viewfinder in its class, it’s superior to any electronic
viewfinder (EVF) we’ve seen to date. Still, EVFs have their advantages.
For one thing, there’s no mirror that must move out of the way before
the picture is snapped, which means there’s no camera shake or noise.
That said, we maintain that an optical viewfinder’s higher resolution
trumps the convenience and advanced features offered by an electronic
viewfinder—at least for now. Winner: SLRFormfactor: Camera manufacturers tell us
that consumers who prefer SLRs say there’s
one thing they don’t like about this type
of camera: the bulk. The EOS 20D is
smaller than its predecessor, but
it will never be as small
as even the largest
advanced point-
and-shoot: Winner:
Point-and-shootImage quality: The
EOS 20D produces
what people like to
call “butter-smooth”
images, thanks to
its advanced 8.2MP
CMOS sensor.
Which camera is
better, though, really
depends on your
shooting style. If you
tend to take pictures in
well-lit environments,
you’ll actually have a pretty
difficult time discerning image
differences between the two
bodies. If you tend to take existing-light
photographs, such as of a jazz combo in a smoky bar, the SLR rules the roost.
And this isn’t about CMOS vs. CCD; it’s really about size. Image noise tends to
increase as you pack more pixels into an image sensor. Because digital SLRs tend
to be outfitted with much larger sensors than point-and-shoots, they generally
produce images that are less “grainy” at high ISO settings. The EOS 20D, for
example, produces useable images at 1,600 ISO, while the C-8080’s range tops out
at 400 ISO. We give it to the SLR in this category, but must reiterate that the 8MP
Olympus does remarkably well in good lighting. Winner: SLRLens: Canon’s lens lineup runs from 10mm all the way to 1,200mm. Of
course, the 1,200mm lens weighs 40 pounds and costs more than a
Dodge Viper, but if you need—and can afford—such a beast, it’s available.
That’s an advantage SLRs have had over point-and-shoots for years.
Unfortunately, all this glass costs cold, hard cash—but at least it’s an
option; and that’s more than can be said of an advanced point-and-
shoot. Winner: SLRPerformance: The EOS 20D is at the top of the heap among
prosumer DSLRs. As good a picture as the C-8080—or any
point-and-shoot—can take, none can compare with the faster
autofocus, better ability to track moving objects, and 5fps
performance of the 20D. On the other hand, if you never
take action or sports photos, the EOS 20D is just overkill.
Still, you’d probably never complain about the AF or
responsiveness of the 20D; the advanced point-and-
shoots still have some growing to do.
Winner: SLRMovie mode: Many people are
disappointed to discover that a lowly
$150 point-and-shoot camera can do
something their brand-new $1,500 DSLR
wonder can’t: shoot movies. That’s
because the mirror that’s used to look
down the lens and the physical shutter
wall off the sensor from incoming light.
It’s simply impossible to use a digital SLR
as an ad hoc video camera. While the
movie quality on point-and-shoots is not the
best, there are times when a motion picture is
far better than any still. Winner: Point-and-shootDust: The ability to remove the lens is both a boon and a
bane to photography in the digital age, because that large image sensor
we boasted of earlier also acts like a dust magnet. When you swap lenses
or use lenses that suck in dust, you’re going to end up with a dirty sensor.
It’ll take a year or two before the dust becomes annoying, but it’s a problem
that’s unique to digital SLR bodies. To date, Olympus is the only manufacturer
to have implemented any kind of technology—in its E-1 and Evolt-series
cameras—to combat the dust problem. Winner: Point-and-shootCanon Olympus