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It seems to be an article of faith that DSLRs are faster than point and shoot cameras. Is this just because manufacturers put their best technology in their DSLRs and so they focus, store images and shoot again faster? Or is their something inherent in the design of a DSLR that makes it faster? The wikipedia article on DSLRs mentions fast phase detection autofocus which is apparently not available/practicle on a point and shoot. Are there other things about DSLRs that give them lower shutter lag? Things that let them shoot faster shot-to-shot?

flag	asked Jan 4 at 2:25 GregB 93●3

Mark · Accepted Answer · 2010-01-28 22:36:28Z UTC

Yes, a large part of the difference is the different focusing systems used. Point and shoot cameras normally use contrast detection focusing mechanisms, which require the electronics inside the camera to constantly monitor the contrast that the sensor is seeing and adjust the lense accordingly. The camera cannot generally tell from a single sensor reading what the eventual focus setting should be and just jump to that - it has to walk the lens in or out and hunt for it.

DSLRs, on the other hand, use phase detection auto focus, which is MUCH quicker. There's an old article here that explains it much better than I can. The end result is that the camera can take one look at what it's seeing, know where the focus setting should be and just jump straight to that. Combine that with some fast lens motors and everything speeds up tremendously. Of course, for DSLRs that support some kind of live view where the mirror is flipped up to expose the imaging sensor (and not the autofocus sensor, which is mounted up near the prism and eye piece), they have to go back to using contrast detection auto focus, which again makes them focus slow when live view is enabled.

As others have pointed out, DSLRs also have a tremendous advantage in processing horsepower. They are designed to get the image off the sensor, do all the processing on it, and get it out of the way so the next photo can be taken. DSLRs have quite a bit of RAM set aside to allow the photographer to keep shooting while the photos are being written to the memory card in the background. Point and shoot cameras are generally only designed to take one picture at a time, process it, and save it before firing again.

John Cavan · Answer 2 · 2010-01-04 05:00:50Z UTC

There's nothing, specifically, that would necessitate a dSLR to be faster than a P&s camera. However, the P&S camera market is not demanding in the same way the dSLR market is and so there is little reason for the manufacturers to invest a lot of time and effort in things like speed of response. Bear in mind that, regardless of how any given individual may see it, the essential concept of the P&S is that the user is a pure amateur and is generally going to take pictures of pets, friends, and family in pretty static environments. In other words, the same market that thinks the iPhone is a solid photographic tool.

Now, I've seen some great exceptions to all of that, but I think they are what proves the rule rather than the norm.

dstrom · Answer 3 · 2010-01-04 07:00:54Z UTC

Interesting point, I think in most cases DSLRs are considered to be better at least in terms of image quality and focus speed over point and shoots.

Generally speaking, DSLRs are at an advantage over point and shoots as you've already said probably because the camera manufacturers make more profit on these high end cameras than the point and shoots.

Also for DSLRs:

the sensors are larger (better ISO properties detail resolution),
the focus systems are faster (via use of a separate dedicated sensor)
you can change the lens to better suit what you are shooting
and there is more room for control buttons so it is usually easier to access certain settings.

I'm not sure that this will continue to be the case in the long term as smaller interchangeable lens cameras such as the Olympus Ep-1 / Ep-2, Panasonic GF1 and the Samsung NX10 will likely become fill the gap between the 2 types of cameras as they are improved.

Otherwise, really the best camera is the one that gets the job done ... I've shot things with my point and shoot as well as my camera phone either because that is what I've had on me at the time (DSLR was to big to lug around). Or because I can go unnoticed with the smaller camera, people tend to pay more attention to you when you are carrying a DSLR.

Roger · Answer 4 · 2010-01-13 22:29:29Z UTC

1

I always thought it was due to the differing way in which the autofocus system worked. There's probably some difference in the mechanics of the smaller built-in P&S lenses too.

answered Jan 13 at 22:29

Roger♦♦
885●1●10

Why is a DSLR faster than a point and shoot camera?

4 Answers