- Hi, I'm Ben Long and if you've watched my iPhone 5S photography course, you know that I take the camera in this phone pretty seriously. It is a great photographic tool. This week on the Practicing Photographer though, we're going to look at the point and shoot camera. If this is such a great camera and I've always got it with me, why are point and shoots still relevant at all? Well, depending on your photographic needs they may not be. Now, I have I don't know how many SLR's and mirror-less cameras and what not. I have a lot of nice, big high end cameras that I really enjoy and that are also excellent photographic tools but there are times when they are just too big and the smaller size of a point and shoot is really valuable, but then there is my phone.
The thing is, for certain applications, a point and shoot is still better than a phone for a number of different reasons. Point and shoot cameras typically have larger sensors than a cell phone camera does. The larger sensor means you're going to have a better signal to noise ratio. That means less noise in low light. It also means the ability to shoot shallower depth of field if you want. A point and shoot camera can probably shoot raw if you buy a high end point and shoot camera. That's something your phone can't do. That gives you a lot of post production flexibility. Point and shoot cameras also have full automatic exposure controls, manual white balance controls, burst shooting controls, self timers, all the things you were probably used to on your high end camera can be found here and maybe not on your cell phone.
A strange thing has happened to the point and shoot market. If you go into a camera store nowadays you're not going to see that many point and shoot cameras and what you're probably going to find are very low level entry cameras and very high level, semi-professional point and shoot cameras. The cell phone camera has taken the place of that mid-range of point and shoot cameras. What I have here is one of the higher end cameras. This is a Sony RX100 Mark III. I love this camera. I had the Mark one and it was great. It's got a larger, all of the RX100s have a much larger than normal image sensor for a point and shoot camera.
It's not quite APS size but it's still much bigger than the usual third of a centimeter sensors that a point and shoot camera has. I have an option for shallow depth of field. I have very great low light capability but with Mark III Sony has added a couple of really killer features. First of all it's a very compact camera but with a Mark III I now have an articulated screen. This gives me flexibility for shooting down low. I can flip the screen all the way up. The image will automatically flip and now I can do the obligatory selfies with this camera. But the thing that really sold if for me is not this screen but this one.
This is a pop up view finder that when I pop it up, it automatically turns the camera on. It's an electronic view finder but it's an eye level view finder. I can block out the rest of the world and work just the way that I'm used to working on my SLR. I normally don't like electronic view finders but this is an exceptional electronic view finder. It's got an eye sensor so the main screen automatically shuts off when I bring it up. This is really a tiny little camera that feels like the work flow of a much larger camera. I really, really like it.
It's got a couple of other cool features, built in WiFi. So if you think, well but what I like about my cell phone camera is I can immediately get images out and into email and that kind of thing. I can put an application on my iPhone and transmit from here directly to the phone, move my images real quickly, process them there and then upload them so I still have that wireless link to the outside world that I want via my cell phone. Finally and this is the case in a number of these high end point and shoots, I have a programmable ring here at the front of the camera. This ring right here can be configured to be anyone of a number of different features.
I have it set to the ISO. This ring on the back gives me aperture control. If you look at my mode dial you will see I have all of the normal SLR modes that I would expect on a full size camera here on this point and shoot program mode. Aperture priority, shutter priority, full manual mode and a selection of scene modes. So again, I pop up my eye level view finder I've got in aperture priority mode say, aperture control back here, ISO here. Very, very speedy auto focus, much faster than what I can get on an iPhone. This is a very full featured camera in a tiny little package.
So point and shoot cameras are still relevant. There are a lot of times when I will take this out rather than one of my larger cameras simply because I need the ease of carrying it. There are other times like right now where I'm wandering through this fantastic space, I have my SLR with me but it's hot and I'm tired and for right now I'm going to leave it in the car and take this thing. So don't write off point and shoots because of your cell phone. Even as good as cell phone cameras are now, there is still a place in your photographic toolkit for one of these.
Author
Updated
12/23/2020Released
5/19/2013Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Q: Why can't I earn a Certificate of Completion for this course?
A: We publish a new tutorial or tutorials for this course on a regular basis. We are unable to offer a Certificate of Completion because it is an ever-evolving course that is not designed to be completed. Check back often for new movies.
Related Courses
-
Photography Foundations: Composition
with Ben Long5h 29m Intermediate -
The DIY Photographer
with Joseph "PhotoJoseph" Linaschke2h 39m Intermediate -
Photo Tools Weekly
with Chris Orwig26h 18m Intermediate
-
The Practicing Photographer - New This Week
-
16-bit in Photoshop6m 23s
-
-
Introduction
-
Previous Episodes
-
Choosing a camera5m 27s
-
Let your lens reshape you7m 26s
-
Working with reflections1m 26s
-
Exploring mirrorless cameras7m 25s
-
Using a tripod3m 33s
-
Wildlife and staying present5m 58s
-
Why Shoot Polaroid11m 12s
-
Seizing an opportunity4m 4s
-
Shooting wildlife7m 24s
-
Using a lens hood4m 48s
-
Working with themes2m 48s
-
Setting up an HDR time lapse7m 55s
-
Processing an HDR time lapse7m 55s
-
Scanning Photos5m 37s
-
Jpeg iPad import process3m 17s
-
Warming up3m 26s
-
Taking a panning action shot10m 17s
-
Shooting a silhouette3m 9s
-
Using Lightroom on the road6m 28s
-
Shooting level2m 42s
-
Photoshop and Automator8m 54s
-
Softboxes vs. umbrellas2m 55s
-
Working with hair in post3m 28s
-
Exploring how to use Bokeh5m 38s
-
Shooting stills from a drone6m 57s
-
Working with models2m 40s
-
Tips for shooting panoramas7m 16s
-
Dry sensor cleaning6m 23s
-
Composing in the center2m 48s
-
Vignetting9m 56s
-
Inspire3m 29s
-
Minimizing camera baggage4m 24s
-
Working without a tripod4m 11s
-
Printer options6m 51s
-
Exploring lo-fi printing options11m 58s
-
IOS macro photography gear12m 25s
-
IR Conversion Part 27m 27s
-
Raw editing in Lightroom mobile10m 35s
-
Shooting a macro insect shot13m 5s
-
A brief history of photography12m 19s
-
Shooting with a Petzval lens9m 49s
-
What is a low-pass filter?4m 35s
-
Teleconverters and lenses5m 12s
-
Media card care7m 19s
-
Dual slot4m 2s
-
Exploring smart previews9m 12s
-
Flying and photo batteries5m 41s
-
Partial vignettes on photos8m 38s
-
360 image editing plugins6m 59s
-
Using a gimbal with an SLR8m 13s
-
Choosing a lens6m 27s
-
Switching camera systems7m 42s
-
Using 360 drones5m 41s
-
VR gimbals4m 16s
-
Working with a photo subject14m 26s
-
Posing a photo subject12m 53s
-
Framing and safety7m 7s
-
RAW converter options3m 59s
-
Drone flight7m 19s
-
Basic abstract photography8m 51s
-
Aspect ratio3m 40s
-
Focus lock on your camera2m 11s
-
Using the Astropad app6m 33s
-
Working with dim sunlight6m 33s
-
Configuring dual cards2m 52s
-
Long lens options4m 45s
-
Moving images from catalogs7m 47s
-
Photography education11m 7s
-
In-camera focus stacking9m 52s
-
Exposure isn't everything4m 17s
-
Why shoot film?8m 55s
-
Culling4m
-
Choosing a film camera8m 38s
-
Analog workflow9m 9s
-
Easily produce giant prints10m 15s
-
Luna Display4m 19s
-
Choosing film7m 50s
-
Photo fads4m 46s
-
Portrait lighting techniques8m 32s
-
Diopter control2m 56s
-
Loupedeck for Lightroom6m 48s
-
Printing small3m 37s
-
Lens flare removal6m 28s
-
Paper choice for prints7m 39s
-
Aspect ratio for portraits2m 33s
-
When in doubt2m 24s
-
Looking vs. seeing2m 44s
-
Do you need a carnet?5m 23s
-
Scan large items6m 17s
-
Create an honest portrait5m 34s
-
A portrait assignment3m 23s
-
Am I good?5m 59s
-
Boredom4m 13s
-
Clichés4m 29s
-
Finding inspiration5m 42s
-
An everyday project5m 47s
-
Learning from students4m 56s
-
Life as a project5m 27s
-
Why take a workshop?4m 33s
-
Photographic honesty2m 52s
-
Up to interpretation3m 27s
-
Photographic style3m 40s
-
Photography drills6m 31s
-
Digital chores4m 23s
-
Photos and words4m 11s
-
Stay-at-home exercises3m 45s
-
Understanding your medium2m 28s
-
Darkroom for iOS5m 15s
-
iOS image editing extensions2m 58s
-
On set: Simplicity4m 5s
-
On set: Corners2m 19s
-
On set: The build4m 30s
-
On set: Same pieces, new set3m 18s
-
Choose a price first3m 20s
-
Rewind: Choosing a camera5m 41s
-
On time and in tune3m 3s
-
Avalanche for aperture4m 8s
-
Evaluating a wide-angle lens6m 14s
-
Auction catalogs4m 56s
-
Get out and shoot (safely)3m 45s
-
Do ruts exist?2m 24s
-
- Mark as unwatched
- Mark all as unwatched
Are you sure you want to mark all the videos in this course as unwatched?
This will not affect your course history, your reports, or your certificates of completion for this course.
CancelTake notes with your new membership!
Type in the entry box, then click Enter to save your note.
1:30Press on any video thumbnail to jump immediately to the timecode shown.
Notes are saved with you account but can also be exported as plain text, MS Word, PDF, Google Doc, or Evernote.
Share this video
Embed this video
Video: Carrying a point-and-shoot camera