Digital Camera vs SLR Camera

Diffen › Technology › Consumer Electronics

Digital point-and-shoot cameras are cheaper, more portable and simpler to use. However, SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras have faster shutter speed, and take higher quality and more accurate pictures.

Comparison chart

Digital Camera versus SLR Camera comparison chart
	Digital Camera	SLR Camera
	current rating is 2.45/5 1 2 3 4 5 (11 ratings)	current rating is 3.89/5 1 2 3 4 5 (188 ratings)

Technology	Estimates the image that the camera will take.	Single-lens reflex. Reflex mirror that allows live optical viewing through the lens taking the image.
Image Quality	Lower quality	Faster shutter speeds and less grain
Speed	Slower	Fast
Optical Viewfinder	Usually no	Yes
Manual Controls	Sometimes	Yes
Price	Less expensive	More expensive
Size and Weight	Often pocket sized	Larger and heavier
Noise	Often silent	Noisier
Complexity	Easy	More difficult for beginners
Battery life	Shorter	Longer
Lenses	Fixed	Interchangeable

Picture quality

Point-and-shoot digital cameras have small image sensors, and so lower image quality. However, if not planning major enlargements for the images, this can be more than good enough for most users.

SLRs have larger image sensors, and so larger pixel sizes, leading to less grainy images.

Speed

Point-and-shoot digital cameras are slower than SLR cameras and have “shutter lag.”

SLR cameras have a fast shutter speed.

Optical viewfinder

Many point-and-shoot digital cameras do not have optical viewfinders. Instead, they rely on their LCD screens for picture framing.

SLR cameras use an optical viewfinder.

Complexity

Point-and-shoot digital cameras are usually easy for beginners to use.

SLR cameras come with many settings and features and have a steep learning curve. However, they also come with a fully automatic mode for beginners.

Price

SLRs are generally more expensive than point-and-shoot digital cameras. Current prices of some of the cameras are available on Amazon.com:

Technology

A point-and-shoot digital camera estimates the light that will reach the sensor on an LCD screen.

A SLR camera is a single lens reflex camera. As an SLR camera has a reflex mirror, it allows you to see through the viewfinder the real image that the film will see. It works a little like a periscope, and when the shutter button is clicked, the mirror is quickly moved out of the way, so the image is directed at the exposed film.

References

About the Author

Nick Jasuja has over 15 years of technology industry experience, including at Amazon in Seattle. He is an expert at building websites, developing software programs in PHP and JavaScript, maintaining MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, and running Linux servers for serving high-traffic websites. He has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science & Engineering.