I just posted about a comparison between a Point and Shoot and Medium format camera.  After thinking about it, I realized that I have never defined what a point and shoot camera is and contrasted that with digital SLR.  In the sections below, I will discuss these two types of cameras and the differences between them.  I will provide some key considerations when choosing between them.

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I am a big fan of Digital SLR cameras.  These devices offer outstanding image quality and virtually instant autofocus and metering.  The difference between these and point and shoot cameras is like night and day. The downside is that dSLRs tend to be large and bulky particularly if you have multiple lenses.  Even an dSLR with one lense is typically bigger than a point and shoot.  IMO, point and shoot cameras are valuable because they offer improved portability vs dSLRs.  Historically, the downside has been image quality.

I recently ran across this article where the author compares the image quality between a $40,000 medium format camera and a $500 Canon Powershot G10.  The results from the two cameras were surprising similar.  A large group of photography professionals could not consistently differentiate between images taken from the two cameras!  Yes, he essentially says that a $500 a picture that is difficult to differentiate from a $40k camera.

The differentiation between the above two cameras will vary by specific lighting and situation.  In the case above, the performance was equivalent while there will be of other cases where there is no comparison.  (It better be that way when spending 50x more!)  That said, the fact the two cameras provide similar image quality in even one circumstance is amazing.

From my perspective, the Powershot G10 is the point and shoot camera to get if you are going to purchase one.  It retails for $500 although you can use the Microsoft Live/eBay discount to save 30%.

I have posted in the past about cameras and dSLRs.  My preference has always been for Canon cameras and so I was interested when they recently announce their new midrange 50d.  Personally, I have always been a huge fan of their previous model, the 40d and so was curious how the new model compares.  I recently ran across this early preview.  The interesting result is that the 50d does not provide a substantial improvement in image quality or low light performance over the previous version.

Other recent reviews in photography forums have found the same thing.  It is interesting that camera manufacturers keep upping the megapixels and yet it seeems that image quality is not increasing at the same rate.  It will be interesting to see where the manufacturers go from here.