What percent of SLR users do you guys see using their camera like a point and shoot?

I just got back from a trip to New Orleans and was first surprised at how many tourists were using SLR's, which got me excited since I like talking to other photographers and picking their brains, but then was sorely disappointed when at least 90% were using their cameras like over sized point and shoot cameras. Probably a good half of those, the ones who had easy access to liveview, used their cameras exclusively with their screen instead of the viewfinder and pretty much all of them were using the green box. There were also plenty of people who just refused to use autofocus. I can understand wanting to manually focus to get a better shot but these were guys trying to show off more than anything else. I saw two people who had polarizers(or possibly neutral density filters) glued to their kit lenses for apparently no reason, one was shooting pictures of his kids, with his pop up flash, in the shade of a building while the other was taking pictures at night!

I don't mean to sound condescending or anything like that, I was just really disappointed. Everyone has to start off somewhere, I just got the feeling that the vast majority of these people never planned on going any further with photography than buying a nice camera that would magically give them good pictures. I only really met two guys who seemed into photography and both were really happy to talk about it and show me their gear(I can't believe how big the viewfinder on the D700 is). Anyone have more positive experiences or am I to assume that DSLR user usually doesn't = photographer?

Status symbol - they can afford an expensive camera in today's Economy.

I unfortunately get ignored at our local camera shop (the few left here) as I walk in looking at all the used/old stuff. They'd rather cater to the rich Soccer Dads that plop down $2,000 on a Nikon D90 system (Soccer Mom's only spend about $700 on a Canon Rebel system - LOL...)

I saw such Soccer Dad at the local field with a D90, and some outrageous expensive Nikon Telephoto lens (400mm f2.8 ). I thought he was The Press, but the Green Mode gave it away and the fact he was following a player, not the ball...

Really, how many pics do you need of you kid waiting for the ball?

Hey, as long as they're having fun and not hurting anyone, I'm all for it.

The object is to have fun. Some people do it with study, care, and precision, others do it with a green box. Whose to say who is more successful at having fun.

I know for me that sometimes you just have to let yourself go wild. The anal side is okay, but it's not always more fun.

gkarris wrote in post #9099390
Really, how many pics do you need of you kid waiting for the ball?

a lot

I've seen a large range. To be honest, the majority of people I see with cameras like a Nikon D60 or Canon XTi are shooting in auto mode. I suspect that these people have for the most part migrated from P&S to dSLR to get less lag, though they may also be suffering from the 'magic box' problem.

"magic box' comes from the common non-photographer belief that the camera takes the picture, so better cameras = better pictures automatically. If any common hack were to pick up a fancy camera like a 1Ds Mark III then they would start creating fabulous photos.

This irrational belief drives a lot of D60 and Rebel sales I suspect.

solinger wrote in post #9099416
a lot

LOL.. only with $10,000 worth of gear...

OOOOOH, best Soccer Dad moment....

Was at an Aviation Celebration weekend and I was next to a man with a Canon Rebel XSi with the 55-250 IS, barrel fully extended (a few kids with him). Maybe a serious amateur or Aviation enthusiast?

He puts the camera back in the bag and shakes his head, pull out his cell phone...

"Honey, everything's zoomed in up close, how do I change that?"

LOL...

gkarris wrote in post #9099453
LOL.. only with $10,000 worth of gear...

OOOOOH, best Soccer Dad moment....

Was at an Aviation Celebration weekend and I was next to a man with a Canon Rebel XSi with the 55-250 IS, barrel fully extended (a few kids with him). Maybe a serious amateur or Avaition enthusiast?

He puts the camera back in the bag and shakes his head, pull out his cell phone...

"Honey, everything's zoomed in up close, how do I change that?"

LOL...

OMG...

^^^ Thanks...

Like I should talk...

This other guy hands me his BlackBerry to take a pic of him next to a nice aircraft and I had no clue...

("I'm supposed to push that little ball?")

20droger wrote in post #9099402
Hey, as long as they're having fun and not hurting anyone, I'm all for it.

The object is to have fun. Some people do it with study, care, and precision, others do it with a green box. Whose to say who is more successful at having fun.

I know for me that sometimes you just have to let yourself go wild. The anal side is okay, but it's not always more fun.

I guess, honestly though these people could have just as much fun with a point and shoot, they're not really gaining much with the green box, they're just carrying around a huge expensive camera.

gkarris wrote in post #9099453
LOL.. only with $10,000 worth of gear...

OOOOOH, best Soccer Dad moment....

Was at an Aviation Celebration weekend and I was next to a man with a Canon Rebel XSi with the 55-250 IS, barrel fully extended (a few kids with him). Maybe a serious amateur or Aviation enthusiast?

He puts the camera back in the bag and shakes his head, pull out his cell phone...

"Honey, everything's zoomed in up close, how do I change that?"

LOL...

LOL wow! And I thought the polarizer at night was bad!

Considering the price of a basic SLR setup is less than a good camcorder, I don't see anything wrong with it being used as a P&S. Using an SLR as a point and shoot will at least get you no shutter lag and usable ISO 400+ along with some half-decent AF speed. My wife still gets sharper and better looking photos using our SLR in green-box versus her ultra compact in auto mode.

tkbslc wrote in post #9099830
Considering the price of a basic SLR setup is less than a good camcorder, I don't see anything wrong with it being used as a P&S. Using an SLR as a point and shoot will at least get you no shutter lag and usable ISO 400+ along with some half-decent AF speed. My wife still gets sharper and better looking photos using our SLR in green-box versus her ultra compact in auto mode.

And that's before you even change lenses or add a powerful flash to a DSLR. The lack of shutter lag on a DSLR is a HUGE advantage over a P&S and many people are willing to pay for that alone.

Honestly, I've never bothered to look and see how anyone else uses their gear.

I have enough issues with how I use mine and how it uses me!

I have noticed alot of average people out there that use their DSLRs with pop-up flash, haven't really seen anybody using live view though (yet?). Most are using the kit lens (18-55 or 17-85 if it's a 40d or something) or for telephoto something that looks like a 70-300 or whatever.

Nothing wrong with that, I really don't care. I do hope they are getting better pictures then they would get with P&S, at least getting the shots focused properly and taking advantage of the sharpness and high ISO IQ.

Even though a lot of people use them as point-n-shoots, they still produce better images than a p&s, so i guess if people are looking for better image quality but don't want to learn how to do everything, that's fine too.

It's only a problem if they think that they own an slr therefore they are a fantastic photographer. Yes a dslr in auto is going to take better shots than a point and shoot but alot of the time the size weight trade off is not worth it. As for the original question probably 75-90% of the people i see walking around with dslr's have it in some sought of auto mode.