Professionals Using Point & Shoot Cameras.

I was fascinated to read this article about a Magnum photographer who uses point and shoot cameras (originally posted in the gear lists mass-argument thread that got closed :lol:

http://www.robgalbrait​h.com …_page.asp?cid=7​-6468-7844

I had never previously given much thought to using a point and shoot camera for anything other than snapshots, and wasn't really aware of the capabilities of some models, but if they are capable of producing images of a quality to satisfy organizations like Magnum and National Geographic then I can see how much of an advantage they could be for certain types of photography, whilst providing the technology for high quality imaging.

I'm mainly thinking of street or photo-journalistic photography here, but for anyone who is finding it difficult to photograph in certain cities without being bothered by the authorities; anyone who is worried about being robbed of expensive equipment, or anyone needing to travel light, then surely there's no reason not to just use a good quality point and shoot camera.

I've got a trip coming up that will take me somewhere potentially dangerous, and I really want to take my camera gear. I started off re-thinking it and decided to take only my old 30D, one lens and a tripod, to mitigate the losses if I get robbed. Then I started looking at the Canon point and shoot cameras (G series) as a convenient alternative, but I wasn't sure it it was too much of a compromise. Now I've read that article above and I can see it's a viable alternative.

The only thing that I might struggle with is if I want to do any landscapes, where I might miss my filters and tripod set-up. Maybe with a Gorillapod and a remote shutter release I could even have a usable landscape set-up that would go in my pocket.

I would be interested to hear your opinions on the subject, especially if you have already got a point and shoot camera specially for the situations mentioned - and especially if you use one professionally.

Mike

Yoiu might be interested to learn that this exact same subject was raised one week ago in this forum.

Shot this shot with a powershot sx100, myself.
A national geographic photographer showed it in one of his presentations and said he thought it was very good, always remembered that...not sure where he is now, though to me it meant more than to hear the organization itself say it.

It's the vision, not the gear.

I don't use one now, mostly because I bought the 5D II for a reason... there are limits to gear but ...they're certainly not incapable.

DC Fan wrote in post #9444974
Yoiu might be interested to learn that this exact same subject was raised one week ago in this forum.

It's raised every week

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9445763
Shot this shot with a powershot sx100, myself.
A national geographic photographer showed it in one of his presentations and said he thought it was very good, always remembered that...not sure where he is now, though to me it meant more than to hear the organization itself say it.

It's the vision, not the gear.

I don't use one now, mostly because I bought the 5D II for a reason... there are limits to gear but ...they're certainly not incapable.

this

Thank you all. I looked through the recent thread titles (as always) before I posted and didn't see anything indicating a similar subject.

DC Fan, that other thread isn't the same as mine. My subject concerns specific situations where a point and shoot camera could be an advantage, and I was hoping for a discussion about points such as adapting photographic style whilst working with the relatively compromised equipment etc.

I'm not interested in starting threads requiring a simple yes/no answer or ones that are easy to argue over - which I've noticed are really popular on here.

Mike

I would agree that "vision" is primary, but I would still not discount the unavoidable importance of the gear too. Now, I don't mean that just because one springs for a 1D (or whatever super DSLR you care to plug in to the example), good pics will follow. As you all can see from my sig, I use both a DSLR (albeit a lightweight model...) and a G10. Both can be the instrument of amazing art, or simply awful snapshots. One must, however (IMO), account for some of the inherent limits of the PS models. Try doing action/sports from a distance with a G10 (or any PS for that matter) -- simply not happening, at least not with any degree of acceptable IQ. OTOH, you're not going to sneak about ANYWHERE with a DSLR-plus-long-tele lens. Anyway, yes, one can take the best of pictures with a PS, used properly and with an understanding of the limits imposed by the particular camera's very compact construction.

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9445763
Shot this shot with a powershot sx100, myself.
A national geographic photographer showed it in one of his presentations and said he thought it was very good, always remembered that...not sure where he is now, though to me it meant more than to hear the organization itself say it.

It's the vision, not the gear.

I don't use one now, mostly because I bought the 5D II for a reason... there are limits to gear but ...they're certainly not incapable.

Another thing about that shot. Consider the sizes I sell it in.

24x36" print and honestly I can't tell the difference. 8 mpx of glory

That's one of the factors that I was wondering about: The potential print size when compared with DSLR image files. I don't know how the pixel count of the point and shoot camera sensors compares with those of the DSLRs.

If the point and shoot files will reproduce well in those kinds of sizes then that's another reason not to dismiss them for certain uses.

Mike

I can agree that a P&S is perfect for keeping a lower profile while doing street candids and/or photojournalistic type stuff. Basically Henri Cartier-Bresson style shooting.

My question is: Are there any point and shoots that respond fast enough that you can capture those decisive moments? Every one that I've ever handled seemed to have several seconds of shutter lag.

I was reading the G11 review on the DPReview site and the lag time for taking a photograph with a full press of the shutter button is 0.4 seconds.

The thing that I find annoying about all these point and shoot cameras is that no single model seems to have every feature that I would want. It's as if they do it on purpose to cause annoyance. The main features I would like are the tilt and rotate LCD screen (for discreet framing with camera held away from face), remote shutter release capability, RAW file format option and a bulb mode. The nearest I can get is three of the four:

G7: No RAW option, bizarrely removed from the specification; fixed LCD screen, no remote option and no bulb mode.

G9: RAW option, but fixed screen, no remote option and no bulb mode.

G10: RAW option and remote release socket, but still has a fixed screen and no bulb mode.

G11: RAW option, remote release option, tilt/rotate screen, but no bulb mode.

So, that leaves the CHDK option, which I understand offers some form of bulb mode, but that's only available for the G7 and G9, which have fixed screens and no remote option (also no RAW option in the case of the G7).

Mike

I think the thought is that people who are likely to use Bulb settings are not the average Joe Punter who buys a P&S. Not many average punters who want a 30+ sec exposure tbh.

IIRC there arent many P&S cameras with bulb modes.

I would give it time for CHDK to come up with a "hack" for bulb mode - they are normally pretty good

Yes, I agree. It's still a nuisance though!

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9445763
Shot this shot with a powershot sx100, myself.
A national geographic photographer showed it in one of his presentations and said he thought it was very good, always remembered that...not sure where he is now, though to me it meant more than to hear the organization itself say it.

It's the vision, not the gear.

I don't use one now, mostly because I bought the 5D II for a reason... there are limits to gear but ...they're certainly not incapable.

So its not the gear, but you bought a 3000 dollar replacement? Why would you spend money on a camera that doesn't do anything for you?

"it's not the gear" guys always have really good gear. I find it interesting.

krb wrote in post #9447452
I can agree that a P&S is perfect for keeping a lower profile while doing street candids and/or photojournalistic type stuff. Basically Henri Cartier-Bresson style shooting.

My question is: Are there any point and shoots that respond fast enough that you can capture those decisive moments? Every one that I've ever handled seemed to have several seconds of shutter lag.

Yep. been drooling over this since it's release. Depending on what happens in in the next couple weeks with panasonic announcing a possible lx3 successor (lx4) (so far only a rumor) may pick up the GR III within the next month.

http://www.ricoh.com/r​_dc/gr/gr_digital3/