Bulk & quality vs. portability and "having a camera"

On the one hand, we know DSLRs provide better quality photos, all else being equal. So theoretically, we should shoot with our DSLRs most of the time.

On the other hand, DSLRs, are bulky and simply cannot be carried & forgotten until needed.

How do you handle this?
Do you always carry your DSLR? or do you have a P&S for times when you don't want to carry your DSLR?

Actually I don't carry my camera with me all the time, mainly because it's just too bulky. I would like to get a nice compact P&S, but like everything else I want to buy...I need money first.

Well, I for one always bring my D200 when I know that I will be taking pictures. I know what your saying about them being big and bulky. We are heading back to disneyland next month. Last year, when we were there, I only brought my D40 and a 18-70/50mm 1.8. This year though, Ill be lugging around the D200 and a Tokina 28-80 f2.8........I better hit the gym and find a more confortable camera strap..

do you have a P&S for times when you don't want to carry your DSLR?

Yup. Though my P&S doesn't really get a lot of use. I don't make a habit of carrying a camera at all times. I would like to replace my P&S with a Micro4/3 camera. But I'm waiting on those prices to come down.

Kelly Cook

I have 3 cameras.
My DSLR for when I want to be serious about taking pictures.
A compact (Canon G11) for when I want to take reasonably good pictures but also want something that I can put in the pocket of my cargo shorts. This is especially useful at amusement parks.
My iphone, which I have with me pretty much all the time. The pictures aren't that great (but aren't horrible either). But I always have it.

While I use DSLRs went I know I will be shooting (or when I think I may find something), I usually carry a Panasonic P&S just in case. It's very compact and I have some beautiful sunsets and other shots I would not have had otherwise, like this:

Fantastic shot man.

Thanks. Sunsets don't last long so my little Panasonic saved my day.

I carry a point and shoot for those times when the wife wants to take a photo. I also use it as an emergency backup. Fortunately, I have never had the DSLR fail me (knock on wood)...

I have a p&s I carry most places, and have learned to work around or within its limitations. It's also waterproof which expands the photo possibilities outside of what my dslr can do. That's one of the reasons I got it vs a regular p&s.

I always have my phone on me, so I do constantly have a camera of sorts on hand. It's just an Atrix, though, so it's not that great. It gets the job done, though. I used to have a P&S for back-up, which is the camera I used for years as I started to get into photography, but I gave it away to a friend for Christmas because she didn't have a camera of any sort outside of her cell phone, which she had used to take pictures of her team in AmeriCorps NCCC all year, a job I was blessed to be able to do with my 60D. I knew she wanted to learn photography, so I messaged her on facebook, demanded her address, and mailed the P&S to her so she could really get going on that goal. Some day I'll probably buy another P&S, once I've purchased a new camera bag and at least 1-2 more lenses, but until then it's either haul out my not-all-that-big 60D (I had it on my shoulder so much last year, including while shingling a roof 20+ feet off the ground, the thing DID become invisible and weightless) or my cell phone.

Lately, the trend has been my cell phone, if anything... Unemployment sucks the life out of me.

dwi3x4 wrote: On the one hand, we know DSLRs provide better quality photos, all else being equal. So theoretically, we should shoot with our DSLRs most of the time.

If technical image quality is most important then we should all be shooting large format sheet film. Google a 4x5 view camera, and check out the size. Now an 8x10 camera, an 11x14, a 16x20 camera.... This guy has a big camera for you. www.petapixel.com/2012/01/18/a-35-foot-l...foot-tall-negatives/

So you have already weighed quality vs size and convenience by shooting with a small format DSLR. Every photographer has to decide what they are willing to put up with. I've seen some amazing iphone pics, but it's not my cup of tea. Until recently the compact digital cameras I was using didn't live up to my quality standards in low light. I could carry them if I knew I'd be shooting in bright outdoor situations, but anywhere else i knew I'd want the DSLR. This summer I got a Sony NEX-3 with an APS-C format sensor. It's not as good as my 5DII's, but it's a lot better than my old compact cameras. Many nights I am fine with it as the camera I choose to carry. There are still times when I want to have a DSLR, although I would say that sort of decision is often just as much about camera operation as image quality.

When Henri Cartier Bresson started shooting with a 35mm Leica his peers ridiculed him for shooting with a tourists' camera. 35mm film was considered too small to do serious photography with. He showed them that speed and flexibility could easily trump technical quality, and became the father of modern photojournalism. An intriguing image with some technical flaws almost always beats a boring photo that's technically perfect.