Until recently, the distinction between DSLRs and compact point-and-shoot cameras was very clear. The former were intended for professionals and they could be successfully used only with special knowledge and skills, while the latter were cameras for conventional "housewives". Today, the difference between them is not so obvious, but it may seem so only with a cursory glance and poor understanding of the process of photography.
Over time, the line between DSLRs and "soap dishes" began to blur. However, in a number of characteristics, the differences remained critical. Compact cameras benefit from pocket size and often lower prices, while SLRs allow for higher quality images. How is this result achieved?
Matrix size
What is a Matrix? This is a light-sensitive surface on which light enters through the lens of the objective, that is, an image. After digital processing, you can see the finished photo on the display. The actual size of the sensor is very important for the image quality. The larger the matrix area, the higher the image quality and in SLR cameras it is always larger than in "compact" cameras.
How does this affect the image? Relatively speaking, the picture taken by the camera is fixed in miniature on the matrix and "stretched" to the size of the usual photograph. On a larger matrix, the original image size is also larger, therefore, it needs to be “stretched” less. The quality of such a photo will be higher.
Interchangeable lenses
Compact cameras have one universal lens “for all occasions”. But the universal approach always loses to the special one. Imagine someone trying to create a versatile pair of shoes for any weather. The same is true with optics. Every professional photographer has a DSLR camera with a fleet of lenses in stock, which are designed for different shooting conditions and subjects. Some allow you to shoot portraits, others are well suited for shooting distant objects (the deterioration in quality when zooming is solved by using telephoto lenses), and others are suitable for macro photography. With the right optics, the DSLR photographer can achieve results that, for purely technical reasons, cannot be achieved by the owners of "soap boxes" with only one possible lens.
Work speed
All cameras are equipped with processors, just like computers. In DSLRs, they are more powerful and have better image processing algorithms than their “compact” counterparts. They not only process the flow of light into a photograph faster and more correctly, but also affect the speed of the system as a whole. The time it takes to turn on the camera and start shooting is much shorter in SLR cameras than the time it takes for a "soap box". Of course, here we are talking about seconds and their fractions, but sometimes this parameter is critically important.
Faster working speed is also achieved due to ergonomics. If in modern compact cameras 5-10 buttons are placed on the surface of the body, then the surface of the mirror is more reminiscent of the dashboard of an airliner. In them, all the most important functions and settings are called in one or two clicks, while in compact cameras you have to "wander" through the menu items.
By the way, compact cameras often win in the speed of continuous shooting, but the quality of the images is again lower.
Important addition
In an attempt to get closer in quality and functionality to DSLRs, compact cameras have gone a long way. Whole groups of compact system cameras have appeared that have interchangeable lenses, control buttons on the body, and powerful processors with effective algorithms, and even full-frame sensors. However, these are all compromise models, and having equal in some parameters, they are always inferior in others.
