Disadvantages of Point-and-Shoot Photography
Now for the downside to the point-and-shoot method. With these cameras, you sacrifice the creative tools of selective focus and, with some point-and-shoot models, closeup or macro photography. Cheaper models will not give you the satisfaction of sharp, dynamic enlargements, subtle use of low light, and the many other creative and esthetic aspects of photography.
Other downsides to point-and-shoots include the following:
Inferior lens quality. With the exception of the most expensive point-and-shoot models, the lenses on most of the cameras in this category are not the best money can buy.
Less accurate image framing. Point-and-shoot cameras focus through a separate viewing window rather than through the lens, like SLR cameras do. This means you can't see exactly how the final picture is going to be composed. However, what you do see is fairly close.
Inaccurate viewfinders. Viewfinders in point-and-shoot cameras may not be very accurate. Although you carefully center and compose your shot, the print may show the main subject too small and off to one side or too low in the frame.
Less sophisticated light-metering systems. Exposures may be off in both existing light situations and with flash, resulting in badly exposed negatives that are harder to correct in the lab.
Lens-cap errors. Because you're not viewing your subject through the lens, it can be amazingly easy to forget to take the lens cap off. To mitigate the problem, some point-and-shoot cameras have a sliding cover over the lens that either automatically opens when the camera is turned on or that is opened manually.
Other image-loss problems. Because point-and-shoot cameras are so small, it's very easy to cover up their sensors, flash, or lenses.
Less creative range. Photographers who desire to immerse themselves in the technical magic of photography will not get enough contact with it using a point-and-shoot.
Users of point-and-shoot cameras also have to deal with something called parallax error or parallax effect. Because the viewing frame is offset from the lens, the image you see through the frame is different from what the lens sees. The difference isn't great at normal distances — that is, about ten feet or so away from the camera — but it intensifies as distances get shorter, making it increasingly difficult to see exactly what the lens will capture. You might think you're getting everything you're seeing in your shot, when in reality you may end up with parts being chopped off.
Most point-and-shoot cameras get around the problem by marking the viewfinder eyepiece to indicate the area that will be included in a closeup. More expensive models sometimes have parallax correction or compensation features built into the viewfinder to guide closeup composition.
Point-and-shoot cameras are notorious for fooling their users into thinking that images are in focus when they actually aren't. This happens because the viewing window is used for image framing, not for checking focus. Look near, far, or anywhere in between, and everything will look crystal clear through the lens in the viewing window. But due to the idiosyncrasies inherent in autofocus technology, what you'll actually see on film may end up being very different.
Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about this problem, aside from being aware of where the camera's focusing zones are and staying within them. More expensive point-and-shoot cameras do a better job of focusing, because they feature more zones than the less expensive models do.
