DSLR vs point & shoot?

So, what are the advantages/disadvantages of DSLR vs point&shoot cameras? On first glance, it seems like pretty much DSLR is more complicated, but offers a wider range of control.

I'm looking into buying a new (digital) camera. My decade-old 5 megapixel point and shoot is just not adequate, especially for capturing tiny, moving, sunlight fearing snakes. So recommendations would be great! I don't want to spend a bundle, but I want to be sure what I do spend is worthwhile and satisfactory for years.

I don't know much about cameras (yet), but I'm a technology person, so anything from long-winded technical details to user experience is all much appreciated.

What features do people find useful, indispensable, or obnoxious in a camera (particularly for snake picturing)?

The ability to take a good close up. I cant give you any insight over which to choose; I do know the better the lens used, the better the camera's photo's will be, regardless of whether it's a point and shoot or DLSR. my first point and shoot was a Canon A10, 1.3 megapixels...I have a Kodak ZD710 10 megapixel now, and the Canon hands down took better close ups.

How much are you looking to spend?

And do you want to be able to throw it in your pocket or purse? Do you want to be tied down by a big DSLR? Do you want to be able to change lenses? Can you afford to change lenses?

I have had a succession of Casio Exilims. Point and shoot. You can customize a lot of stuff, but you can't set it manually. My current version is a 12mp with 10x optical zoom. It has served me very, very well, and yet is tiny enough to put in a pocket and take anywhere.

I think the thing with snakes is, you need to be able to focus and shoot fast. A camera that can take rapid successive shots is very nice.

I like cameras with internal batteries that you charge in the camera.

I have a Canon Rebel. If you're looking for a basic DSLR that's very easy to use and learn, I'd definitely recommend it. It is bulky though so if you want to take it a lot of places, your neck can start to hurt a bit.

We have both a Canon Rebel DSLR & the Canon P&S SX30 - both are great but when doing corn snakes as mentioned above it is great to have the rapid shot action in which case the DSLR does much better. The P&S has a great optical zoom (to avoid the cost of heavy expensive lenses for the DSLR) and both have macro features. With the P&S you just dont have to drag around extra lenses or external flashes and the cost is about half - the optics for the Canon system are great and easy to use. Both of these have internal rechargable batteries which is a plus (some P&S eat batteries).

The biggest difference between compact, four-thirds, APS-C and Full Frame are the size of the sensors in the camera. This has a direct effect on how much of a scene a specific focal length can capture.

Generally, the larger the sensor the better the image quality.

The following image represents what a 35mm focal length would capture in each format.

Heavenhell has the question.

If you are looking to stay cheap, point and shoot. I would recommend trying out some cameras at a store like best buy or walmart. If you don't care about the price, DSLR is probably the best way to go. They have a lot of adaptability. You can buy multiple lens', which you could use in other instances besides corn snakes. The do have mirrorless DSLRs now, so they are a lot smaller. The Nikon J is one. They are nice.

From experience, I would go with a DSLR with a macro lens. I have two nikons, one is a point and shoot and the other is a DSLR. The point and shoot is handy for its size, but I hate the flash on it. Having an avalanche corn, it just blows him out. My other camera is a Nikon D7000. I really love it. I only have the standard lens on it now, but it is great. There is a lot to learn with a DSLR. The manual controls on your DSLR are going to be your worst enemy at first, but after you will really love it. I always remember the sunny 16 rule.

If you'd like, feel free to send me a PM.

Some point&shoots are a bit of a lottery when it comes to lens quality. I have one which has good write-ups and works well for outdoor snaps, but when using the macro function the pictures come out with a slightly distorted "fish-eye" effect. It's also useless in low light, when I've seen friends' point&shoots produce good quality results. If you can get the right one and you win the lens lottery, it's very convenient and can just be popped in a bag or pocket.

Having borrowed my Mum's DSLR for some university work, it does produce much better results. However the downside is that it's bulky, heavy and needs its own separate special shoulder bag. However, even with this one I found that there were limitations which related to what I needed. For some reason, the macro setting wouldn't allow me to disable the autoflash - this washed out the things I was taking close-up photos of, indoors (archaeological pottery sherds). In the end I had to mount it on a stable rig, place it next to a window and use the zoom function with the flash disabled. All a bit of a faff, plus it weighs a ton compared to the point&shoot.

So it's horses for courses really. For general use, I'd go for a good quality point&shoot (not my current one!) but I'd take a DSLR for specific jobs. I think you need to figure out what you'll mainly be doing with the camera, then buy the one which suits your needs and pocket.

Hey...
Wow... that's a toughy... even after 2 years now of purchasing an SLR...

Thing is... buying a DSLR without wanting to invest time in learning photography will yield you horrible results... you can do WAY better with a point and shoot or a SLR-like camera.

Using a DSLR, especially indoors will mean that you'll need a decent set-up("studio"), an external flash(cause the built in flash SUCKS) and you'll have tons of trial and error.

It's very possible... but I have to admit, at times I get really frustrated. I'm not your average photography enthusiast... I grasp the basics but very little aside from that...

And to top it all... many would argue that SOME degree of post-editing via photoshop or lightroom is 'mandatory'...

End of the day... it's just TONS of things to sign up for when all you want is to take some snake pictures..

Not to mention the cost, and bulkiness of the camera.

If I had to make the same choice today, I'd probably go for a Zoom camera/semi professional camera which is not quite DSLR, but gets close to it.

I am particularly fond of the Panasonic Lumix series.