Differences between consumer and professional digital cameras

Most people will find that a consumer digital camera is going to be fine for their needs. Professional cameras are more for large enlargements, and for people who are taking professional photos, not for your vacation snapshots, etc.

The following are some of the differences between consumer and professional digital cameras:

With a professional camera, the image recycles every 3 seconds from before to after image. With a consumer camera it takes longer. Professional's generally take several photos in a row to try and catch the best expressions, so fast cycling is more important than it is for just anyone.

With both professional and consumer digital cameras, you can immediately review your images, and delete ones you do not like. With a professional camera this is huge because it means you can check the lighting and composition, and re-shoot if necessary.

With a professional digital camera you have the ability to shoot in RAW format (images that contain tagged data directly from the sensor). Most consumer digital cameras do not shoot in this format.

One of the biggest differences between consumer and professional digital cameras is the lens and the quality of the lens. Recent manufacturers such as Nikon and Canon have promoted the adoption of digital Single-lens reflex cameras (dSLRs). You can find these on the consumer cameras as well, but the professional cameras usually have higher resolution, better mega pixels, and many shoot in medium format. Such cameras are now equivalent in quality to the 35 mm cameras.

Most professional cameras have more creative controls and options, such as white balance, motion control, face detection, (which most consumer digital cameras now have as well), etc.

Many digital cameras as targeted at the general consumer these days, but have several professional options. Many of these cameras are now called prosumer cameras.

Probably the biggest differences that consumer and professional cameras have are the features offered. With a consumer camera you can get very basic features, or a whole lot of extras. With the professional models, you get more features. However, almost all high-end digitals have some of the same features. They all have built-in flash. Almost all have hot shoes for external flash connectivity. They're designed with LCDs for image preview and review and they have either coupled viewfinders or secondary LCD viewfinders for framing.

Many professional cameras have extras that are not offered on consumer cameras such as exposure options, focusing and tracking methods, flash capabilities, etc.

Most professional cameras have wide angle and telephoto lenses. Consumer digital cameras usually do not. However, both have digital zooms that extend the optical zoom range by two or four times.

One other difference is that most professional digital cameras have lots of accessories, from extra flash, to bigger lenses, etc. Most consumer digital cameras only have basic accessories, such as a larger memory card etc.

The truth is that most consumer digital cameras are really quite high quality, as long as you get a high mega pixel and a well known brand in the industry. Many have professional features, and a great lens that is comparable to that of a professional. Whether you choose to get a consumer or professional digital camera should be determined by your planned uses. The cost difference is huge. You can get a high end consumer digital camera for less than $500. However, the professional cameras are usually about $3500 to $6000. Obviously those numbers vary based on your wishes, and the brands you choose, however, that is one significant difference between the two.