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Everyone knows a digital SLR camera has interchangeable lenses and is bigger, heavier, and costs more than a point and shoot camera (P&S). But what are the differences between the two types of cameras that translate into real, tangible results in the photos you take? Here are five differences between a DSLR and a P&S camera.

1. AUTO-FOCUS & AUTO-EXPOSURE

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How many times have you tried to take a picture with a P&S camera only to have the subject move between the time you press the button and the time the camera actually takes the picture? It's called "shutter lag" and it happens all the time when trying to photograph hyperactive young children. Talk about frustrating!

However, this doesn't happen with a DSLR. They have sophisticated auto-focus and auto-exposure mechanisms that allow for nearly instantaneous image capture. The amount of time it takes the DSLR to determine a focus point and proper exposure happens in milliseconds instead of tenths of seconds with a P&S.

And not only does it focus faster, but a DSLR will have more auto-focus points to use and performs much better in lowlight situations. One of the biggest frustrations with most P&S cameras is their difficulty in getting focus lock at night, even if you are in a well-lit room. A DSLR will do much better.

DSLR cameras also have more options for determining the proper exposure for a photo. Nearly all P&S cameras have only one option they evaluate how much light is in the entire photo and average it into one exposure setting. But let's say you are trying to get a photo of your favorite niece as she is playing at a piano recital. She may be wearing a white dress while sitting at a black piano on a stage that, while well-lit with lights, is banked by black curtains.

A P&S camera will evaluate all of the black as being as important as the white dress; that will result in the camera over-exposing the photo and your niece will be completely washed out and probably indiscernible.

A DSLR, however, usually has three exposure modes full-frame (or matrix), center-weighted, and spot. In this same situation, you could change your setting to center-weighted. Now, if you focus on your niece, the camera will take her white dress as being the most important part of the photo and will properly expose the shot. Spot works the same way, except it exposes the photo according to whatever is exactly in the center of the camera's viewfinder.

2. BETTER QUALITY IMAGES

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