Digital cameras forum: SLR Vs Non SLR.....

Having owned some really nice 35mm cameras -- Leica 111G and Canon F1n I'm firmly convinced of the superiority of SLR -- for film-type cameras.

I can't get enthusiastic about DSLR's at all. They're ugly and enormous and kinda plastic looking. Though they doubtless take better pics than a pocket digital, these are more desirable objects. I guess the real advantage of SLR was seeing the image at a decent size while framing and being able to focus accurately -- which (sunlight allowing ) is now always the case with even the smallest digital cameras.

I would however make a case for an optical viewfinder -- and that seems to be being left off so many new digital cameras.

For the best of all possible worlds -- small size, great picture quality, good controls, optical viewfinder -- you only have one choice: Canon G11.

It even looks like a real camera -- not like a ladies powder compact (yes, you Panasonic).

Photography is an art of capturing light. There are many ways you can choose the exposure to express your vision and creativity. The camera body is the black box, the sensor or the film is the recording medium, and the lens focuses the light onto the recording medium. There are several simple physical laws of optics that defines the characteristics of the lens choice, yielding a variety of photographic effects. Having a working knowledge of how to manipulate the camera settings to achieve the desired exposure and effect is a critical part of photography. The SLR or SLR-like cameras give you more control and thus freedom to create your vision. Using automatic mode surrenders your thinking and decision to the camera's processor, and resulted in a photo that is more or less the same as everyone else.
However, there is another side of photography, which can be used as a tool to tell a story or create a content. In this case, the photograph is more than just a pretty picture but it may convey the emotions or point of view of the photographer. As an analogy, a good movie does not necessarily need superb cinematography, the content can be more important than the visual effects.
Therefore what camera you need depends on what kind of photographer you are. It is the photographer who makes the photo, and the camera is just the tool.