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Set your aperture to the widest setting so your camera's depth of field doesn't render the cage (a.k.a. "habitat") details too clearly.

In 35mm SLR equivalents ideally you want a 300mm/f2.8 or 600mm/f4 telephoto. If you had big honking glass like that you'd either use a big tripod with a ballhead or possibly a carbon fiber monopod.

Luckily you are shooting digital and you don't need to worry about the cost of film and processing like the good ol' days when basically each image was a buck a piece regardless if it was a tosser or keeper.

Bracket heavily and shoot in burst mode if your camera allows it.
I don't think my camera supports burst mode. Wait... It does support sports mode and has such a option on the dial.
 
This is correct.

The turning point was about ten years with the iPhone 4S. The 4S's camera blew doors on the iPhone 4's camera and seriously represented the burgeoning smartphone camera world.

Note that Flickr (which existed for years before the smartphone) has ranked various models of the iPhone as the top "camera" for over a decade.

Heck, even legendary Rolling Stone photographer Annie Leibovitz has said that the best first camera is an iPhone. She said that YEARS ago.

Before smartphones, the film-based P&S camera drove innovation in the photography industry. Since then smartphones drive the photography innovation. Much of this is due to videography.

You can see all of this in today's digital photography hardware landscape. Sony and Canon are the dominant brands. Both brands have extensive experience in videography (unlike Nikon). Sony has sold smartphones as well (mostly in Japan and Asia, very little market penetration in the USA).

In order to make great standalone digital cameras you need to have your act together re: videography. Nikon does not which is why they are circling around the drain.

I agree that smartphones have taken away business, but I don't agree that P&S cameras are in serious decline. I agree they are in decline just not serious decline. Lots and lots of P&S cameras are out there and if they were in serious decline this would not be so.

But I also agree that smartphones have also taken away business from the SLR pro cameras as well.
 
I agree that smartphones have taken away business, but I don't agree that P&S cameras are in serious decline. I agree they are in decline just not serious decline. Lots and lots of P&S cameras are out there and if they were in serious decline this would not be so.

But I also agree that smartphones have also taken away business from the SLR pro cameras as well.
Facts say otherwise.

 
Facts say otherwise.

One article? I read another article that said to buy a good point and shoot for they are better than a phone. Besides my Canon has way more features than any smart phone for taking photos. The same can be said of my Camcorder for video, and my voice recorder for audio. With a voice recorder why would I want to use a phone for recording preaching sermons, lectures, and the like when it could beep at anytime? I use my phone and apple watch for voice memos, but for long recordings I prefer a voice recorder.
 
One article? I read another article that said to buy a good point and shoot for they are better than a phone. Besides my Canon has way more features than any smart phone for taking photos. The same can be said of my Camcorder for video, and my voice recorder for audio. With a voice recorder why would I want to use a phone for recording preaching sermons, lectures, and the like when it could beep at anytime? I use my phone and apple watch for voice memos, but for long recordings I prefer a voice recorder.
Care to share the article you mentioned?
 
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One article? I read another article that said to buy a good point and shoot for they are better than a phone. Besides my Canon has way more features than any smart phone for taking photos. The same can be said of my Camcorder for video, and my voice recorder for audio. With a voice recorder why would I want to use a phone for recording preaching sermons, lectures, and the like when it could beep at anytime? I use my phone and apple watch for voice memos, but for long recordings I prefer a voice recorder.
I didn’t say that a phone camera is always better than a p&s. It’s not. A p&s has clear advantages over a phone at times.

but regardless which form is better, camera phones have decimated the sales and production of p&s cameras. Sales of p&s are down dramatically over the past number of years. Most people prefer to use their phone. Camera manufacturers across the board are hurting because of this. It’s not the interchangeable lens market (mirrorless and dSLR) that is shrinking but the fixed lens category.

look I hope you enjoy your camera. I really do. But few of us here use a p&s because we use more sophisticated cameras or our phones. Our advice for how to make the most of your camera is basically limited to composition techniques since you can’t shoot raw or manual mode, both of which you can do on a phone.

for a zoo trip you camera has the advantage of optical zoom. That will be really helpful.
 
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I didn’t say that a phone camera is always better than a p&s. It’s not. A p&s has clear advantages over a phone at times.

but regardless which form is better, camera phones have decimated the sales and production of p&s cameras. Sales of p&s are down dramatically over the past number of years. Most people prefer to use their phone. Camera manufacturers across the board are hurting because of this. It’s not the interchangeable lens market (mirrorless and dSLR) that is shrinking but the fixed lens category.

look I hope you enjoy your camera. I really do. But few of us here use a p&s because we use more sophisticated cameras or our phones. Our advice for how to make the most of your camera is basically limited to composition techniques since you can’t shoot raw or manual mode, both of which you can do on a phone.

for a zoo trip you camera has the advantage of optical zoom. That will be really helpful.

Yes it is true that my iPhone 12 can shoot raw I had not thought of that. Or can it? If it can how? I have it set in the high efficiency format to save disk space. But I have 128GB anyways and 97GB free. I do prefer my Canon(s) over the iPhone but the iPhone has some major advantages that the still shot and camcorder lack. For one the iPhone does not need a HDMI cable since I have an apple tv photos and movies show right up on my TV. Second the iPhone can instantly upload to facebook, and three the iPhone can more easily edit photos over the canons. I think my Canons have more features however.

But you may be right in 5-10 years there may be drastically far fewer P&S cameras at Best Buy if they are even around in that time.

EDIT- Did a google search and I see to shoot raw I need third party software.
 
Cant remember where I found it. But it did say the P&S camera is better than the phone for some situations.
Alright. Do note that many tech media now consider the "good" point and shoots to be cameras with 1" sensors like the Sony RX100. Now those cameras do still have a segment in the market.

But when we talk about 1/2.3" sensor cameras, I'm sorry, those are generally poor. Like I mentioned, these sensors are really old sensors with nothing much being improved since many moons ago. Sure, there are models with high zoom range, but coupled with slow lens, the results at the max zoom is rarely pleasing nor decent. It's practically a "gimmick" Imo. Even at bright light, the outdated JPEG processing on these cameras are generally poorer than what a current smartphone cna do.

With some smartphones now capable of reaching 10x zoom, it's only a matter of time when high res sensors coupled with machine learning will completely beat these tired 1/2.3" class P&S. Today smartphones are already better in dynamic range, low light, and computational photography is handling a lot of things not possible on regular P&S such as shallow depth of field or slow shutter speed.

Thus for general camera use, a smartphone is already the point and shoot camera for majority of people.

Anyway, it's off tangent. Let's go back to your topic. Do test out your camera at home first so you have some expectation of the result. Practice manual focusing as that will be useful during your zoo trip when there's a fence between you and your subject.
 
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I see. Thanks..
I'd suggest not to bother with Raw in your case. Not only Raw images take a lot of space, you have to post process them to get the best result. Not worth it Imo for casual photography. The iPhone ISP already does an excellent job.

Practicing better composition will net you much better photos than dealing with RAW.
 
Alright. Do note that many tech media now consider the "good" point and shoots to be cameras with 1" sensors like the Sony RX100. Now those cameras do still have a segment in the market.

But when we talk about 1/2.3" sensor cameras, I'm sorry, those are generally poor. Like I mentioned, these sensors are really old sensors with nothing much being improved since many moons ago. Sure, there are models with high zoom range, but coupled with slow lens, the results at the max zoom is rarely pleasing nor decent. It's practically a "gimmick" Imo. Even at bright light, the outdated JPEG processing on these cameras are generally poorer than what a current smartphone cna do.

With some smartphones now capable of reaching 10x zoom, it's only a matter of time when high res sensors coupled with machine learning will completely beat these tired 1/2.3" class P&S. Today smartphones are already better in dynamic range, low light, and computational photography is handling a lot of things not possible on regular P&S such as shallow depth of field or slow shutter speed.

Thus for general camera use, a smartphone is already the point and shoot camera for majority of people.

Anyway, it's off tangent. Let's go back to your topic. Do test out your camera at home first so you have some expectation of the result. Practice manual focusing as that will be useful during your zoo trip when there's a fence between you and your subject.
You are speaking greek to me since I am no camera expert. But anyways I like my Canon much better than my iPhone 12 for taking pictures. You are right I do see most using smart phones over cameras and camcorders these days, even though a good camera and camcorder will have more features. Also another thing I value is privacy. With a smart phone everything has to be on the internet and so many want everything on FB it drives me nuts! With my Canon I select what I want on FB and not everything I shoot do I want instantly on the internet.

Thanks for your tips on there zoo trip. I have packed and charged both my camera and camcorder.
 
I'd suggest not to bother with Raw in your case. Not only Raw images take a lot of space, you have to post process them to get the best result. Not worth it Imo for casual photography. The iPhone ISP already does an excellent job.

Practicing better composition will net you much better photos than dealing with RAW.
Yes I am a hobbyist not a professional. Once back in 2006 I won 3rd place in a photography contest that was on the internet. I won a brand new P&S camera. Then I lived on the California coast and even a P&S could shoot really nice photos of the nature and landscapes.

My new Canon is much nicer however and still can produce some great shots.

IMG_0023.JPG
 
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You are speaking greek to me since I am no camera expert. But anyways I like my Canon much better than my iPhone 12 for taking pictures. You are right I do see most using smart phones over cameras and camcorders these days, even though a good camera and camcorder will have more features. Also another thing I value is privacy. With a smart phone everything has to be on the internet and so many want everything on FB it drives me nuts! With my Canon I select what I want on FB and not everything I shoot do I want instantly on the internet.

Thanks for your tips on there zoo trip. I have packed and charged both my camera and camcorder.
Ummm. My phone photos do not instantly end up on fb. Or anywhere else on the internet unless I specifically post them.
 
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Ummm. My phone photos do not instantly end up on fb. Or anywhere else on the internet unless I specifically post them.
I know that but they go into iCloud which is on the internet. With my Canon I have a photos library setup that only is stored on my macs hard drive.
 
As others have mentioned, the one area your new camera wins over a phone is with its optical zoom. Think about composition. You should be able to come back with portraits - closeups - of animals but also context or environmental shots where you can show the animals in a particular habitat. All animals have personalities so pay attention to when they're exhibiting interesting behavior and try and capture that, if possible. Pay attention to how the light is falling on the scene and adjust your position to capture the best angle, if possible. Light and shadow always makes images interesting.

It's a fact that P&S sales have decreased dramatically as have the sales of all dedicated cameras. There's no "prove it" discussion needed, as there are endless articles for you to review and industry numbers to back them up. Many of those articles will attribute that decline - rightly so - to the advance in phone capabilities. And phones take stunning images, shoot raw, shoot amazing video and provide a lot of control over the final output in the right hands. That includes control over the light as you can even control certain flash units with phones. So the kinds of P&S that do sell well given the volume will be ones that have a clear advantage over the phone. In general, for the types of subject I shoot, there's one advantage: Optical zoom. That's about it (again, for me).

Note that "dramatic decrease" does not mean, nor does it imply, "zero". P&S cameras are still selling. Just not nearly in the same numbers. Again, you can look that up. Likewise, Best Buy still makes some money selling P&S cameras. Just not nearly what they did a decade ago. In my local one, the camera section is a shadow of what it was in 2011. If you went and rephrased your question to your sales friends to something like: "What do you sell more of, P&S cameras or phones?", the answer would be more telling.

At the end of the day, literally none of this matters. What matters is that you have a camera you like and you're going to shoot images of animals at the zoo! Sounds like a lot of fun to me, especially with that optical zoom. Come on back when you're finished and start sharing some of those photographs.
 
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Also forgot to ask what megapixel should I shoot at? I can choose 4.4, 10, or 20.3. I wont be printing out these photos or cropping them.
 
As others have mentioned, the one area your new camera wins over a phone is with its optical zoom. Think about composition. You should be able to come back with portraits - closeups - of animals but also context or environmental shots where you can show the animals in a particular habitat. All animals have personalities so pay attention to when they're exhibiting interesting behavior and try and capture that, if possible. Pay attention to how the light is falling on the scene and adjust your position to capture the best angle, if possible. Light and shadow always makes images interesting.

It's a fact that P&S sales have decreased dramatically as have the sales of all dedicated cameras. There's no "prove it" discussion needed, as there are endless articles for you to review and industry numbers to back them up. Many of those articles will attribute that decline - rightly so - to the advance in phone capabilities. And phones take stunning images, shoot raw, shoot amazing video and provide a lot of control over the final output in the right hands. That includes control over the light as you can even control certain flash units with phones. So the kinds of P&S that do sell well given the volume will be ones that have a clear advantage over the phone. In general, for the types of subject I shoot, there's one advantage: Optical zoom. That's about it (again, for me).

Note that "dramatic decrease" does not mean, nor does it imply, "zero". P&S cameras are still selling. Just not nearly in the same numbers. Again, you can look that up. Likewise, Best Buy still makes some money selling P&S cameras. Just not nearly what they did a decade ago. In my local one, the camera section is a shadow of what it was in 2011. If you went and rephrased your question to your sales friends to something like: "What do you sell more of, P&S cameras or phones?", the answer would be more telling.

At the end of the day, literally none of this matters. What matters is that you have a camera you like and you're going to shoot images of animals at the zoo! Sounds like a lot of fun to me, especially with that optical zoom. Come on back when you're finished and start sharing some of those photographs.

I do not disagree with you. In 2006 P&S cameras were far more common I remember.
 
Not if you have it turned off.


you literally disagreed with me on this exact statement above. I even bolded in a quote where you disagreed with me.
I just checked you are correct that feature can be turned off. Useful for privacy reasons.
 
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