Compact cameras make bad photographers?

That's a thought provoking one isn't it?

I'm not putting compacts down or suggesting everyone buys a DSLR (perish the thought) but if you use a compact there are two valuable things to remember, you may be aware of both these but do you do anything about it??

First of all, that ridiculous way of holding the camera at arms length to take a picture, is going to produce a blured image regardless of what you do. An SLR, digital or film, and just about every other type of camera is either designed to be held on a tripod or held close to the eye or body. So it's not rocket science to work out holding it at arms length is not ideal. So what to do? Easy, hold it as close as you can, use the viewfinder if it has one or rest it against something.

Second, is that bloody annoying delay between pressing the shutter release and the damn thing actually taking a picture. There's no getting around this but being aware of this fault is half the battle, try to anticipate and press the shutter before the action happens. Sounds impossible? Try it and see.