But of course there is difference. I'll show you a couple of sample photos. Though I don't have a compact camera, so the comparison is between a DSLR and a smartphone camera. You know, smartphone cameras are nowadays on par with compact cameras.

^^A low light landscape photo. Notice especially the moon; a DSLR captured the moon almost correctly, whereas the smartphone camera badly overexposed it. The DSLR has more dynamic range, which allows detail to be captured in the darker & brighter areas. You can also see the DSLR sensor gives smoother gradations across the colours in the sky. The DSLR image is also a little sharper, with more fine detail visible where the trees meet the sky.

^^Here the pool table is blue, but under artificial light the smartphone camera misses the color badly. Also there is not much to see in the background, whereas in the DSLR version the background is more visible.

^^Here's something that you can't do with a compact, or a smartphone: background blur.

---

Finally, what can you do with a smartphone, or a compact camera, that you can not do with a DSLR? Let's see these pics for examples:

^^With a smartphone you can shoot underwater (only certain models).

^^With a compact or smartphone camera you can take a photo of your DSLR.

To sum it up:

• DSLRs beat compacts in low light, under odd light, with background blur.
• A compact beats DSLR in size, which means you are more likely to have it with you when a photo opportunity presents itself.