Originally Posted by JCL

It will never be better for snaps, as it wasn't designed for that. Even if the pictures were the same quality, the fact that it is bigger and heavier would make it worse than a P&S. The point that Thunder22 was making could be summarized as "what is proper?" People have become used to the settings on point and shoot cameras, and now consider those results normal.

Many people purchase DSLRs and are disappointed with the standard shots. A DSLR is more work, but is ultimately more rewarding. You just can't skip the step of tuning the settings to those which the new camera owner prefers.

I haven't used Automatic mode since the first few weeks with my D70, many years ago. I have used Manual, and Aperture Priority, but usually I shoot in Program (P) mode, which allows me to save my favourite settings, essentially a customized Auto mode baseline from which I can vary settings as I wish.