View Full Version : Buying a Camera, help me deside
PantherPaul
03-27-06, 08:04 AM
I need to buy a camera as my wife and daughter are getting ready to take a trip and want to take pictures. I am going to get a 5 megapixel camera with 12 opticle and have narrowed it down to these cameras. I have priced them at pricegrabber.com and they are all between 300 and 450. Does anyone have an opinion
The Canon S2IS
Fuji S5200
KODAK Easy Share P850
Sony CyberShot
Nikon D50
Panosonic Lumix DMC-F27K
PantherPaul
03-27-06, 08:06 AM
.
Obviously the Nikon is the higher of the 6 at 449. I have heard Sony ($299)customer service sucks. I have a Canon and have had no problems but the wife is liking the Panosonic ($ 317 or the Fuji $349). My boss has a Kodak $449 and seems pleased
nikon d50 is a digital SLR -- it is a camera that can grow with her needs. though it does have an automatic mode and certain picture settings (sports, landscape, portrait, etc.), don't treat it as the other point-and-shoots.
the d50 is clearly the best camera of the bunch, though. you will be able to purchase the ful range of lenses to change out.
I's ask your wife and daughter if they want a digital camera that big. Travelling with what is essentially a SLR means bulk - and can also mean additional lenses meaning more bulk.
The other issues to be considered is battery life and availabilty - when travelling you want to be able to pick up some AA's if you forgot to recharge. Also, what memory comes with the camera - and the price for larger memory. Again when travelling you need a memory card large enough to take days of pics without downloading.
The smaller digital cameras can fit in a pocketbook and I recommend the Sony DCS-W5 - we have two of them.
funny, I just bought a camera I'm returning, but I love it...
the Canon SD450 is so small, 5.0MP, 3x zoom, has video which I transfered to DVD and played on my 50"TV and looks great. We had prints made, look fantastic. Shots of my dog & kid playing, no blur... has all the features and size I want it in...Highly recommend it. I got it at Staples for $299.
The whole line of Canon SD cameras are awesome IMO. The SD550, SD600, and so on..
Which takes me to the only reason I returning the 450. It's because the SD700 is due out May 30th. It's $499, but it has the 4x zoom, which is like a 140mm, and it's a 6 MP. plus a couple of more upgrades...
All the SD cameras also have an underwater case you can buy too...
For $299 though, you will have a hard time beating the Canon SD450
But I'm so happy with the digital video that I/m selling my Sony Digital video camera...
btw - I have a Sony Camcorder & a Nikon Coolpix 990 for sale
Agreed. I bought a digital camcorder and will be selling it this month. The Canon SD cameras I have have been FANTASTIC. They record videos at 30fps at 640x480, take great pictures, and are TINY, which means I always have them with me to actually capture those cool moments. The SLR bodies and look-alikes are just too big.
The coolest thing is drag & drop video clips right off the card. No camera wires to the compuer, playing the video while it eats up hard drive, etc etc etc...
if anybody has ever played with video on a computer, you know how painful it can be...I took a few clips into iMovie, applied a couple of transitions, and export a full resolution .avi file. I made 3 of them in about 15 minutes, then when into iDVD where I dragged images in for a slide show and added the 3 movies. Burned the DVD and I was done. Took me all of about 45 minutes.
I'm second guessing which one I want now. The SD620 looks cool too, but it's a little bigger. I got to stick with the SD700, SD450, or the SD550 for it's size. The SD700 though also has the 16:9 widescreen format.
PantherPaul
03-28-06, 10:10 AM
The camera will be used for both the trip and later on. A coworker has the Canon Rebel digital that Best Buy has for 899 and will sell it to me for 450. In line with what I was going to pay but the lens is only a 18-55mm. You can get other lenes but that adds to the final price. I am leaning towards the Canon mentioned above. How would you equate a 12x optical zoom to a SLR zoom? Would it bee a 300mm? The Fixed lens with 12x would probably be all I need (zoom wise) and being cheaper. The higher priced Canon (Rebel) is a better camera but for my needs (Marching Band photos from a distance) and her vacation it suits my needs
first you dont want a camera phone, and now this?? asshead. much easier to smuggle a phone into a nuk-u-lur plant. :imagestor
The camera will be used for both the trip and later on. A coworker has the Canon Rebel digital that Best Buy has for 899 and will sell it to me for 450. In line with what I was going to pay but the lens is only a 18-55mm. You can get other lenes but that adds to the final price. I am leaning towards the Canon mentioned above. How would you equate a 12x optical zoom to a SLR zoom? Would it bee a 300mm? The Fixed lens with 12x would probably be all I need (zoom wise) and being cheaper. The higher priced Canon (Rebel) is a better camera but for my needs (Marching Band photos from a distance) and her vacation it suits my needs
the rebel is a fine camera. you can find it fo rmuch less than 899 -- $683 at buydig.com http://www2.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?ref=cnet&sku=CNDRXTS
you'll want to get a 70-200 zoom. 300mm is a big lens.
here's some sample pics taken with a canon 70-200 zoom: http://www.ap1.net/band.htm
like the nikon, it's one to grow into. check to see how many shutter snaps the camer has taken so far.
I went to Staples yesterday and they said that the Canon Digital rebel is the best bet because the interchangeable lenses are the same as the old 35mm lenses where as the Nikon digital interchangable lenses reguire a new flat lens.
thay also said that the rebel is 8 megapixels which is 35mm quality, while the nikon digital is only 6 megapixels.
I went to Staples yesterday and they said that the Canon Digital rebel is the best bet because the interchangeable lenses are the same as the old 35mm lenses where as the Nikon digital interchangable lenses reguire a new flat lens.
thay also said that the rebel is 8 megapixels which is 35mm quality, while the nikon digital is only 6 megapixels.
all that is incorrect.
I went to Staples yesterday and they said that the Canon Digital rebel is the best bet because the interchangeable lenses are the same as the old 35mm lenses where as the Nikon digital interchangable lenses reguire a new flat lens.
thay also said that the rebel is 8 megapixels which is 35mm quality, while the nikon digital is only 6 megapixels.
I went to Staples and the nobody shit about cameras :twocents:
(it was the new one up on Harris)
PhotoGuy
03-30-06, 12:51 PM
I went to Staples yesterday and they said that the Canon Digital rebel is the best bet because the interchangeable lenses are the same as the old 35mm lenses where as the Nikon digital interchangable lenses reguire a new flat lens.
thay also said that the rebel is 8 megapixels which is 35mm quality, while the nikon digital is only 6 megapixels.
:wtf23:
Yes, the digital rebel is a great camera. So is the Nikon D70 and even the D50. I think Nikon's construction quality and durability far surpasses that of Canon cameras. I think spending more for 2 more megapixels is a waste. You won't see a difference unless you are constantly printing 16x20 or larger.
As far as the backwards compatibility of lenses and accessories... It all depends on how much money you want to spend. Keep in mind, quality comes with a price. The Nikon G lenses were made for the digital slr cameras. They are not backwards compatible with older Nikon cameras. BUT, you can buy Nikon D lenses which will work with ALL Nikon slrs. This is what I did because I use both older all-manual camera bodies and also newer digital bodies with all the same lenses.
Older canon lenses are not compatible with newer canon slr bodies. By which I refer to the all-manual metal slr canon cameras.
IMPO, I would go with Nikon D50 with a G lens to start out. You will have lots of room for upgrading and the customer service is unsurpassed.
***
The above commentary came from a professional Nikon user. In most cases a preference between Nikon and Canon is like Coke to Pepsi, or Honda to Toyota. It's all personal preference when it all comes down to it.
Hold a camera, try it and see the actual results of shooting it. You can not judge a camera online, especially the picture quality. A camera might look neat online or in the store, but until you actually hold it and try it, you will not know if it is a good fit for you.
***
Here is a pic I shot a few days ago with my Nikon D100, using a 24-120D lens at f/8 1/30sec, along with a SB-28 speedlight and Lumiquest Big Bounce light difuser.
well I'm glad i posted then and got the right info.
Let me ask you this then, is there a digital camera out there for under $300 that takes the picture instantly without a delay from the time you push the button to when the camera actually takes the picture?
well I'm glad i posted then and got the right info.
Let me ask you this then, is there a digital camera out there for under $300 that takes the picture instantly without a delay from the time you push the button to when the camera actually takes the picture?
no.
:wtf23:
Yes, the digital rebel is a great camera. So is the Nikon D70 and even the D50. I think Nikon's construction quality and durability far surpasses that of Canon cameras. I think spending more for 2 more megapixels is a waste. You won't see a difference unless you are constantly printing 16x20 or larger.
As far as the backwards compatibility of lenses and accessories... It all depends on how much money you want to spend. Keep in mind, quality comes with a price. The Nikon G lenses were made for the digital slr cameras. They are not backwards compatible with older Nikon cameras. BUT, you can buy Nikon D lenses which will work with ALL Nikon slrs. This is what I did because I use both older all-manual camera bodies and also newer digital bodies with all the same lenses.
Older canon lenses are not compatible with newer canon slr bodies. By which I refer to the all-manual metal slr canon cameras.
IMPO, I would go with Nikon D50 with a G lens to start out. You will have lots of room for upgrading and the customer service is unsurpassed.
***
The above commentary came from a professional Nikon user. In most cases a preference between Nikon and Canon is like Coke to Pepsi, or Honda to Toyota. It's all personal preference when it all comes down to it.
Hold a camera, try it and see the actual results of shooting it. You can not judge a camera online, especially the picture quality. A camera might look neat online or in the store, but until you actually hold it and try it, you will not know if it is a good fit for you.
***
Here is a pic I shot a few days ago with my Nikon D100, using a 24-120D lens at f/8 1/30sec, along with a SB-28 speedlight and Lumiquest Big Bounce light difuser.
let me know if you'd be up for moving. i may need a new photog this fall...
The camera will be used for both the trip and later on. A coworker has the Canon Rebel digital that Best Buy has for 899 and will sell it to me for 450. In line with what I was going to pay but the lens is only a 18-55mm. You can get other lenes but that adds to the final price. I am leaning towards the Canon mentioned above. How would you equate a 12x optical zoom to a SLR zoom? Would it bee a 300mm? The Fixed lens with 12x would probably be all I need (zoom wise) and being cheaper. The higher priced Canon (Rebel) is a better camera but for my needs (Marching Band photos from a distance) and her vacation it suits my needs
I like the Cannon Rebel also - but it is big, heavy and bulky as compared to the smaller digital camera. The advantage is the combatibility with Cannon and made for Cannon auto focus lenses.
I would try to buy a body only and then buy lenses. I'd look for two lenses (not Canon) one that is 28mm or less up to about 80mm for landscape and people and a 100mm-300mm zoom for bringing distant shots up close. I would get the longer lense as bright as you can afford. Remember that the digital format means the lens are 1.6 times the focal length of the lens. Thus, a 28mm standard lens is really a 44mm lens on a digital camera - not really good for landscapes. Perhaps buying the Reble digital bundled with the digital lens is a better bet because you are getting a true 18mm-50mm lens.
I would note that you are going to pay another $70 for a second battery and $80 - $170 for a 3G-6G card.
PhotoGuy
03-30-06, 08:02 PM
One major advantage of buying a camera with more megapixels is the crop factor created by the smaller imaging chips. With my Nikon D100, my 24mm D lens is actually a 36mm lens. The smaller imaging chip records less of what the wide angle lens actually covers. This is extremely beneficial for shooting distant subjects. My 300mm D lens turns into a 450mm lens.
See example below.
Nikon's G lenses, which again are made for the digital slrs, actually capture images at the indicated focal length since Nikon compensated for the crop factor when making the G lenses.
PantherPaul
04-01-06, 10:34 PM
Photo Guy help me out here. My wife hardheaded as she is is against the Rebel because she heard some talking head at some Photography message board say for moving subjects the Rebel isn't the best bet. Siting you'd have to mess with the aperture yada yada. We both want a camera that is a little more substantial in size so it is easier to control and not subject to our hand movement. I am going to get a single post trip pod to keep it from shaking. Of the cameras mentioned above which do you like? Which would be best suited to sit in stands and take pictures of people in motion. Daughter is in marching band and we would be a good distance from her. Would the point and shoot cameras give us good quality or would the Rebel be a better fit?
it really depends on how good your lens is. rebel is far superior to any point and shoot. don't listen to people at the store. check dpreview.com.
PhotoGuy
04-02-06, 07:41 AM
Which would be best suited to sit in stands and take pictures of people in motion. Daughter is in marching band and we would be a good distance from her. Would the point and shoot cameras give us good quality or would the Rebel be a better fit?
I would definately go with an SLR, like the Rebel or Nikon D50. Both have interchangeable lenses and also capture the image at the instant you press the shutter release, without delay.... that is, after you have already pressed the button half-way to get the subject in focus.
LarryD is correct. I all depends on how good your lens is. The bigger the lens (wider the opening inwhich all the light passes), the faster shutter speed you can use - eliminating camera shake... which can be a problem with a long zoom lens. The more you zoom out, the more shake you will have. Even with a monopod - though it helps substantially.
The Rebel and D50 both have a sports setting which will set your shutter at a higher speed that will best stop action in the available light. You can also set your ISO higher to allow for higher light sensitivity... similar to using a higher speed film (800 Max instead of 200) This is critical in shooting sports. Keep in mind that the higher ISO you set your camera at, you will have more and more "noise" in the image. Again, similar to film with the increase in grain with the higher ISO speeds.
ISO = International Standards Organization
Also sometimes referred to as ASA = American Standards Association
These numbers are all relative to film speed and light sensitivity. The higher the number, the less light you need to take a picture.
I am not sure if you can change the ISO speed on point-and-shoot cameras, but this is one of my favorite features on my digital slr.
Other important features on a digital slr include Shutter Priority - you set the shutter speed as high or as slow as you need and the camera does the rest to compensate to make the best possible exposure.
As with any digital slr, there is a full auto mode. If the shooter does not know how to use any of the advanced features of the slr, just shoot on auto. Go out and buy a basic book on slr photography and have fun experimenting.
Check out dpreview.com for info on any digital camera. It is a great place to compare camera models side by side. That is what I did when I bought my first digital slr.
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