Buying New DIGITAL CAMERA

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Romans922

Romans922

Puritan Board Professor
GA has its downsides, especially for dumb people like me who misplace digital cameras. So now I am looking to buy a new one. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions about a good digital camera? Any and all suggestions are good.

NOTE: I don't know what my price range is, sorry.
 
I bought a simple, beginner level camera pretty cheap. It's Fujifilm Finepix J10, and has so far served me well. You can get them new for around $130.00, and used (as I did) for under $80.00.

Theognome
 
Someone stole my digital camera a few years ago and I had to buy another. I wish I had waited and asked for opinions like you're doing. I know of two people who can give good advise: Beth and Theoretical. I'm so excited that you get a new one!!
 
TranZ4MR said:
Someone stole my digital camera a few years ago and I had to buy another. I wish I had waited and asked for opinions like you're doing. I know of two people who can give good advise: Beth and Theoretical. I'm so excited that you get a new one!!
Click to expand...


Theoretical??? I thought I was the only one... :( ;)
 
My preference is a camera that gives you much for your money. I personally have enjoyed using the Panasonic 12x and 18x zoom cameras. It gives you a nice range of zoom and a good quality Leica lens. Many of the pictures in my gallery were taken with the little Panasonic FZ5 12x zoom camera. I still love that little thing. :)
 
Well, I've ended up going through several digital cameras (and everyone in my house has gone through a few) so I have a good idea of them I would say.

Here are a few things to look for that you might not think about:

A high optical zoom (not digital; this reduces quality as you zoom)

Good manual settings (even if you're not into photograpy, these are very useful have when you can't get a shot right. The HP cameras and cheaper Kodak cameras I have used do not have many configurable settings so they can be harder to take good pictures with in some situations)

Now, from my experience, the best cameras that have good features while still being fairly easy to use are Canons and Fujifilms. If you are willing to pay a little more, look at this camera as welll as those in the Fujifilm S series. The nicer Sony cameras are good from what I have used them, but that is not very much.

Amazon.com: Canon Powershot SX110IS 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black): Camera & Photo

If you want a simple point and shoot camera that can get you good pictures, go for a Sony Cybershot or Nikon Coolpix. They have a good balance of features and price. The zoom is not as good, usually. Avoid Kodaks. They're not awful, but not as good.

Another thing is that it's cheaper to get SD cards usually than the other types, so if you plan to buy a lot of memory cards so you can keep pictures on them and such, you may want to get an SD camera.
 
Just go to one of Tchula's Best Buy stores and look at their selection. You will find plenty of options in whatever your price range happens to be. I'd stick with a good brand name like Canon, as even their low models will be really good.
 
Daniel, you are kidding right? Tchula and Best Buy doesn't mix. We don't even have a restaurant or an okay grocery store. We are blessed to have a bank and a post office.
 
Once you find the model you want (though shopping there is pretty good, too), I've found good deals at pricegrabber.com
 
Romans922 said:
What is an SLR?
Click to expand...
Single-lens reflex camera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basically, it's the kind of camera that allows you to swap lenses. They cost more but have more flexibility. Rich advised me to get a Canon Digital Rebel XT when I was looking for a camera, and I haven't been disappointed with it. If you're looking to go a less expensive route and aren't interested full control (aka, complexity) in photography, then a point-and-shoot (non-SLR) is your best option.
 
You may want to consider how the camera is powered. If it uses its own battery, you must be able to plug it back into its own charger when dead, but with a camera that uses AA batteries you can always have a few ready in your case if it dies.

There are also a lot of waterproof cameras on the market now that are worth taking a look at.
 
You know, I've been doing photography for several years now and worked with dozens of cameras. I've taken several photography courses, (even made my own pin-hole camera once).... and I wouldn't consider anything other than Canon! If you're looking for an SLR....the above Canon model mentioned is great! But, if you're looking for something more compact and affordable...... I would suggest the Canon SD1100 IS, its the best compact camera on the market in its class! I have this camera, and it takes excellent photo's! It's very intuitive to use, and produces high resolution images. The nice thing about this model...is that it has a wide range of options to produce SLR quality images....yet without the added bulkiness or cost! Highly recommend it!

Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver): Electronics
 
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Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Would anyone else like to weigh in on this MAJOR issue that plagues our home? :)
 
What would you consider a "High Optical Zoom"? What would be the minimum on that?



Jake said:
Well, I've ended up going through several digital cameras (and everyone in my house has gone through a few) so I have a good idea of them I would say.

Here are a few things to look for that you might not think about:

A high optical zoom (not digital; this reduces quality as you zoom)

Good manual settings (even if you're not into photograpy, these are very useful have when you can't get a shot right. The HP cameras and cheaper Kodak cameras I have used do not have many configurable settings so they can be harder to take good pictures with in some situations)

Now, from my experience, the best cameras that have good features while still being fairly easy to use are Canons and Fujifilms. If you are willing to pay a little more, look at this camera as welll as those in the Fujifilm S series. The nicer Sony cameras are good from what I have used them, but that is not very much.

Amazon.com: Canon Powershot SX110IS 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black): Camera & Photo

If you want a simple point and shoot camera that can get you good pictures, go for a Sony Cybershot or Nikon Coolpix. They have a good balance of features and price. The zoom is not as good, usually. Avoid Kodaks. They're not awful, but not as good.

Another thing is that it's cheaper to get SD cards usually than the other types, so if you plan to buy a lot of memory cards so you can keep pictures on them and such, you may want to get an SD camera.
Click to expand...
 
Romans922 said:
What would you consider a \"High Optical Zoom\"? What would be the minimum on that?
Click to expand...

It's as much as you want. It's how far it lets you zoom in. If you can afford, it I would go for at least an 8x. The smaller cameras with 1x-3x can be much cheaper, but they can also be limiting in many situations. DSLR cameras as recommended are great, but they are out of the budget for me and maybe you. They also require more learning and practice to get good pictures, but once you have it, the pictures are excellent... you can adjust the settings for many different things, there is manual focus, etc.

The Canon I showed you is a cheaper camera that still has some (not as quick and easy) manual focus features and such and a good zoom. Another camera with less features and a bigger body, but great pictures, is this:

Amazon.com: Fujifilm Finepix S700 7.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom: Camera & Photo

(My dad found it for $200 at Christmas at Walmart. Search around! That looks expensive on Amazon)
 
In His Grip said:
You know, I've been doing photography for several years now and worked with dozens of cameras. I've taken several photography courses, (even made my own pin-hole camera once).... and I wouldn't consider anything other than Canon! If you're looking for an SLR....the above Canon model mentioned is great! But, if you're looking for something more compact and affordable...... I would suggest the Canon SD1100 IS, its the best compact camera on the market in its class! I have this camera, and it takes excellent photo's! It's very intuitive to use, and produces high resolution images. The nice thing about this model...is that it has a wide range of options to produce SLR quality images....yet without the added bulkiness or cost! Highly recommend it!

Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver): Electronics
Click to expand...

I second this one. :ditto:
 
I have a Nikon D40x and I absolutely love it. Don't bother with the more expensive D60-D80. And unless you want to go professional, I wouldn't bother with the D90 either. The ability to change lenses is a fantastic thing. The other really nice thing about the Nikon D40 is that they have made vibration reduction lenses, which means that you can take a lot of pics without a tripod that you would otherwise need a tripod for. Yes, your outlay will be more than a point and shoot. But you will also have the ability to get a flash that doesn't give you red-eye (because you can bounce the light off the ceiling instead of directly in people's eyes). Furthermore, you will have the ability to change the white balance (basically the color) and the exposure. It's really easy to get really great photos with the Nikon series.

By the way, for basic help on getting good photographs, I strongly recommend Ken Rockwell's website. You will learn a lot about how to get really good photographs without a huge amount of trouble.
 
Do you want a small I can take every where camera, if so go with the compact models. If that is not an issue then go with the DSLR. Go to www.dpreview.com. I have recommended the Canon Powershot A series for individuals who are concerned about size, but want some performance. When it comes to SLRs I am prejudiced, since I started with Canon AE-1 back when I was in JR. High, then upgraded to EOS models when they were first released. Thus, because of the lenses I have, I have stayed with the D Rebel, then purchased the D40. Both Canon and Nikon make good DSLRs, and either would be great.
 
I absolutely love my Kodak EasyShare V1003 which I have had for two years; it runs rings around the former two I had.

I also got sick and tired of my Dell and HP all-in-one printers and love the cheap Kodak all-in-one I brought at Wal-mart with its cheaper and excellent print cartridges.
 
Romans922 said:
What would you consider a "High Optical Zoom"? What would be the minimum on that?
Click to expand...
Regarding Zoom, good photos are all about good optics and good lighting. Forget Digital Zoom and also forget about small cameras with tons of megapixels. Cramming more pixels into the small sensors that the small cameras have lead to artifacts and poor image quality.

As noted by Lane, the great thing about an SLR is that you can buy the lens you need for the situation you need. Once you've purchased a lens for an SLR body then you can upgrade to another camera in the future and you take your lenses with you. I have a 17-85mm lens that I leave on my Canon EOS-30D for nearly all situations and I bring my 70-300mm lens with me when I'm doing sports photography. The lenses of the cameras I mentioned above equate to about a 3x zoom. You can pick up another lens in the future if you find yourself needing the zoom.

The problem with built in lenses is that if you scratch the lens on the camera then fixing that scratch is about as expensive as replacing the entire camera.

Regarding lighting, I don't care how nice the camera is but everything looks terrible indoors with built in flash. Again, an advantage to an SLR is a hotshoe for a speedlite that will allow for bounce flash. Getting an external flash and getting good lighting indoors literally makes the difference between the snapshot look and something that looks great.

You don't have to necessarily worry about being sophisticated right now but the bottom line is that a SLR will be better out of the box than the prosumer, built in lens, cameras. It will work better in ambient light because the sensor is bigger and the lens is bigger allowing for faster photography.
 
Was thinking about the Nikon D40x, I read a review that said of the hundreds of different lenses, it will only take 20 or so. Is this true?

Besides this, I really want to get a SLR camera, and I was seriously looking at the Nikon's (D40x) to be exact.

My wife on the other hand doesn't want to get an SLR. (Not that this is causing any problems between us), she is worried about three things on the SLR.

1) Don't most SLR's come with Wide angle lenses? Does the D40x?
2) As recommended above, there doesn't appear to be Optical Zoom on these cameras. I thought this was good? Don't we need it?
3) Batteries - SLR's use Double A batteries, instead of the rechargeable stick kind of batteries
 
Not an expert on Nikon, but friends who have used Nikon's have stated that a lot of the lenses work, but depending on the lense certain features might not work. Truthfully that is why I have stuck with Canon for sooo long. The lenses I bought back in the early 90s still work with full functionality with the new cameras of today. Nikon's track history in that regard is not as good. Plus Nikon keeps changing the format of their RAW files, making earlier versions of their software outdated, in addition last I heard, but could have changed, their RAW developing software was not free.
 
All of the Nikon lenses will fit all of the Nikon digital SLR cameras, although not all of them will have automatic focusing (the ones made for the old film SLR's may or may not have auto-focus). Personally, I went with the 18-55mm vibration reduction lens (make sure it's marked VR, as they have an almost identical non-VR lens), and the 55-200mm VR lens to start with. My next purchases will be a good wide-angle (probably the 12-24mm), and a really long zoom, up to 1000mm or so. I don't know how many lenses there are available, but you can get from 12mm all the way up to 2-3,000 mm. This ought to be plenty for even the most crazed amateur photographic enthusiast.
 
Romans922 said:
Was thinking about the Nikon D40x, I read a review that said of the hundreds of different lenses, it will only take 20 or so. Is this true?

Besides this, I really want to get a SLR camera, and I was seriously looking at the Nikon's (D40x) to be exact.

My wife on the other hand doesn't want to get an SLR. (Not that this is causing any problems between us), she is worried about three things on the SLR.

1) Don't most SLR's come with Wide angle lenses? Does the D40x?
2) As recommended above, there doesn't appear to be Optical Zoom on these cameras. I thought this was good? Don't we need it?
3) Batteries - SLR's use Double A batteries, instead of the rechargeable stick kind of batteries
Click to expand...

SLR's often come in a package with a basic lens (like 18-55mm). That means it has a zoom from 18-55mm. Wide angle lenses are rarely sold as part of the package. Optical zoom is there in an 18-55, and if you buy the 55-200 that gives you lots more zoom. You zoom manually with your hand, though they typically autofocus. The Nikon D40x uses a rechargeable battery that will take about 400-600 pics before needing to be recharged. I should also note that 18mm is pretty wide. Most of the time that will be plenty of wide-angle. Wide angle lenses are not for "getting everything in," as in panorama shots. They are rather for getting way close to a subject and still being able to get it in.
 
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