digital camera

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » March 31, 2006, 5:21 pm

looking for some input on digital cameras... somewhere in the price range of $300-$500. not SLR, something lightweight but it doesn't need to be super tiny. pink cameras are always a bonus. i don't have a preference for media sticks, though i currently have an olympus.

i'm wanting something that gives me some control over the settings, but that also has auto modes to point and shoot quickly. so basically something that will allow me to capture e3 in all it's glory, but that i won't get sick of carrying around all day.

miir · Post by **miir** » March 31, 2006, 5:32 pm

somewhere in the price range of $300-$500. not SLR

Heh, you can't find a DSLR at that price anyway.

I have a Canon SD450.
It's really small.
Takes good pictures.
Has manual and auto modes.
Good sized screen.
Good battery life (Lithium rechargeable)

There are higher level models available (up to 7 megapixels i think).

My only complaint is that it only has 3X optical zoom... but that's one of the tradeoffs for being such a tiny camera.

Jarori Bloodletter · Post by **Jarori Bloodletter** » March 31, 2006, 5:34 pm

I bought 1 of these for my 12 yr old she loves it

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Nikon-Co ... tDetail.do

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » March 31, 2006, 6:07 pm

miir wrote:
somewhere in the price range of $300-$500. not SLR
Heh, you can't find a DSLR at that price anyway.

But close...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... 328&is=REG

Out of stock though! Can get just the body for $510. Little cheaper if you shop around.

miir · Post by **miir** » March 31, 2006, 7:14 pm

Aslanna wrote:
miir wrote:
somewhere in the price range of $300-$500. not SLR
Heh, you can't find a DSLR at that price anyway.
But close...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... 328&is=REG

Out of stock though! Can get just the body for $510. Little cheaper if you shop around.

Probably a bait and switch.

That price is over $100 cheaper than a few other placed I checked.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » March 31, 2006, 9:05 pm

B&H doesn't bait and switch. Just doesn't happen!

(Note I'm not plugging Nikon since I'm a Canon person. Just saying that DSLRs are getting more affordable and there are, or soon will be, models near that $500 price point. Course the camera body is relatively cheap. The lenses are where you'll spend most of your money.)

Post by **pyrella** » April 1, 2006, 4:58 am

Lali bought me a Panasonic FZ-30 - awesome camera - it's as close as you'll gt to DSLR as you can. Basically it's a camera you can learn just about any/everything with before you have to get to that point.

35-420mm lens, 12x *optical* zoom, 8.0 Megapixel
uses SD
accepts common lens filters (gradient/ND/polarizers, yada yada)

good reviews.

My personal experience with battery life is 2-300 photos taken over a couple weeks without having to recharge.

Large flippable LCD

uhh, lots more - [google]fz30 reviews[/google]=P

good stuff maynard.

This will not fit in your pocket - people will constantly ask if it's an SLR

miir · Post by **miir** » April 1, 2006, 11:41 am

12x *optical* zoom

Yummy.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » April 1, 2006, 1:01 pm

The FZ-30 does look nice although it only going to ISO 400 is a bit disappointing.

Anyway, before you buy any camera be sure to go to http://www.dpreview.com. You can set up your own comparisons and they have fairly comprehensive reviews for most models.

valryte · Post by **valryte** » April 1, 2006, 5:47 pm

Probably the best camera review site out there..

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

After going through all his reviews, I eventually picked up a Canon PowerShot A620. Canon has some smaller ones, in the end I picked this one because of the larger grip on the side. It just makes it easier to hold than some of the tiny cameras out there.

Burke · Post by **Burke** » April 3, 2006, 11:11 am

I just bought a Canon Powershot S2 IS this weekend. I have gotten into birding and want that 12x optical zoom for some nice closeups. I also got a Canon Pixma MP500 All-In-One Photo Printer. Canon is running a pretty good deal on them. 30$ rebate on the printer, and if you buy another Canon product on the same receipt, you get another 50$ rebate.

miir · Post by **miir** » April 3, 2006, 12:02 pm

I don't recall seeing any bad reviews for Canon digital cameras.

I have gotten into birding and want that 12x optical zoom for some nice closeups.

I wish I'd insisted on getting a digital camera with better optical zoom when we bought ours. My wife insisted on getting something small (as she was paying for it) that she could carry around in her purse or her pocket. The fact of the matter is that when we take the camera with us, I'm carrying it 99% of the time.

I just checked out that Powershot S2 IS and it looks pretty danm sweet. A shop around the corner has them on for $499 (cdn)... I may have to convince my wife that I need my own camera. The tele and wide lens converters seem to be a bit pricey.

Burke · Post by **Burke** » April 3, 2006, 4:01 pm

A shop around the corner has them on for $499 (cdn)

Miir,

That is about 426$ american. My advice is to shop around online. I got mine through Amazon for about 330$ US ( 386$ Canadian). Also, in the next couple of months, Canon is releasing a model upgrade, which will be called the Canon Powershot S3 IS. It has one megapixel more, and has a higher ISO capability, with a few other additions. That release might knock the price down further on the S2.

Post by **pyrella** » April 3, 2006, 4:26 pm

Aslanna wrote:The FZ-30 does look nice although it only going to ISO 400 is a bit disappointing.

I'm totally new to the photography thing - but I thought higher ISO's were 'grainier' and you probably wouldn't want to go above 400 anyways?

Feel free to school me if that's complete horseshit - I'd like to learn more!

Edit: Found this link - kind of says the same thing?

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_iso.html

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » April 3, 2006, 4:47 pm

There are still times (depending on what you photograph) where you need to have the high ISO. If you are using it for general things, you probably won't need it. If you need detailed low-light images, having a good camera which allows higher ISO settings is vital. I think that the link you posted actually has some of that information if you look at the dslr section. Basically, it is something you would expect/want in a higher end camera. Most digital cameras out there do not support it in a way that would produce sharp "noise-free" images.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » April 3, 2006, 5:04 pm

pyrella wrote: I'm totally new to the photography thing - but I thought higher ISO's were 'grainier' and you probably wouldn't want to go above 400 anyways?

Feel free to school me if that's complete horseshit - I'd like to learn more!

Edit: Found this link - kind of says the same thing?

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_iso.html

That's a pretty good article far as I can tell. I'm really just learning all this stuff myself. How much noise you get really depends on sensor size as the article states. For example mine goes to ISO1600 and it's not very grainy. Larger the sensor the less noise you'll get. If you don't see yourself in low light situations very often you probably wont even have a need to go beyond ISO100.

I'm not sure about the sensor size on the FZ-30 but I'd imagine ISO400 is probably about as high as you'd want to go anyway so that's fine. If it supported 800 or 1600 the images would probably be pretty noisy.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » April 3, 2006, 5:16 pm

I think the only time I went to 800 or 1600 was when I intended to get an almost ghostly feel to the shots. With the right camera, the grain can be used to make it feel like it was just "fuzzy but not out of focus." I haven't messed with this in a long time though, and I think the part I always liked the most about photography was developing my own prints...you know...before digital cameras