Topic: Digital Camera (Read 10091 times)

JJMitchell · « **on:** 23 Nov 2005, 12:47 »

I've been looking into buying a better digital camera, I have a cheap olympus that takes mediocore pictures. It also has a slow flash recharge time and picture save time.

Anyone have one that they love? I'm looking for one under/around $300ish.

nihilist · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Nov 2005, 13:59 »

Canon!

Rawr and Stuff · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Nov 2005, 15:38 »

I agree, I have a Canon and love it.

SpacemanSpiff · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Nov 2005, 15:43 »

I agree. Canon. Great usability, great image quality and lots of features. The older models (in your price range, basically) are a bit on the slow side though, so you might want to try them out first in a store.

Luke · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Nov 2005, 00:04 »

I have a nifty Sony Cybershot that I got for graduation. It takes 4.1 megapixel pictures & videos and comes with a cord to send them to a computer. That's all I really care about, so it suits me just fine.

nihilist · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 Nov 2005, 07:18 »

Sony is currently on the "never will buy shit from again" list.

Canon!

SpacemanSpiff · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 Nov 2005, 08:01 »

Completely agreed. I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-P9 right now. It's hellishly slow, the image quality lacks for 4mp and most importantly, the noise above 100 ISO (which you will have to use as it needs a lot of light) is horrible.
I use it because I got it for free.
If I had to spend my money on a camera, I would go for Canon, or maybe Nikon, but now I'm already thinking of digital SLRs. Which are definitely more expensive than $300.

JJMitchell · « **Reply #7 on:** 06 Dec 2005, 11:05 »

Thanks all.

I'll look into a good Canon sometime soon.

jhocking · « **Reply #8 on:** 06 Dec 2005, 11:25 »

I'm wanting a Nikon Coolpix. They have good low-light pickup, and so you don't have to use the flash as much; just make sure the room is reasonably well lit. flash=yuck

Keaton · « **Reply #9 on:** 06 Dec 2005, 12:52 »

I swear by Canon. Awesome cameras, I'm sure you can find one in the price range you mentioned.

Though I'm personally after a digital Canon Rebel. Expensive as day.

Luke · « **Reply #10 on:** 06 Dec 2005, 12:53 »

Like I said, I got the sony camera for graduation, so essentially, it was free. I've never had a single problem with it - obviously, I've used it to take any of the photos I've uploaded.

McTaggart · « **Reply #11 on:** 06 Dec 2005, 21:57 »

Quote from: Keaton

Though I'm personally after a digital Canon Rebel. Expensive as day.

And worth every cent. A great camera if you've a sharper lens* and a flashgun.

*the kit lens isn't bad by any means, but it's far from great.

Keaton · « **Reply #12 on:** 06 Dec 2005, 22:28 »

Quote from: McTaggart

And worth every cent. A great camera if you've a sharper lens* and a flashgun.

*the kit lens isn't bad by any means, but it's far from great.

I'll bear that in mind, thanks. I have a sneaking suspicion I might be getting one for Christmas.

Bunnyman · « **Reply #13 on:** 06 Dec 2005, 23:30 »

I'd love to pick up a Canon Digital SLR, preferably in the 6+ MP range.

Mind you, I don't exactly have $1000 lying around for something I'd only occasionally use. But it'd be nice.

McTaggart · « **Reply #14 on:** 07 Dec 2005, 05:34 »

See if you can get a second hand 300d (or non XT rebel, depending on where you live) for fairly cheap. They should be around by now.

You also don't really need the flashgun. I usually shoot natural light and the noise at ISO 800 is not bad at all (and NoiseNinja is great when the noise does get in the way).

Keaton · « **Reply #15 on:** 07 Dec 2005, 07:38 »

I'm looking on eBay right now, and some of the prices aren't bad. If I don't get a Rebel for Christmas, I know what I'll be saving up for next semester.

See, next semester I start an archaeology class, and we're going to be doing a decent amount of fieldwork. That was part of my reasoning in talking about getting a Rebel earlier this year, that when I do fieldwork and, later, studying abroad, I might not necessarily need it, but I'd certainly want a nice camera. It'd also be nice to kind of follow in my father's footsteps in that regard - he did photography for about twenty years, even ran his own small chain of camera stores for a while.

will: wanton sex god · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Dec 2005, 00:00 »

Ignore what almost everyone in here has posted so far. No one company produces all shit/all good cameras. it varies alot by model, fasho.

check out www.cnet.com for tech reviews, then compare prices on ebay/amazon/stores, or vice versa.

to trust something just because of its name is exactly what the business would want, blind faith. so yeah, check em out.

also: sometimes a good idea is to buy the memory stick ahead of time and take it to a place with a bunch of cameras. stick the card in each and snap a few photos, upload them at home and compare!

Bunnyman · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Dec 2005, 02:07 »

I would agree on the flash. I much prefer the picture quality with natural light; it presents a far truer image, as flash tends to destroy depth perception. Most photographers would agree that shooting under fluorescent light indoors is vastly preferable to flash photography. And by most I mean the one that brought the issue up.

I would invest in a good tripod instead of a good flash; indoors, unless you're worried about action, a long exposure and a solid purchase are rather better than flash.

McTaggart · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Dec 2005, 07:34 »

http://dpreview.com/ for reviews. They specialise in digital cameras.

Will: It's not a good idea to buy the card first as different cameras use different media. You don't want to buy a card and then be railroaded into buying a camera you might not want. If you're going to, go with CompactFlash as most cameras seem to use it. (it's also, imo, better).

And in this case, trusting a product because of it's brand is also sometimes just what the company deserve. To my knowledge, both Canon and Nikon do not make a bad camera. They might not make one to suit your needs (see the way canon no longer make a full manual film slr and neither make rangefinder cameras anymore) but every camera I've ever used from either company has done what it claimed to do pretty well.

Quote from: Bunnyman

I would invest in a good tripod instead of a good flash; indoors, unless you're worried about action, a long exposure and a solid purchase are rather better than flash.

The tripod is the greatest tool known to man. A good tripod is like that smell you get after rain.

Regarding the 'far truer image' though, It really depends on your definition of truth. The camera is one of the easiest tools to lie with. But that's not at all what this topics about.

Bunnyman · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Dec 2005, 23:53 »

Quote from: McTaggart

The tripod is the greatest tool known to man. A good tripod is like that smell you get after rain.

Quoted because that smell is possibly the most heavenly scent yet revealed to man. Wet dirt after the first rains of the season is borderline euphoric.

Ah, truth of image. Surfing through DPReview (great link, BTW) has reinforced my view that, while a good quality camera with the right features is important, it's only as good as the man shooting the pictures.

That said...Optical Zoom is your friend. Years of operating a 1.3MP camera has given me a clinical phobia of Digital Zoom, which, after all, is nothing more than image cropping. There are moments when you want a camera that can do macro and 8x Optical with equal aplomb.

ExiledSmarmy · « **Reply #20 on:** 13 Dec 2005, 07:13 »

I saved up the scratch and bought a Canon Digital Rebel for work. Got a used one in great condition for only $800 canadian. Once you go DSLR you will never go back. Reviews on its godlike ability are all over the Interweb and if you can manage a reconditioned one I would definetly recommend it.

ElRodente · « **Reply #21 on:** 13 Dec 2005, 09:09 »

i'm about to get this for christmas, it got plenty of good reviews, and i checked around first

will: wanton sex god · « **Reply #22 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 00:03 »

Quote from: McTaggart

And in this case, trusting a product because of it's brand is also sometimes just what the company deserve.

yeah but ive known people buy just based on the name of something, whichs pretty dumb. canon and nikon do make bad cameras, also!

vavado · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 Dec 2005, 19:42 »

I actually went through the process of researching a new digital camera (I had an old Nikon Coolpix 3400) and the thing you have to ask yourself is what are you looking to do with your camera (besides the obvious of taking pictures) such as what features are important to you. For me it was a small but not ultra small camera with a great battery life and lots of manual controls. You can find some great point and shoot cameras for under 300$ and some more full featured ones that were from last year who have gone down in price. I agree with Canon as probably the best consumer brand out there and you get your money's worth. You should check this site out:

www.dpreview.com

I used it for the general bulk of my research. Hope that helps you out.

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Author Topic: Digital Camera (Read 10091 times)

JJMitchell

nihilist

Rawr and Stuff

SpacemanSpiff

Luke

nihilist

SpacemanSpiff

JJMitchell

Keaton

Luke

Keaton

Bunnyman

Keaton

Bunnyman

Bunnyman

ExiledSmarmy

vavado