New Camera

[SoL]

Hi guys, hope you can help.

Any recommendations for a camera? I am a complete novice so don't need anything with too many bells and whistles, however, I would like clear picture, good zoom capacity and an optin to expand should I ever get past the point and shoot phase.

I've had a quick look and am completely confused!

I like the look of the Canon DSLRs and my friend has a Panasonic Lumix which seems to produce nice photos (could just be her ability though ).

Oh yeah, price range from $400-$800 so I know it's not huge, but that's why I'm picking your brains!

Any ideas?

[Firestone]

Hi guys, hope you can help.

Any recommendations for a camera? I am a complete novice so don't need anything with too many bells and whistles, however, I would like clear picture, good zoom capacity and an optin to expand should I ever get past the point and shoot phase.

I've had a quick look and am completely confused!

I like the look of the Canon DSLRs and my friend has a Panasonic Lumix which seems to produce nice photos (could just be her ability though ).

Oh yeah, price range from $400-$800 so I know it's not huge, but that's why I'm picking your brains!

Any ideas?

I cannot help camera wise but I will say the help I got here when asking from a complete novice point of view was a great help

[Kirislin]

I absolutely love my Canon 400D. It's superceded model now, there's the 450 and the 500 since, and I suspect the 500 is about to be outdated. Even so, these are all brilliant cameras. They might be a bit intimidating for a beginner at first but you will get the hang of them pretty quickly. If it wasn't for my obsession with super fast action shots of my whippets running towards me head on at 50ks per hour I would have been eternally happy with my 400D. I would recommend it or any of the later versions to anyone starting out.

It's not too fancy but has enough features to allow you some creativity while still being pretty user friendly.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Kirislin

[SoL]

well, I've been trying to research the different brands online and I think I've narrowed it down to either Nikon or Canon - these seem to be the most reliable of them. I just don't know which model and what prices I can expect. I've had a look at ebay and I think this would be a good buy, what do you think?:

Canon EOS450D, twin lens 18-55/55-250mm $456 (at the moment - on for true auction)

Nikon D3000 body + 18-55mm lens kit $573 (incl postage)

[Kirislin]

well, I've been trying to research the different brands online and I think I've narrowed it down to either Nikon or Canon - these seem to be the most reliable of them. I just don't know which model and what prices I can expect. I've had a look at ebay and I think this would be a good buy, what do you think?:

Canon EOS450D, twin lens 18-55/55-250mm $456 (at the moment - on for true auction)

Nikon D3000 body + 18-55mm lens kit $573 (incl postage)

are they new or second hand?

OK, judging by the prices they're second hand. As long as it's clean, no fungus and working properly and hasn't had so much use it's nearly worn out it's probably a good price. That's the Canon, I've no idea about the Nikon.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Kirislin

[SoL]

well, I've been trying to research the different brands online and I think I've narrowed it down to either Nikon or Canon - these seem to be the most reliable of them. I just don't know which model and what prices I can expect. I've had a look at ebay and I think this would be a good buy, what do you think?:

Canon EOS450D, twin lens 18-55/55-250mm $456 (at the moment - on for true auction)

Nikon D3000 body + 18-55mm lens kit $573 (incl postage)

are they new or second hand?

OK, judging by the prices they're second hand. As long as it's clean, no fungus and working properly and hasn't had so much use it's nearly worn out it's probably a good price. That's the Canon, I've no idea about the Nikon.

The Canon is 2nd hand, the Nikon is new in box.

ETA: Beg your pardon, Canon is also BNIB.

Edited April 7, 2010 by SoL

[Kirislin]

It seems almost too good to be true then. Caution. Might be fair dinkum, might not.

[Firestone]

Caution might be best

Edited April 7, 2010 by Firestone

[SoL]

It seems almost too good to be true then. Caution. Might be fair dinkum, might not.

That's what I'm worried about. If I'm still looking when you come to sell yours (and by the look of things I probably will be ), will you give me a heads up pls?

[altheau]

these are great

panasonic tz7 my +1 has one and really likes it, also does good video I think (don't quote me)

[kja]

Do you want to go the dslr route? These are big, bulky and have different lenses for different purposes. They are awesome but they aren't "toss it in your handbag every day and go" cameras. They will also be a much larger spend

For compact cameras that offer a huge amount of flexibility, check out the Canon G series and the Canon S90. Hard to go wrong there. not super tiny but still a pretty good go anywhere size. They have a lot of features that will allow you to explore and learn and figure out what you really want from your photo time & experience.

[huga]

these are great

panasonic tz7 my +1 has one and really likes it, also does good video I think (don't quote me)

Yes, it films in HD

[SoL]

Do you want to go the dslr route? These are big, bulky and have different lenses for different purposes. They are awesome but they aren't "toss it in your handbag every day and go" cameras. They will also be a much larger spend

For compact cameras that offer a huge amount of flexibility, check out the Canon G series and the Canon S90. Hard to go wrong there. not super tiny but still a pretty good go anywhere size. They have a lot of features that will allow you to explore and learn and figure out what you really want from your photo time & experience.

I understand where you're coming from and yes, this is a trap I fall into regularly - I don't do things by halves! I'm an all or nowt kinda gal. The main reason my attention was drawn to DSLRs was the better zoom factor than your point and shoot varieties - I want something that I can stand at one end of my garden, or the park, beach or wherever and take a photo from long distance (especially for taking piccies of the dogs - they can't get over the novelty of having a camera pointed at them and refuse to stand still if they know they're having their picture taken!). Plus I want better quality of pictures. At present I am using an old Cybershot, which is fine for bog standard point adn shoots, but I find I'm having to photoshop (or in my case, bucket) all of the pictures to make them look better. I'd also like to be able to take more action shots and also more accurate shots - my camera seems to have a time delay between when I press teh button and when it takes the picture so the subject invariably is blurred or has moved to a not so nice position! I realise a lot of it comes down to skill and practice but I really think I've gone through everything the Cybershot can manage.

I've had a look at the models you have mentioned but the zoom factor doesn't seem to be there? Is that a wrong assumption?

[Linda K]

DSLR is just the body, the zoom factor will come there with the lens, however as with everything, you get what you pay for - for decent glass, expect to pay a lot for it, but it is a great investment if you are serious. Otherwise the zooms that you will get with the kits lens in the ones you mentioned would be good to start with. The lag factor you mention as occuring with the cybershot is common to the P & S, that is why I use an SLR, as I cannot stand that lag (and prefer to be the one controlling what I want to picture and how I want it to be composed and exposed, not have my camera make those choices for me)

[kja]

If you're happy with the size and expense etc, then you can't go wrong with a dslr and then you can choose your lenses. Good zooms don't have to be terribly expensive but as you become more demanding with your requirements then the price goes up.

I'm not a huge zoom fan in compacts - I don't shoot that way so I don't look for that. I simply look for quality, ease of use, size, ability to control my settings (or not as the case may be), room to learn and try new things. I personally wouldn't be without a compact camera coz one goes everywhere with me!

I went with the very simple, very basic SD1200 - only a small zoom range, no RAW, no manual controls. But super tiny and does a great job for what I want. I don't need my compact to do anything else coz when I want to do more, I know I'll be taking my slr anyway

The trick is figuring out what you actually have on your MUST HAVE list - that is the only way to narrow things down to reasonable selections as there are a zillion different options out there.

For dslrs since you also want video, your choices are more limited in the slr range. Canon's 7D will set you back some, but it's mighty fine camera

[rubiton]

Would really have a look at www.dpreview.com as there may be point and shoot cameras out there that would suit the purpose. Have seen a few that look a lot like DSLRs but are not but apparently boast the no lag and decent zoom.

Thing is if you want an SLR you can get a basic one such as the 1000D for about $600 brand new at the moment BUT then you will want some decent lenses and they tend to be around $1000 for say a 70-300mm black lens and much much more for the grey ones. If you really want to get into taking pics as a big hobby it may be worth it (but in addition to camera and lens you then need a bag, cards, batteries, neck straps if you want the bouncy ones, lens hoods since with canon they generally dont come with them unles its the mega expensive lenses, etc) But it would be crazy to buy all the stuff and then lose interest and leaving it in a cupboard gathering dust.

[chelle~aussie~dragon]

Hi, just wanted to chip in my thoughts on the DSLR's.I have had my dslr cameras for 7 years now and its been my major hobby. I didn't think I needed to upgrade from the basic lense kit untill a couple of years ago, not due to me being inept at photography but because I was quite happy with what I had.

Now I have upgraded I can tell the difference but to start off with I don't think you really need to worry about the extra expense.

I think a decent second-hand DSLR is a great idea, but watch out for getting hooked!

[SoL]

Hi guys thanks for your help.

I've been thinking about this for a while now and have decided it's probably best to get something that's a step up from a point and shoot, but not quite a dslr as I really don't know anything about proper exposure, speed, aperture, depth of field etc, just what I have been reading and I want to be able to enjoy learning about these things.

The things that are important are: zoom, no time lag, ability to expand on the point and shoot factor that is take the speed, aperture and exposure into manual control as my own abilities improve.

If anybody knows of a camera that will do this (I'm also looking at teh models recommended earlier in this thread) I'd be grateful of any pointers

[Kirislin]

Hi guys thanks for your help.

I've been thinking about this for a while now and have decided it's probably best to get something that's a step up from a point and shoot, but not quite a dslr as I really don't know anything about proper exposure, speed, aperture, depth of field etc, just what I have been reading and I want to be able to enjoy learning about these things.

The things that are important are: zoom, no time lag, ability to expand on the point and shoot factor that is take the speed, aperture and exposure into manual control as my own abilities improve.

If anybody knows of a camera that will do this (I'm also looking at teh models recommended earlier in this thread) I'd be grateful of any pointers

Not sure what you mean here. It sounds like you are saying you dont want a dslr but then you seem to be saying you do.

Dont worry about not understanding about exposure, speed, aperture etc. You will learn. dslrs have lots of different options, when you first start out you will probably have it in auto where everything is done for you but as you gain an understanding, and start to want more from your camera, it will be there for you. I'd say get a dslr!

[SoL]

sell me yours then

Oh I don't bloody know - I'm pregnant! I'll never be able to make a decision

Seriously though, I do want, it's just taking that leap of faith that I'll be able to understand it all enough to make spending the money justifiable (mummy guilt trips hitting with vengence!). I keep saying to myself that a piccy is a lot quicker to take that painting in oils, which is my other passion, plus me and babe won't get high on fumes (I've had to quit since being preggers).