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I'm in the market for a new camera. I'm very much an amateur photographer and currently have a basic point and shoot digital camera. I've always enjoyed photography and sometimes manage to take some decent pictures (you can check out my album to see a few pics that I've taken recently). So dh and I have decided that for Christmas this year we want to invest in a nice camera so we can hopefully start taking some really nice pictures of our kids ect. I also love taking pics of flowers, landscapes, neat looking buildings, pretty sunsets, cool cloud formations, that kind of thing. We're looking to spend somewhere between $400-600. So tell me what y'all have in the way of cameras and what you like and don't like about them. Thanks!
I'm in the market for a new camera. I'm very much an amateur photographer and currently have a basic point and shoot digital camera. I've always enjoyed photography and sometimes manage to take some decent pictures (you can check out my album to see a few pics that I've taken recently). So dh and I have decided that for Christmas this year we want to invest in a nice camera so we can hopefully start taking some really nice pictures of our kids ect. I also love taking pics of flowers, landscapes, neat looking buildings, pretty sunsets, cool cloud formations, that kind of thing. We're looking to spend somewhere between $400-600. So tell me what y'all have in the way of cameras and what you like and don't like about them. Thanks!
At $600 you are almost to the dslr range. I would look at either Nikon or Canon. I'm not familiar with Nikons as I shoot Canon. Canon has a Rebel series that will let you grow with additional lenses for anything that you may choose down the road. Here is a Canon link for research. Maybe a Nikon shooter will lend a hand here too.
I like you am an amateur. I shoot with a Panasonic FZ50. It is an advanced P&S and considered a bridge to a DSLR. At about $450, it is in the lower end of your price range. I'll provide you the link for a review on it, however, here are my reasons for choosing it as my camera. I had a simpler Panasonic and have been very pleased with the quality of the shots with its Leica lens. The FZ50 has enough MP and zoom range for what I want, and has all the settings one could possibly want without having to change lenses. I want to be able to just get up and go. It also has the ability to take converter lenses (lenses you can add on to the prime lens) without having to remove it. It has the ability to shoot both RAW and JPEG. I don't want to pay more than that at this stage and am leaving room for an upgrade when I'm a little bit more confident in my ability to shoot good pics. I have a couple of shots taken with it on the Assignment threads here in the Photography forum, most recently under Assignment #10. Here's one review:
Nikon's new P80, is quite remarkable....10 megapixel, with an 18 optical zoom, and many nice presets to use......here's a link to a good descript of the P80...
The nice thing about the P80, is you get one heck of a zoom, in a nice package, without needing to lug around other lenses....I shoot professionally, and trust me, its nice to have some serious horsepower in a little package, for those times, when I don't want to lug all the gear around.
I'm not real well versed on Canon, but the SX100is, is seriously nice, 8mp, with a 10 optical, and again, a nice pocket package....the G9 is a beauty as well, and gets rave reviews.
I'm in the market for a new camera. I'm very much an amateur photographer and currently have a basic point and shoot digital camera. I've always enjoyed photography and sometimes manage to take some decent pictures (you can check out my album to see a few pics that I've taken recently). So dh and I have decided that for Christmas this year we want to invest in a nice camera so we can hopefully start taking some really nice pictures of our kids ect. I also love taking pics of flowers, landscapes, neat looking buildings, pretty sunsets, cool cloud formations, that kind of thing. We're looking to spend somewhere between $400-600. So tell me what y'all have in the way of cameras and what you like and don't like about them. Thanks!
I didn't find your album. Is it public? Maybe this old man is going blind but it must be private? I'll take another look.
I like you am an amateur. I shoot with a Panasonic FZ50. It is an advanced P&S and considered a bridge to a DSLR.
I also have what I call a 'tweener camera (between point and shoot and SLR) - a Panasonic FZ18. It has 18x optical zoom. You have some manual controls and can read a review about it here (note: camera is black not silver as shown. Think silver was discontinued):
I like to take photos of birds (but not just birds). I don't have time to set up a shot (birds don't pose or wait until you get the lighting right). Most of my work is done when I get home with my computer. I also don't like lugging stuff (lenses, tripod) when I go out with my camera so I may never graduate to an SLR. My camera is light and extra batteries are in my pockets, that's all I take with me. I chose an ultra zoom because birds spook easily when you get close to them. The other best thing about my camera, in my opinion, is image stabilization. Whoever invented that --- I love that guy.
Photography has been a hobby for less than a year.
I think the right camera for you is the one that fits the kind of photos you like to take. No sense getting one with 100 controls if you're always going to set the camera on auto everything. On the other hand, you don't want to be stuck with a camera, that can't do the things you want it to do when you're more than a rookie..
I just bought a Sony A200 dslr camera about a week ago. I got the kit with the 18-70mm and 75-300mm lenses. I think the entry level cameras for Sony are the A200, A300 and A350.
Like you, I had a point and shoot that just wasn't cutting it anymore. I use my photographs for inspiration for paintings more than anything. However, I do want to learn about photography as well. I think you can get a Sony A200 with a 18-70mm lens for around $500. It does have automatic settings found on the point and shoots, if you don't have the time to spend setting up.
I am at the very early stages of learning how to use the A200 properly and I'm a complete novice to photography, but I am having a great time with it.
It may be an option another for you.
Last edited by Carbondated; 08-19-2008 at 11:29 AM..
You can get a Nikon D60 10 megapixel DSLR with two lenses (18-55mm and 55-200VR vibration reduction), a memory card, case, and instructional DVD for I think around $849 or less now at Costco. 90 day return policy and if you use a Costco AmEx card to buy it you get an extra years warranty on it or something like that. For the price, even though it's a bit higher than you want, it's a great deal. Link: HERE.
If you need to aim for lower, the D40 is basically the same camera but it's 6 megapixels, with a kit lens for under $500.00. Link: HERE.
Canon has a brand new "Rebel XS" model that's 10 megapixel and comes with a kit 18-55mm lens that has had good reviews. Circuit City has it for $699.00 - HERE. But, This week however, they have the Rebel "XSi" (note the "i") 12 megapixel model on sale for $729 with the same kit lens, which is a better camera for only a few dollars more. - HERE
Any of these will be great learning tools and give you excellent image quality and very fast speeds for capturing kids, pets, sports, etc. You can put your money into additional lenses as you learn and need them.
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(you can check out my album to see a few pics that I've taken recently). So dh and I have decided that for Christmas this year we want to invest in a nice camera so we can hopefully start taking some really nice pictures of our kids ect. I also love taking pics of flowers, landscapes, neat looking buildings, pretty sunsets, cool cloud formations, that kind of thing. We're looking to spend somewhere between $400-600. So tell me what y'all have in the way of cameras and what you like and don't like about them. Thanks!
