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Digital Cameras...which one?

txaviator

txaviator

Well Known Member
The time has come, to replace my old Sony Mavica (floppy disc) digital camera. It was the "latest and greatest" when it came out, and has been a great camera. It still works fine, but changing floppy disks every 10-14 photos is a pain in the rear. Not to mention the horrific battery life.

Therefore, I need a new camera. I am leaning toward the "SLR Style" digitals. Like the Canon Rebel, and I understand Nikon also makes a comparable model. I know they are around $1000, but I also know the mega-pixels and quality are superb.

Kind of like the taildragger versus nose-gear debates, I need opinions from anyone who has any recommendations?

Thanks for any feedback...... :D
 
We have a Canon EOS-D30 and really like it. It is one of the first SLRs. Being able to change lenses and add a camera mount for our telescope was important to us. Our camera has only 3.5 mp, but still makes unbelievably great pics. We have a Tamron 28-300 zoom on it, and hope to get a 14mm wide angle some day. The Tamron lense gives us, effectively, a 42-450mm lense. I would think the Rebel would be an excellent choice, if SLRs were your preference.

Roberta
 
My wife is a photographer so we've played with several of the cameras. The Rebel and its Canon brothers were our favorite if you're on a budget (best features for the buck we thought).

We tried the Nikon and the quality was just as good and the features were pretty much the same, but we didn't like the ergonomics (just didn't fit our hands right).

There's the Canon EOS-1 1 16.7M camera.. that's overkill in our mind, but it'd make nice desktop wallpapers! http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=10598

I've also used the Nikon Coolpix 8700. Quality was great (8M), but we didn't like it because it's a fixed lens and we wanted the option to use telephotos, wide angles, etc. $0.02
 
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Canon will be releasing Digital Rebel XT soon. It's an updated Digital Rebel that will have 8MP (instead of 6) and a few other minor changes. Priced the same as current D.R., and current D.R.'s price will drop slightly. Maybe worth waiting for?

Either way, you won't go wrong with any of the cameras currently on the market.. pick what "feels" best.
 
Cool, thanks for all the info. Especially on the Canon XT. I had not heard that news, and I have been leaning towards the Canon, in the back of my mind.

Doug, which one do you have? I know it is a Rebel, but which model?

Any idea on how soon the XT will be released? Thanks!
 
I have a Nikon D100 and like it alot. You can buy used ones right now for about $700 on ebay. I don't know much about canon, they are probably good too. If you want the best camera and don't care about money (uh...guess that was a dumb statement) then the new Nikon D2X is supposed to be the best of any brand...but it will cost you about what a wing kit will cost! Good luck...and enjoy.
 
I've used www.DPreview.com to help make digital photography purchase decisions for years. The reviews on some of the equipment is so detailed that I only understand about half of what they're talking about.

B,
 
Which digital camera?

Hope this isn't confusing. I have a 6MP Nikon D100 (over 2 years) and love it. I tried the Canon DSLR's and I don't like the feel as much as my Nikon. Canon digitals do a great job per megapixel. I have also a Canon G5 which is 5 MP digicam (not SLR). It is small, has a good 4x zoom (forget digital zoom - you don't need it and can enlarge on your computer to any mag you want - just decide how much quality to sacrifice), great color accuracy and overall resolution as good as the Nikon. It has a fair (at best) optical viewfinder and a good swivel LCD which gives you an actual though the lens view like an SLR and many options for viewing angle. You can lay the camera on the ground or hold it overhead and still see your subject through the lens. It doesn't focus as well as the SLR (any of them I think) and it is frustrating in terms of start up time and shutter lag. When you push the button on the SLR you get a picture in a fraction of a second. On the G5 or other Digicams there is a significant delay before the exposure is made. Forget those fleeting moments in flying, or kids expressions, etc. But - they are getting better. Overall, digital is just great and you can print at home or have Walgreens, Osco or private labs & online services do your prints. It's great fun. There are so many cameras out there and change is occurring so fast that it's tough to decide. If you want good snapshots and an occasional enlargement 3 or 4 megapixels is plenty. Hope this helps and good luck. Whatever you get will be surpassed in quality and value in months! Bill
 
I'll speak only from personal experience.. In terms of simple point and shoot digi's, I've had nothing but great luck with Sony's.. Had a Sony DSC-P50 (1.3 mp) through most of college, up until last year (2 years out of college).. Worked great, took a heck of a beating (the usual college weekend life, took it to New Zealand for 6 months, hiking, skiing, etc)...

I now use a Sony DSC-V1 (5 mp) and absolute LOVE it.. same durability, but now with full sound with the video AND Carl Zeiss lens, which is great for a point and shoot..


My father shoots with a Nikon D70 digital SLR and absolute loves it.. can do just about anything you can imagine with it, but cumbersome if you're just looking for a weekend warrior camera..
 
which camera

The criteria I used to decide were as follows.

1. Point and shoot vs SLR

Point and shoot is less expensive, lighter, and more compact. It also is slower to boot up and has a shutter lag (ie press the button and wait for a half a second or so before the picture is taken) that can be frustrating with moving objects. Your lens options are limited.

SLR is more expensive, bigger, and heavier. Most of them can instantly take a picture when you turn them on and have no shutter lag, you press the button and it takes the picture right then. You can also put any number of lenses on if you are inclinded toward that sort of thing. This means that if you want to have better control over depth of field you will be able to do that much better with SLR lenses. Good lenses are a money pit...fair warning...but oh are they fun :D

2. Decide which brand you want, they all seem to have good and bad points. I read alot on www.Dpreview.com
3. Go to a store if possible and try holding the camera and try taking some pictures (you might need to bring your own batteries and flash card).

This is just the start of the digital camera equipment list...then you have to get a printer that will make nice pictures...then you will wonder why the pictures may not look like what you have on the screen so you will have to get your monitor and printer profiled...I got sick of paying so much for ink that I plumbed my printer up with hoses and now buy ink in bottles and never have to change the cartridges :) .

Enjoy.
 
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