Suggest a camera, please...

[rootbeer]

I want to get my learner's permit in digital photography. I am looking for something simple, easy to use, something with a learning curve inversely proportional to that of differential equations and will give a good, sharp picture. I am thinking I need something on the order of 6-7 megapickles for the resolution I want in the phinished fotographs. I want to limit the cost to about $200 or a little less. We'll spend the bigger money later. I shop at Walmart. And I am not ashamed...

[Brett_Henderson]

When I saw that the price of the Sony DSC-H2 fell below $300US, I ran out and got one to replace my "point and shoot" camera. It's probably the best camera for the dollar right now. You can leave it on automatic and it's easy as can be to use..

[Brett_Henderson]

And this was taken at FL310 through a DC9's window...

[Omag 2.0]

Brett! They are lenticular clouds!

[Brett_Henderson]

EXCELLENT !  A prize for Omag... Oh, wait, there is no prize.. sorry :-/

The Lenticular cloud....  it can ruin your day (in a plane)  ;)

[Omag 2.0]

Rootbeer,

This website may be of great use: http://www.dpreview.com/

It lists all the models of different manufacturers + in depth reviews + prices...

Personally, if you want to have a great array of possibilities, I'd look into the Panasonic FZ7 or 8 ( I own the FZ5), the Fujifim or the Sony bridgecamera's. They can be used as point and shoot camera's, but they also have a lot of dSLR-like functions, which enable you to control a lot of things. Only, they don't cost as much as the reflex camera's and you don't have to buy seperate lenses... I must say I've learned a lot with my camera ( and still do), yet some day I want to switch over to the big boys...

Cheers,

Omag

[Brett_Henderson]

That's an excellent site. Very thorough reviews. The one on the DSC-H2 confirms that it's a slightly better camera than the Cannon equivalent and quite a bit less expensive. Now.. the trouble is finding one.

[Tweek]

Don't look into getting a compact digi without first considering the Fujifilm Finepix S5600. My current camera, which so far has served me well!

Find a few stats and figures here. Don't forget to look for reviews on the net, too (for some reason, DPReview doesn't have any for the S5600).

A few example images I've taken (I've tried to include a range of conditions):

Cessna 152

Harrier

Jet Truck

Jet Truck (night)

Typhoon

One thing I must say about digital photography - be prepared to edit/process your photos if you want them to look their best. That doesn't mean manipulating the image, making them into something they're not, but  cropping, adjusting colour levels/brightness and contrast, etc. All too often you see people posting photos straight from the camera, and although it may seem the 'right' thing to do, you won't get the results you desire (unless your standards are set pretty low ) and you won't be getting the most out of your camera.

Hope this helps.

[Rifleman]

Learning "Digital" Photography, isn't any different from "normal" film photography......it's all about learning photography and when you have all the basics down, you'll soon find out that it's nice to have an adjustable camera, but it's not the camera which makes the photographer..........it's the use of the skills learned over time ........don't expect to rush and learn it overnight..........it comes the same way you get to Carnegie Hall..........


Practice.........Practice..........Practice ! ! !      ;D

Go buy a camera which makes you happy with its features and start shooting....... 8-)

[Brett_Henderson]

My brother used to say, "The secret to taking great pictures, is to shoot lots of film".

With a digital camera, that's do-able...  'cause the financial burden of PROCESSING that film has lifted. After a few hundred shots, a digital camera starts paying for itself  :)

My first digital camera was a Sony something-or-other.. Cameras were rarely rated in mega-pixels back then (circa  1997). The unique feature (at the time) was that this "thing" stored pictures on 3.5" floppies. I'm gonna guess that the photos were in the 0.5 mega-pixel range.. barely qualifying this camera as an "image capturer". There was no chance that it would replace my regular cameras (Cannon AE1 and Minolta X-370), but it was just as expensive.. in the $700 range.

I have a digital Cannon Rebel and I can tell you, that unless I'm toting a tripod and take my time to calculate exposures and carefully compose shots.. this Sony DSC-H1 (for about 1/3 the price) does as good a job (sometimes better) than the Rebel. Obviously... the old 35mm SLRs are collecting dust.

[rootbeer]

Thank you to all who responded. Now I have a few websites to hit...

I was in Office Depot today and saw a few cameras. There are sales on right now. I have so much to read about these cameras, now...

My system is a Nikon FA and MD15 motor drive with a plethora of add-on lenses from the mid-1980s. I rarely use it anymore-- the price to process the film is just too expensive...

[bok269]

Very cool.

[rootbeer]

Got a 10% off coupon for digital cameras and accessories from Best Buy in the mail yesterday. A trip to Reno is in order today...



I looked at an Olympus FE230 at Radio Shack while I was doing my laundry. Came back home to do some web research on it and see there is an FE240 that's a little more snazzy for not too many more bucks. What do you all think?

[Rifleman]

I'm on my third Olympus digital, but wish I was on my fourth.....they(Olympus) have two new models coming out soon and one of them should have my name on it. To answer your question though, I have had nothing in the area of probs with any of the three so far, and Wendy is on her second one.....only the last for each of us are the same model.

You can get pretty good reviews at Steve's Digicams if you are interested in reading up on any camera which has been on the market and popular for a few months. Along with DPReview and Steve's to help make up my mind on some choices I decide upon in photography purchases.

In fairness though, there are so many choices to make in digital cameras, as all manufacturers are striving to take a piece of the exploding market so don't stop at just one name or one price....make your buy, with a blend of features, price and then name, in that order if you really want to be satisfied in the long run.....
Don't forget too, that you need to factor in cost and availability of power types and storage types.

Remember, the sour taste of disappointment, lingers long after the sweetness of low price fades from memory.......

[rootbeer]

After looking at three cameras that seemed to fill my desires, I purchased a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. Features are 12X optical zoom, 6.0 megapascals, image stabilization, Pictbridge capable and something called Digic II. I guess that is something associated with Canon cameras and their use. I have never heard of it; don't know what it is...

I paid $315 (10% off from $350 retail) plus the whopping 7.375% tax in Washoe County, NV for a total on just the camera of $338 and change. I also bought a 15-minute charger for the AA batteries it uses, and a SanDisk 1Gb Ultra II SD card that is supposed to write at 10 Mb/s and read at 9 Mb/s. I got these two items at 10% off, too. I looked; I compared; I asked stupid questions. I finally took the decision on the Canon. Please tell me I bought good stuff...