Digital Camera Buying Help Needed

[Illusio]

I am looking to get a digital camera and could use some recomendations.

I am looking for a point and shoot model, 8mp, i want the adjustable lens to got at least to 28mm (even wider would be better).

Looking to spend around $400-$500.

any help would be appreciated.

 

[jameswhite1979]

If you want compact - Canon Ixos 6
If you want SLR - Canon 350D

IMHO

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Dark Jedi
I am looking to get a digital camera and could use some recomendations.

I am looking for a point and shoot model, 8mp, i want the adjustable lens to got at least to 28mm (even wider would be better).

Looking to spend around $400-$500.

any help would be appreciated.

it would help to have more info than that. What do you usually take pictures of? Do you want it to be pocketable? Do you have any brand preference. ETC

 

[Illusio]

Not looking for an SLR, just a point and shoot model. Mostly we take picutres of plants and flowers. Its for shooting photos for a horticulture magazine. Pocketable isnt necessary, and not brand preference really. Something decent quality that will last. Right now we are using a 5mp nikon. I don't really want a compact like the canon ELPHs. I was looking at the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1, but it is a tad more than we want to spend.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Dark Jedi
Not looking for an SLR, just a point and shoot model. Mostly we take picutres of plants and flowers. Its for shooting photos for a horticulture magazine. Pocketable isnt necessary, and not brand preference really. Something decent quality that will last. Right now we are using a 5mp nikon. I don't really want a compact like the canon ELPHs. I was looking at the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1, but it is a tad more than we want to spend.

whats wrong with the 5MP Nikon?

 

[Ika]

If you were looking at the R1, then the Canon S3 IS seems to be a great camera for you. Point and shoot, but with almost-DSLR capabilities (and a huge zoom to boot). You should be able to find it for under $300. The older Panasonic FZ30 is also a good choice; it's just about on-par with the S3 (maybe slightly better), but is heavier.

 

[xgsound]

Here is a link with "Steves" idea of the best cameras in various catagories from point and click to SLR. http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html There are linked reviews for each camera listed.

I suggest you see if the "Super zoom 10x to 12x" catagory can be of use to you as they all include image stabilization and are basically just short of SLR capablities with point and shoot settings also. The Sony DCS H1 is what my boy got and he's very happy with the speed, low light response, and picture quality. The 2 1/2 inch display is the icing on the cake. The newer H2 and H5 have a Carl Ziess lense with 32mm to 432 mm. The H2 has ? 6.1 Mp, a 2 inch display and is now $325 or so in stores. The newest Sony model , the DCS H5, has a 3 inch display, 7.1Mpixels, and goes for just under $500.


Jim

 

[Illusio]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

whats wrong with the 5MP Nikon?

We need something with higher MPs because we need to take bigger/better quality photos for something we want to do with the magazine.

 

[Rottie]

Canon Powershot A series is a point and shoot camera (Mine is A610 model) S series is a small compact camera.
If I want to make my picture bigger/better quality I use Photoshop to do the trick.

 

[Jojo1971]

Originally posted by: Dark Jedi

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

whats wrong with the 5MP Nikon?

We need something with higher MPs because we need to take bigger/better quality photos for something we want to do with the magazine.

get a used canon 300D or nikon D50 and use RAW format instead of JPEG.. RAW will allow you more flexibility in editing the photos for the magazine... more /higher megapixel doesn't always mean better pictures..

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Jojo1971

Originally posted by: Dark Jedi

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

whats wrong with the 5MP Nikon?

We need something with higher MPs because we need to take bigger/better quality photos for something we want to do with the magazine.

get a used canon 300D or nikon D50 and use RAW format instead of JPEG.. RAW will allow you more flexibility in editing the photos for the magazine... more /higher megapixel doesn't always mean better pictures..

Agreed. If you want quality shots for a magazine, don't waste your time with a P&S - get a good SLR. The Nikon D50, D80 are two excellent models, and the Canon XT and XTi are very good as well. Get a nice zoom lens, and you're in business.

The differences between a 5MP P&S and an 8MP P&S aren't likely to be terribly significant. That said, take a look at the Canon P&S models with built in IS, and ask yourself how much zoom you need (and thus look at the Canon mega-zoom models if you require it.)

 

[xfile]

I would also lean toward a Nikon D50 or D80.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

Consumer Reports, Nov 2006, just got it in the mail today.

Advanced Compact cameras that have a lens that zooms as wide as a 28-mm-equivalent film-camera lens:

Kodak EasyShare P880 8 MP
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 8 MP
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 10 MP

Also starting on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) there should be a lot of cameras on sale.

HTH

 

[dclive]

The problem I have with P&S isn't IQ - I don't blow things up enough to care - my problem is speed. Some P&Ss (including last year's "nice camera", an Olympus 7070 or somesuch) can literally take a second or more from the time you click the button to the time the image is actually captured. That's completely unacceptable. Then there's the delay until you can shoot again - it's awful!

So I like my Nikon D50 - great IQ, and lightning fast response. Whenever I want to shoot, the camera is ready.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Aflac
If you were looking at the R1, then the Canon S3 IS seems to be a great camera for you. Point and shoot, but with almost-DSLR capabilities (and a huge zoom to boot). You should be able to find it for under $300. The older Panasonic FZ30 is also a good choice; it's just about on-par with the S3 (maybe slightly better), but is heavier.

I'd also recommend the Canon S3 IS. It has an excellent 12x optical zoom, image stabilization and it's a 6MP camera. If you can live with a focal length equivalent of 36mm-432mm I'd go for it.

B&H Photo has it for $339.95 right now. You could get a 1GB SD card for $62.95 (Sandisk) from them also.

 

[buttwhacker]

you got some good advices here some of which could have been my recommendations.
Firstly you are trying to take pictures of flowers which means you will most probably be close to the plants so you wouldn't need a big zoom feature.
More than MP you should be looking for which camera gives you good detail at close up....... I think Canon A series does a good job, though they do not have a 28mm lens but you can buy a wide angle lens for it to get that.....
My personal recommendation would be A710 which is 7.1 MP and since you will be shooting handheld it also has an Image Stabilizer which is a great feature and with a 6x optical zoom you can't go wrong.
Take a look at it before you take any decision.