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YAPhotographyT: what digital camera for 500$?

brianmanahan

brianmanahan

Lifer
dear atot, i am going to go on a Real Vacation this year (first time in 10 years) and i want a good camera to capture memories. since it seems %99 of you are rabid photography nerds i would apprecitate to hear what digital camera i should buy. i am looking for the Very Best digital camera for 500$ or so.

you must understand that my photography skills are mediocre at best, i do not have The Gift, but want something that will make the photos i take look as good as possible. not planning on a tripod and preferably something i can fit in a fanny pack (never leave home without one!)

thank you atot for all you do for me every day.

sincerely,
brianmanahan
 
brianmanahan said:
dear atot, i am going to go on a Real Vacation this year (first time in 10 years) and i want a good camera to capture memories. since it seems %99 of you are rabid photography nerds i would apprecitate to hear what digital camera i should buy. i am looking for the Very Best digital camera for 500$ or so.

you must understand that my photography skills are mediocre at best, i do not have The Gift, but want something that will make the photos i take look as good as possible. not planning on a tripod and preferably something i can fit in a fanny pack (never leave home without one!)

thank you atot for all you do for me every day.

sincerely,
brianmanahan
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For the non-photographer, take a close look at the Nikon P300. Shirt-pocket sized and with a lot of features I think you'd like on vacation. The size is important because small & handy makes it more likely you'll have it with you. The Best Camera is the one you have with you.

2011 TIPA Award for Best General Compact Camera.

Refurbished by Nikon for $249.00
http://www.adorama.com/INKCPP300BKR.html

Fast f/1.8 lens for low-light performance
1080p video w/stereo sound
12.2-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS Sensor
shoot still images while recording
use slow and fast motion HD movie options for 15, 60 and 120 fps
and more: http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Compact-Digital-Cameras/26246/COOLPIX-P300.html

JR

EDIT: One problem with asking Camera geeks to recommend a camera is them seperating key features they need from other features a non-geek would consider key. For instance, you'll get a lot of S95 votes here. I carry an S95 everywhere I go and it is a great camera. However, the keys here are shooting RAW and manual camera controls. Features that I don't see being that important to you. The reason I recommend the P300 is for other features. The LCD screen has twice the resolution, so it's easier to preview. The S95 shots often look better on the LCD than they do when uploaded to your computer which can give a false sense of security that you nailed the shot until it's too late. The faster lens (33% more light) plus the fact the lens shoots wider (which you'll love) and longer is a big deal. Also, the video is superior.
 
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Question is too vague. Do you want a super zoom (sx230 or hx9v); do you want a skinny little thing to put in your pocket (s95 - I would skip the s100); do you a camera with interchangeable lens (nex 5n; olympus e-pl1).
$500 will go a long ways against last year camera. The olympus e-pl1 is much better than the s95 at approx the same price (but it is a little larger).
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Interchangeable-Digital-14-42mm-Black/dp/B0035LBRJO
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Anyways there are lots of options.
 
thanks for all your inputs, i will look at all these options.

i admit i am muchos attracted to the tiny design of the s95/s100, BUT i have always worn a decent size camera holder on my belt so i dont necessarily need to keep it in my pocket. ive seen people mentioning issues with quality and low-light shots on the s100, BUT it has optical zoom in video, which i think would be amazing.

also i am going to go to wilderness parks, so i have a feeling the super optical zoom may be something that i would find very useful, i will take a look at both the sx230 and hx9v.

then again maybe the simplicity of something like the p300 would work best for me. so many options! maybe i will go to a store and take a look at some of these.

thank you D&VC!
 
I was wondering if the Canon T3 is any good. I can get it for $500 from Amazon with an 18-55mm lens.
 
Joseph F said:
I was wondering if the Canon T3 is any good. I can get it for $500 from Amazon with an 18-55mm lens.
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All entry level DSLR are pretty much the same. However, the T2i offer more features and qualities for $80 more than T3.
 
Get the Canon 300HS - http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-ELPH-300-HS/dp/B004J41T7Q

You're not an advanced photographer, so no point in getting a camera with a bunch of manual controls, like the S100 or S95. Forget bigger cameras with interchangeable lenses, they'll only get in the way of enjoying the vacation. I bought the 300HS for my parents, and they love it. In low light, it's almost on par with the S95, and it has excellent video quality unlike the S95. Save yourself some money for now, and if you really get into photography, then you'll know better what to buy next. By then, newer and better cameras will be available.
 
Munky said:
Get the Canon 300HS - http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-ELPH-300-HS/dp/B004J41T7Q

You're not an advanced photographer, so no point in getting a camera with a bunch of manual controls, like the S100 or S95. Forget bigger cameras with interchangeable lenses, they'll only get in the way of enjoying the vacation. I bought the 300HS for my parents, and they love it. In low light, it's almost on par with the S95, and it has excellent video quality unlike the S95. Save yourself some money for now, and if you really get into photography, then you'll know better what to buy next. By then, newer and better cameras will be available.
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anything like that but still with high optical zoom?
 
If you want the long zoom then you probably want:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-sh...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328448857&sr=1-1

or

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSh...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328448899&sr=1-1

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The sony is a bit better with video; but is also more expensive - these are both cameras I mentioned above. They are not perfect (I have the sx230 and it does have a bit of ca) but for almost pocketable superzooms they are hard to beat.

btw the canon is silghtly better than the sony at still shots - esp under low light.


brianmanahan said:
anything like that but still with high optical zoom?
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That Nikon p300 JohnyRebel suggested sounds like a winner. I'll have to read some reviews but that fast lens is something that would fix the biggest problem a lot of people have with camera, poor indoor performance.

Amazon also has the p310 available for preorder, not sure what's new with it or when it will be available.
 
Tom said:
That Nikon p300 JohnyRebel suggested sounds like a winner. I'll have to read some reviews but that fast lens is something that would fix the biggest problem a lot of people have with camera, poor indoor performance.
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This. Especially if you're going to be shooting a lot indoors, or early morning/late evening.
 
The olympus xz-1 is an interesting camera; it has the larger sensor (like s95) but is not quite pocket-able (a tiny bit larger than the sony hx9v). However, it has that wonderful fast lens (the s95 is fast at the wide end but rather miserably slow at the long end).

The problem with the xz-1 is that by the time you get to a camera that size you should be looking at the discontinued e-pl1; which has a slower lens but a much larger sensor at the same price.

Still if you want a super zoom neither of these (or the s95) will do.

Howard said:
For indoor pics why not the Olympus XZ-1?
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Now that I've read more about the p300 I'm even more impressed for $250 (B&H photo has refurb for $220).

Strikes me as a poor man's Canon S95/s100 in many ways.

btw, people might think the f1.8 on the p300 and f2.0 on the s100 are close to the same in low light. That's actually 1/3 of an f-stop, not a trivial difference.

For $420 you could buy the p300 and a new s9100 long zoom. Although I might wait on the new s9300 for the 2nd one, it has optical image stabilization which should make it better for video than the s9100.
 
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Tom said:
Now that I've read more about the p300 I'm even more impressed for $250 (B&H photo has refurb for $220).

Strikes me as a poor man's Canon S95/s100 in many ways.

btw, people might think the f1.8 on the p300 and f2.0 on the s100 are close to the same in low light. That's actually 1/3 of an f-stop, not a trivial difference.

For $420 you could buy the p300 and a new s9100 long zoom. Although I might wait on the new s9300 for the 2nd one, it has optical image stabilization which should make it better for video than the s9100.
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1/3 of a stop is a trivial different, because it isn't enough of a different between blurry hand shaking picture to motion stop sharp picture.

That said, the P300 isn't a bad camera and it sport a BiCMOS sensor, however both the S95 & S100 have better IQ due to sensors that are 50% larger than the P300 sensor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8gi6F50Z70
 
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Even worse the p300 has the typical slow lens (f4.9 @ long end); compared to the olympus mentioned above which is f2.5 (f1.8 at the wide end). But aperature is not everything; the resolution of the olympus lens is quite high even at the corner (this review shows some example relative to the other 'pocket' larger sensor compact (ala s95, ..., though it does not include the larger g camera):

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/XZ1/XZ1A.HTM
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Anyways historically nikon's compact have not been very good; and the dpreview review suggest this nikon; while better than older offerings lags behind similar models from canon, panasonic and olympus.
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Anyways I fail to see what is special about the p300 relative to the other offerings mentioned.

iGas said:
1/3 of a stop is a trivial different, because it isn't enough of a different between blurry hand shaking picture to motion stop sharp picture.

That said, the P300 isn't a bad camera and it sport a BiCMOS sensor, however both the S95 & S100 have better IQ due to sensors that are 50% larger than the P300 sensor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8gi6F50Z70
Click to expand...
 
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