| Author | Thread |
|
|
06/20/2002 09:26:19 AM · #1 |
Am looking to buy a new camera that can be used all around. Have a dollar limit of around $1000.00. Want it to be digital for ease of use. Does anyone have any suggestions and why?
D |
|
|
|
06/20/2002 09:39:30 AM · #2 |
daryl, it depends what you are looking for. i'm very happy with my canon powershot pro 90is. when i was shopping around (this january), i was looking for lots of optical zoom and the ability to print 8x10. i got both of those from my camera.
other things i really love: the swivel LCD, makes it very easy to take shots from obscure angles (helped with my photo for ground up a lot). it even swivels so that you can see it while looking into the lens.
comes with remote control, very comfortable to use. priority and manual, as well as a bunch of different other settings.
what i don't like: digital viewfinder (i never use it, i think many digital cameras have it these days). the only times i miss a good viewfinder is trying to follow a moving object.
proprietary batteries: if you run out, you cannot go out and buy a set of AAAs. however, i have two batteries and they last until my memory card (256) fills up, so that's pretty good.
shutter delay. typical for all digital cameras, so i would take that out of the equation.
i also bought the macro attachment which is awesome (the camera has no macro setting)!
overall, i would buy the camera again any day.
Originally posted by darylbrown:
Am looking to buy a new camera that can be used all around. Have a dollar limit of around $1000.00. Want it to be digital for ease of use. Does anyone have any suggestions and why?
D
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 09:53:30 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by darylbrown:
Am looking to buy a new camera that can be used all around. Have a dollar limit of around $1000.00. Want it to be digital for ease of use. Does anyone have any suggestions and why?
D
The Sony DSC-F707 is $999 but you will need at least one additional memory stick to go with it right away.. the 16mb stick that comes with it is quite useless if you want to shoot high resolution photos...
The F707 is featured like an SLR camera with point and shoot, aperture and shutter priority modes, as well as fully manual control. Overall, it's a great camera...
My "My Gallery" link below contains photos all made with the F707.
Go to www.dpreview.com and take a look at their reviews... it's a great source :)
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 10:11:01 AM · #4 |
Thanks for the input will go check these out.
D |
|
|
|
06/20/2002 10:46:21 AM · #5 |
Daryl,
You might also want to check out the Minolta DiMage 7, available for about $750 from buydig.com. Along with this camera, I also bought a 1 gb Microdrive for about $260 (new) on ebay.
This is a great all-around camera, 28-210mm lens (35mm equivalent), 5 megapixel camera. The camera can be operated fully manually, fully automatic, or anything in between. The users has lots of control over this camera.
What I like:
28mm wide angle through 210mm (7x) zoom gives the user a wide range of options.
TTL electronic viewfinder is responsive and gives a true image of the shot without running the more battery-intensive LCD
Fast shutter response once aperture/shutter speed/focus is set
Fast write to CF card
Firmware update available the end of this summer offers significant performance improvements and worthwhile additional features
Good video recording for a still camera
What I don't like:
Autofocus is slow at times (new firmware promises to fix this)
Battery life is adequate, but shorter than some other cameras (probably at least in part because I use a microdrive rather than standard CF, also a 5 megapixel sensor is a drain). NiMH batteries and a high-quality charger are critical.
If you have any specific questions about the camera, I'll be happy to answer them.
-Terry
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 12:48:38 PM · #6 |
Those are all great cameras. If you want to be able to take videos with sound also, the best is the Sony Mavica MDC-400. 4MP, 3x zoom, writes to 156-185 MB mini-CD's. It will take 90 min of low res video with sound, or ten minutes of the high-res stuff. My web page has some videos, and the pics of my daughters are taken with this camera. If you pre-focus, the shutter lag is around 0.1 sec, which is one of the fastest. It is slower than normal when saving uncompressed TIFFs due to the write speed to the disc, but I do all my shooting in JPEG, and then convert to TIFF when I save it to my hard drive. I got my Mavica from BHPhotoVideo for $900, but you can find it for a little less. But stay away from BWAYPHOTO.
The Sony F707 is one of the best if you want to play around with IR photography.
Canon has a new digital SLR out for about $2K. All the reviews I have read of the 4+MP cameras are very good.
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 01:17:20 PM · #7 |
Good point. The new diMage 7i also does video with sound and goes for $894 from BuyDig.
-Terry
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 02:30:54 PM · #8 |
There's a interesting thread in these replies: "Buy mine". As for me, I'm really happy with my Canon G2. When the review sites comment on 4mp cameras they always compare them to that one. Really though, picking a new camera is like picking a new girlfriend. There's a bunch of them that'll do just fine but you have to get the one that works best for you. Go somewhere and play with them, see which one fits best in your hands. The things you like to change most often, like ISO, white balance, manual settings, etc. should be easy to get to, either in buttons or at the top level of the menu structure, not buried deep down where you'll be wasting time fiddling with them. Your Toshiba uses smart media cards, so you might want to consider the Olympus cameras and save money by not getting a new pocket full of memory. The bottom line is that with only a couple exceptions all the new cameras will give outstanding results, but they'll achieve them only if there is a relationship between you and it. If you end up fighting with it you'll have wasted your money.
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 02:36:56 PM · #9 |
Very good points. I do like my camera very much, and it's definitely become an extension of me. I know it's not the right camera for everyone, but I'm happy with it and suggest it as something to look at, especially if you like to be able to switch quickly in and out of manual mode.
-Terry
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 02:42:27 PM · #10 |
Daryl, I feel you should check out one of the reviewing sites on the web such as dpreview.
The reasons I chose the Sony DSC F707:
1. The hologram focus which assists auto focus in dim-light.
2. The IR emitters used to provide illumination for night shots or night fraiming in low light situations.
The negatives:
1&2 propritary memory and battery.
Read the reviews and pick the camera that is right for you.
* This message has been edited by the author on 6/20/2002 2:44:55 PM.
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 03:45:49 PM · #11 |
well, i have an e-10, but i've used a few different cameras. and i would suggest either the f707 or the g2. they really are 2 of the best cameras out right now.
|
|
|
|
06/20/2002 03:51:26 PM · #12 |
Thanks for all the input. Now that I have an idea of what to look for, I can get after it.
D |
|
|
|
06/20/2002 04:02:02 PM · #13 |
| You might want to look at Steve's-digicams too. |
|
|
|
06/20/2002 11:44:04 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by darylbrown:
Am looking to buy a new camera that can be used all around. Have a dollar limit of around $1000.00. Want it to be digital for ease of use. Does anyone have any suggestions and why?
D
Fujifilm S602
Canon G2
Nikon Coolpix 5700 or 5000 if you can't wait.
Leica Digilux 1
Read reviews about all of them at DP Review. They also have a buyers guide.
|
|
|
|
06/21/2002 12:20:39 AM · #15 |
Hi Daryl,
Keep your eye on this one -
//www.nikonusa.com/usa_product/product.jsp?cat=1&grp=2&productNr=25206
The D100 from Nikon -
It should be out in the next few months
It will run a little more than your budget but worth the extra. It will fit all the later model Nikon lenses - very high res and speed. |
|
|
|
06/21/2002 09:22:23 AM · #16 |
Reember that cameras with the new "Foveon" sensor chip will be out in 1-2 years. If you are going to upgrade soon anyway (and this is your first digital camera) you might want to consider a less expensive model for now...
I've gotten pretty decent (photographic) prints from my Olympus up to 8x10 size, and the newer version of my camera now comes with a 7x optical zoom and is less than $400.
Note: I'm only "endorsing" my camera because I have no personal experience with any others... |
|
|
|
06/21/2002 09:36:50 AM · #17 |
There are a lot of good choices if you have $1,000 to spend.
I was in the same boat about 2 months ago. Never owned a digital camera, only Nikon film equipment. The idea of buying anything but Nikon was daunting.
The G2 seemed to have the kind of picture quality and features I wanted. The Sony 707 is good too but it was a bit more money than I wanted to spend and I wanted a non-proprietary memory system like compact flash or IBM microdrive for the possibility of going SLR in the future.
I got my G2 for $700, 256 meg compact flach for $120, a bogen table top tripod for $70, a macro lens set for $40, Lensmate adapter ring, circular polarizer for $25 and a bag for all the junk which put me right at my $1,000 limit. I already had a full tripod but they can be bought for about $70 or less and are a necessity in my opinion.
Weakness of the G2? Not a lot of zoom which means you have to get in close to eliminate cropping issues and sorta a soft focus you have to learn to work with. Everything else is as nice as an SLR plus the flip out LCD is awesome. I actually find myself wanting that feature on an SLR.
Go to DP Review for the real lowdown on all cameras and lots of sample photos. |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/25/2025 04:48:02 PM EDT.
