new camera
 

The wife and I are looking for a good camera, can I buy one for under $500? What are some of you guys using? Thanks Telly

There are plenty that you can buy for under 500 bucks and that are good quality. I have a Sony that is pretty old, but it does the trick and the pics look great. Canon makes a great camera as well.

Are you looking for a DSLR or a point and shoot?

If you want a point and shoot do you want to have "professional" features so you can control the camera more like a DSLR?

OR

do you want a very small compact point and shoot that doesn't have a ton of complication and takes great images?

I just bought this as my back up camera and for times I don't want to lug my big ass 40D Canon... after my BING rebate/discount it was just over $400 shipped to my door.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-PowerShot-...item19b769dbd4

Built like a tank and takes great images.

Well since I don't know what a DSLR is I guess a point and shoot would work, and I'm way to busy(dumb) to figure out a complicated camara. Thanks for the input. Telly

This website if very good for doing research...

http://www.dpreview.com/


I would consider Canon, Nikon and Panasonic (Lumix) as the top three companies.

LOL....your first step is to spell it camEra. I have a Panasonic Lumix that works great. You should be able to find a good pocket type camera for under 200.00 these days. It will probably do all you want to do.

or this..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-Lumix-...item27acd5c3b9

oops that kinda like spelling camaro camero duh, I've bought plenty of the pocket camera's and spent good money on them they just dont seem to last a year or two goes buy and the quality starts going down hill!

I think the Canon G10 or G11 are great options for P&S cameras.

Steve was right, you are getting cranky in your old age. :lol:

Steve's tired of me picking on him so I gotta do something...

I agree (which is why I bought one the other day).. but it sounds like the poster might want something simpler.

This looks very nice:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmclx3/


I would have to ask if the OP wants a very compact camera or doesn't mind the bulk of a one with a better lens like the G10/G11 or the Panasonic unit.

Actually I crave the attention.. you're the creepy uncle I never had.. :yes:

This is what I use. It's a nice entry level SLR camera. I'm very happy with it and it's easy to use. I would never buy another camera that wasn't an SLR...unless I knew I was shopping for a small point-and-shoot pocket type camera...which I have one of those as well and possibly use it more than the Canon. But the Canon is used when I am looking for a better final product or during action shots (SLR)!

For point-and-shoot cameras I shop for the most optical zoom you can find as well as megapixels. Lots of good choices out there!!

Fixed the title for ya Telly! ;)

Just don't get lulled into the mega-pixle wars.. sometimes less is more, especially with smaller point-and-shoot (non DSLR) cameras that don't rely on CMOS.

That's why Canon went from 14.1 mp on the G10 to 10mp on the G11.

I don't think the OP wants a DSLR.. since they are less useful if you're not buying a bunch of gear (ie, lenses).

Steve's right, megapixels are just a gimmick... especially for SLR's.

CCD are great sensors... CMOS is just the bees knees though... looking at one right now... (D700) Now... where to get the cash. :lol:

Took these with my CCD sensor just yesterday :)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2803/...b032a12a_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2495/...fe310ae7_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2744/...16cb318e_o.jpg

Steve, Do you have any suggestions on a fisheye, wide angle lens for a canon SLR.

thanks,
Jack

Well, do you want a fisheye or a ultra wide angle (zoom)?

I have a 10-24 Canon lens I love.. but I would go for this Tokina

http://www.adorama.com/TN1116EOS.html

The company made me go Canon, but this lens is better and less money (shop around). The F 2.8 rocks.


If you want a fisheye lens then look at:

http://www.adorama.com/TN1017EOS.html

You know, I guess I never quite understood the expense in a fisheye.

It's such a specialized lens that has very limited uses.

Maybe I don't shoot enough to need one. :goofy:

Still, the ultra-wides are so much fun, i can't put mine down it seems! :)

I have the same Canon AWR68 does and it's awesome! I also have a much smaller point and shoot that I carry while at work. It's also a Canon, the SD780 IS. It takes great photos but working the zoom is a bit off. Only thing I wish it had was better zoom. Still...for the money it does a great job.

Thanks Steve, just read up on those lenses, alot of good comments and comparisons to the canons. My Christmas list just got bigger!!

Thanks now I need to do some reading, I like the g11 and the EOS Digital Rebel XS, I'll do some comparing and see what I like better.

The G11 is a great camera.. it has the RIGHT amount of mp for it's ccd element and takes good low light images. It also has a very good zoom.

On site complained that it didn't have HD video, but it has really good video and in some cases the quality is better than low-buck HD. Why? because HD is sometimes used as a marketing gimmic just like megapixles.

It's also built like a tank and the flip out rotating rear screen helps you to compose some pretty cool shots (and shoot video over the heads of the crowd).

Mine was under $420 on ebay (beach camera) when I factory in my BING cashback.

I like the part about shooting over the crowd!!

Every time I go to a parade those pesky 6 year olds in front of me keep me from catching a glimpse of anything!!

Hey TONY ROSE -- you listening!! We need this G11 camera!!

Telly --

On a serious note -- and I'm taking into account you set a budget... I have a couple of cameras. One of them is USELESS and sits in the cupboard... because it's a nice camera - but CAN'T do what I want to do with it.

Some of these cameras just can't take pictures fast enough... so if there's any "ACTION" to the shot - it will either come out blurry - or I want to take several pixs of the action and then choose which one I want to 'keep'. So the little Nikon Coolpix 5000 I bought (a long time ago) is nice and small and easy to use - but it's "recovery rate" from one picture to the next - renders it useless.

So my "advice" to you -- is to figure out WHAT you want to use the camera for FIRST. Then shop for one that will do what you want. If you just want to take still pics of the family and cars at shows... it doesn't take much more than the camera in your phone to do that... but if you want to go to the kids football game and get some shots of them in action... that's a whole different camera (telephoto capability and Frames per second).

To me - personally - a camera is like a good welder... once you have one that lets you do more "stuff" - then the fun factor goes up. That doesn't mean you have to get the pro version that Steve might use...

If carrying it around in your shirt pocket is what you want.. great - then that's what you should be looking for... but if you want to do that AND take action shots too... then you've got to look for something that will do that. It's like shopping for horsepower - you want to do 800 hp with a small block twin turbo - or a carbed big block?

Thanks Steve, I'm leaning this way I'm not sure I want to mess around with lenses.

Thanks Greg, I'll be using it alot for pics of the family and some better shots of some of the cars I build, I'm sure I'll go with the g11 its probably more than I need but I'd rather buy a better camera that will do more than I want rather than less.

The problem with lenses is that good ones are EXPENSIVE. I have way more money in lenses than cameras. lol

Sure, you can get cheap lenses.. but there's a reason they are cheap.

My big lens was 1900... my wide was 600 and my medium was a bargain basement 450..

The irony is that when we go on vacation I leave it all at home because it's a huge PITA to carry it all around.

Something like G11 is a good compromise between size, cost, and professional quality.

Ding ding!

My latest lens cost me right around $2,000. Well worth the money though... such a fantastic lens and easily worth it over the cheap lenses.

You should get some kind of discount from Canon you sure sold me. I need to buy it soon someone needs some build pics! Thanks everyone for your help.:thumbsup:

I have a Canon SX120is, really nice, gret pics and idiot proof (even I can use it!). My wife really likes it as well.

Mike

The wife and I had a talk and the biggest thing she does'nt like about all the other camera's we bought over the years is the speed, it seems like it takes forever between shots, so we decided to get a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS SLR, It's a way better camera than I probably need but I think I'll have fun playing around with it. I paid a little over $500 with a case, little tripod, lense cover and free shipping, it would have been really cheap but they talked me into a 4 hr battery. Maybe I can learn how to shoot my own cars in the future.:thumbsup: thanks everyone for your input Telly

That's what I was talking about in my earlier post.... if you need some speed between shots -- some of these little cameras might be real nice - but become useless if they're too slow!

Nice camera - it will serve you well!

4 hour battery?

Where did you buy this from?

I was thinking that he might have meant a 4 GB card....??

The battery in my Nikon D70 will last DAYS...

the guy told me the battery that comes with it only last 40 minutes? http://www.camerakings.com/products/...55mm_Lens_Kit/

Telly --

Me thinks he got in your drawers...

You should be able to shoot 400/500 photos without flash on the battery that came with it -- and maybe 300 with the FLASH on half the time...

The batteries in cameras really aren't rated in "hours" because they mostly will turn off automatically in a certain time if not in use.... and it really makes a difference in HOW you're using the camera. Live will use more power - and of course flash will use more power... but as stated above - it should take a few HUNDRED photos without needing to be recharged on the STOCK battery that came with it.

I've yet to be in a situation when the battery in my camera needed to be re-charged... and that includes LONG days at the races taking 100's of photos... and my camera is 3 or 4 years old and on it's original battery. Someone like Steve or others on here that are PROS might use up a battery in a day of shooting - but they're doing all manor of fancy stuff with their rigs.

Telly - These are the number of SHOOTS that can be taken using the factory stock battery - according to the CANON website for your camera.



Power Source
Battery
One Battery Pack LP-E5
AC power can be supplied via optional AC Adapter Kit ACK-E5 (with optional Battery Grip BG-E5, AA-size batteries can be used)
Number of Shots
Number of shots (approx.) No Flash 50% Flash Use
Normal Shooting 72* 600 500
32* 500 400
Live View Shooting 72* 200 190
32°F 190 180


Despite my best efforts of arranging this "chart" it doesn't post correctly == but looking at the numbers for SHOTS you can take on the battery -- the WORST CASE is 180 pictures at FREEZING TEMPS and using the MAXIMUM POWER -- so LIVE VIEW AND FLASH at the same time.... That is a LOT OF PICTURES on the battery it came with.