digital camera

[Helios]

I am wanting to get one, any tips, ideas, warnings, etc?

[garak]

Canon!

[PsiKik]

Depends what you are wanting to do with it.
Try to get one with as many manual settings as possible.
I have a Kodak DX7590 which I got because it has
10X optical zoom and all the important manual settings except for
manual focus.
I read reviews of the various models in my price range and then decided.

[Geoff]

You need to decide what you want the camera to do.

Canon is a good brain in my opinion, although for price : performance I also rate Minolta.

I use a Canon 300D (Digital rebel) which is an SLR and takes standard Canon autofocus lenses - so it is more of a 'real' camera. Depends whether you want point and shoot or something very automatic.

I highly recommend a browse through the forum and reviews on www.dpreview.com and www.steves-digicams.com The latter doesnt have the most inspiring of names but is in fact an excellent resource, with very indepth reviews (with test shots in some detail) of just about every camera out there.

-Geoff

[2hype]

I have a Pentax istDS which is another of the lower-priced (but still expensive) digital SLRs. I think it is about the smallest one there is, and it also takes all my old lenses from my Pentax K1000.

My old one was a Nikon point and shoot, but I don't remember which one it was. I hated it because to set it, you had to get into this whole menu system. It was confusing and took forever to change the settings. Also, there was a long lag time between the time I pushed the shutter release, and the time the picture actually would be taken. And I couldn't take two pictures right after one another.

My ex wanted a simple point and shoot, and I bought him a Kodak DX7440. It takes good pictures and is much easier to use than my old Nikon.

If you just want something to always have with you, and the picture quality doesn't have to be awesome, I'd get one of those little Canon Digital Elphs. My brother has one and it seems like it is really well made. It seems solid.

I've also heard the Canon Powershot G6 is really good, although I have no personal experience with it.

[CoHo]

http://www.dpreview.com

Learn to love this site

[Birdsnest]

I second that the Canon Rebel 300D is fantastic. Its a 6 megapixel and the battery stays charged for a really decent amount of time, and the only thing I don't recommend is the trial version of adobe elements. (Always use the software that comes with the camera to upload pics to, and never use adobe elements because it is hard coded so you can't share the pics and you lose your pictures).

I bought mine thru B&H photo at a discount used and ordered online. I was just thinking to myself how much I love this camera, in fact I take it with me where ever I go now, its my companion. I also own an Olympus 4000C, and there is no comparision, 4 megapixels and such a hassel, you had to charge the battery constantly, and the instructions are terrible, you don't get nice slr lens interchangability, and its a mess of different screens and too much to want to learn, plus you can take about 5 pics before you have to recharge battery.

The Canon rebel takes wonderful shots, battery stays charged for an outings worth of pics, and generally is much easier to use, I bought the cheat sheet, but I think I need to get a clear filter to put on top of the expensive lens so it won't get scratched during normal use. Its really an SLR digital, my particular favorite. You can purchase other expensive lenses later like fisheye or macro or telephoto too. Thats what I wanted. Its not cheap, about 6-700.

If you don't want to spend that much on a new one, also consider looking for one that is used thru http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ but ignore the trial version of adobe photo elements, instead, upload to the camera software, and THEN use the photo elements once the pics are already on the hard drive. I am not an adobe fan.

[int]

I'm a fan of the Fujis - I had an S602 that I learned with and it took great pictures. I'm waiting for the S7000 to drop in price and will get that for our point and shoot. The Program setting is great and with full manual controls it's perfect for learning on, albeit a little slow.

We have a Nikon Coolpix 3100 right now and I hate it. The resolution is way too low for a > 3 mp camera. I like the Coolpix 5400 though. The 5700 and the 8000 series look good too. If you've got the cash the D70 is sweet.

I'm a Nikon N80 and Digital SLR user, so I can't comment on the Canons, but I imagine they are up to par as well.

[jetboots]

if you are in it for the zoom:

Olympus (awesome brand) C-730. 10x optical zoom, 4 digital. 3.1 megapix. 3 years old, you can get em on ebay along with a bunch of memory cards for less than 300 bux.

I love mine, the only draw back is that it is a bit big and quite heavy.

[Helios]

Thanx guys ,cool tips. I guess I don't really know what I am looking for. I really would like to learn about photography (more manual settings), but I am totally clueless (need point and shoot) so I guess something in the middle.

[PsiKik]

Thanx guys ,cool tips. I guess I don't really know what I am looking for. I really would like to learn about photography (more manual settings), but I am totally clueless (need point and shoot) so I guess something in the middle.

My camera (KodakDX7590) has auto modes which let you just point and shoot if you want. After a while I started to experiment with the manual modes and learnt about all that. Now I mostly use manual modes.
I suspect many other digicams have a simmilar structure. My advice is to avoid anything with no manual control. Again depends what you want to do with it.

[Helios]

Again depends what you want to do with it.



Well, I had wanted to learn the basics of how to take pictures. But if, like I get to pick, I'd rather go with takeing pictures of really hot people in an orgy*.



For real, thanks ,that was what I was looking for.





*perhaps an automatic time laps mode would be good?

[lexiphanic]

Only if you are lucky.

[Heather Harrison]

I want one too - the suggestions here may prove useful to me. I definitely want one that behaves like a real SLR camera so that I can mess with things and take forever to get a picture while other people around me get impatient and start whining at me.

But I have wanted one for a long time and I am just too damn lazy to deal with it! So I keep using a old-fashioned film point-and-shoot type. It is a good one, but there aren't any knobs to play with.

Even if I get around to choosing one, however, I probably won't buy one for a while. I want to buy some furniture first. I will keep watching this thread for suggestions.

Heather Harrison

[Bugeater]

I want the Nikon D70, but it's really expensive.

[lexiphanic]

I bought an expensive one ($400) and it got stolen. Now I want a cheap one until I can take better care of one and then a kickass one later.

[Ascending]

Just bought a Canon AE-1 Program off ebay.
UPS tracking says its coming today. :D

[tragula]

I've had my eye on the Nikon D70 for a while now too....
It's finally under 1000 smackeroos (with rebate) for the camera kit.
Still out of my price range... sigh.
I have a pocket Cannon S50 and an Olympus E10