Cameras

[Mad Moose]

I'm looking to upgrade again this year and as we have a few resident photographers on board any advice on the best and most reasonably priced camera would be great. I paid 300 odd for the last one. A good camera at 7.1 pixel but I'm looking for a really good camera and reasonably priced.

Suggestions please.

Thanks

[dahamsta]

What kind of camera Harsbear, SLR or compact? I have a Panny Lumix DMC-TZ7 that I bought as a replacement for a DMC-TZ5, and both are corkers if you're looking for a compact zoom. The only failing is a difficulty with low light, but that's an issue with most PNCs.

adam

[atfconline]

What do you intend using it for? Does it have to be brand new, or are you open to second hand?

[Mad Moose]

Cheers guys. I guess I propose to get those perfect shots, close up or second hand. As I say my 7.1 pixel is not good enough. I'm not great on the terminology here but I'm looking at action and scenery shots really. Second hand is fine really.

Its the detail I want to focus on. Sorry if I can't be more informative.

[dahamsta]

• Single Lens Reflex
• Point & Shoot

It basically depends on whether you want complete control of your camera, or you want the camera to do the work for you. Be honest with you, 7mp should be fine for most applications, it's more likely the quality of the sensor you're having an issue with, rather than the size. All of these were taken with my Pannies, for example, at 9 and 11mp.

[soccerc]

As I say my 7.1 pixel is not good enough

Forget about pixels, you could have 21mega of them with 10 digital zoom and the images would still be ****e.

Pixel count is a marketing ploy for the non pro purchaser.

Best look for a decent lens first if you are going the compact or point and shoot route, then 'optical zoom' followed by shutter lag time.

A 7.1megapixel camera with the above would more than suffice 99% of users.

If it's dSLR route then that's a whole different story

[Mad Moose]

Cheers lads for the honest advice. John you know a thing or two about photography. I guess I'm looking for either action or stills but being able to catch the finest of detail. Is that more a lens, optical zoom and shutter speed issue then?

I guess my photo's have never really captured what I have seen at a point in time and thats what I'd like. Like a perfect sunset, or a moving football or a crunching tackle in a game.

Having looked at the point and shoot camera's I guess thats definetely not what I'm looking for.I use my work one for the nights out and stuff.

So what would you suggest as a good and affordable?. (willing to pay around 500 sterling for a good camera)

[Mad Moose]

In thinking about this in taking a photo I want a camera that will pick up the finest detail and I want to be able to take an action shot wthout the picture blurring as the object moves. I assume this comes down to lens and shutter speed then.

Any advice and recommendations on a camera would be great. Looking at my own camera I assume I could buy a lens and attach it to the existing. Its just trying to work out what to buy.

[stann]

I recently got a Fuji Finepix s5800 for only 150 from Sam McAuley's online, and am delighted with it, for football, landscape and general stuff.
Am not a photographer by any stretch but it appears to be a very good all-rounder, with an optical 10x zoom that gets you right in amongst the action if you're taking football shots, though there can be a refocus/shutter lag that you have to make allowances for.
That model doesn't appear to be on the SMcA website anymore though, but its bigger brother, the s1500 is. Looks to be better featured, with image stabilization and 12x zoom, and only 230, worth a gander? Review here.
My advice and recommendation would be to do what soccerc recommends though.

[Mad Moose]

I'd agree on listening to Soccerc. I'm just scared of him mentioning a possible price for what he shoots with.

I've listened to a few very good photographers here and I'm set on a Canon or Nikon. I think there was a Canon 200 or something. I'll check back the photo thread again.

Cheers Stann.

[soccerc]

I'd agree on listening to Soccerc. I'm just scared of him mentioning a possible price for what he shoots with.

Jesus lads relax, I'm only at this snapping lark 3 years and know very little but what little I do am happy to share.

As for price of kit, be very scared that you don't catch the bug as five or six old posters from here have over the past few years

[dahamsta]

That's why I don't buy an SLR.

[don ramo]

i alway liked photography, never really studied the subject or anything, but i always have a passing love for it, i always go overboard on things i love and photography is no different, so a few months ago i bit the bullet and bought a NIKON D60, it cost me E700, for that i got the body, a 18-55mm lense and got a 70-300mm lense, ive been fooling around with it the last few months, and i still find every time i turn it on, id be setting it up for 10 mins, as every time i want to do something different with it, be it scenery, day time, night time, misty, moving objects,

being as annoying as it is, im still loving heading out for 3-4 hours just taking photos, trying new ways to shoot, its a great thing to be able to do, ive never had a SLR so i was alway limited to the day time, as i never thought any camera had a decent flash to use at night time, i just never like the photos they produced, i like adjusting the settings to get a good night shot with no flash,

if you want a camera with multi fuctions and a wide range of use, id say get an SLR, dont be afraid of the price, a week after i bought mine i was reading a forum and we were discussing cameras and someone got the same camera i got, with the same 2 lense on ebay for E350, to say the least i was unhappy i heard it,

best way to look at it is that you will always have that camera, and if you need to upgrade you can trade in the body, and as far as i know youll always get a good deal for it, even second hand D60s were in the shop for E250 for just the body, a decent camera shouldnt devalue, i think nikon and canon are the best options, i was thinking of getting a sony but opted against it, as there relatively new to the market,

also if you do like photography a lot i suppose you should alway carry a good camera with you, i dont have a camera but i do have an excellent camera phone, its a Sony Ericsson C510, its only a mere 3.2 megapixels, but the lense is superb and puts my previous 8 megapixel point and shoot camera to shame,

im not an expert but i would say an SLR will set anyone up for starting photgraphy, weather its a passing interest, or a hobby, with such a wide range of features you cant go wrong, and its a expensive as you want it to be, mine cost E700, others got deals for half that, and most pros pay E2-3000 for just a body,

[soccerc]

most pros pay E2-3000 for just a body,

...and the rest.

A few things to anyone thinking of going or has gone the dSLR route.

Obvious but Read the manual.

Turn off auto and pre programmed settings like landscape, sport, portrait etc and learn the functionality of your investment.

Get yourself a copy of 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Patterson.

Get out and take photos, make your mistakes and learn from them.

Finally don't be afraid of the delete button, it's your best friend. Nothinh worse than seeing out of focus, poorly exposed (under and over) and badly composed images that the taker thinks are potentially award winning photos. Be very self critical

[don ramo]

...and the rest.

i dunno what they pay, ive seen lense that cost E5000, and pohographers at games in england useing them, vicious price for any kind of equipment,

[Mad Moose]

Thanks for all the advice lads. Been in a few places today looking at Camera's and I have my heart set on the Nikon D5000.

The other I'm considering is the Canon 450D. There's a decent offer on it and accessories on http://www.currys.co.uk.

Now to decide which.Having seen some wonderful images in the Photo Thread I have a different perspective now. Everything I've pretty much shot to date is static and safe. I want to try action, nighttime and distant shooting.

Your thoughts or if you know of any reviews of either going?

.

[dublinred]

Looking for a digital with decent zoom and a very quick reponse for circa e200 any recommendations , biggest issue with current camera is it takes a couple of seconds to take a photo and also needs a few seconds between multiple photos.

[soccerc]

Looking for a digital with decent zoom and a very quick reponse for circa e200 any recommendations , biggest issue with current camera is it takes a couple of seconds to take a photo and also needs a few seconds between multiple photos.

Unless you get a dSLR you will always suffer shutter lag.

There are some point and shoot compacts that have less lag than others but they all need time between multiple shots.

[dublinred]

Unless you get a dSLR you will always suffer shutter lag.

There are some point and shoot compacts that have less lag than others but they all need time between multiple shots.

Cheers wont be getting a dSLR, is lag the shutter speed? Don't mind a little bit of a time delay between shots but hate when it takes ages to take a photo.

[soccerc]

Cheers wont be getting a dSLR, is lag the shutter speed? Don't mind a little bit of a time delay between shots but hate when it takes ages to take a photo.

No shutter lag is not shutter speed.

It's the time a camera takes, between pressing the shutter release button and capturing the image you wanted or thought you had