bobothewizard
Member
Rye you never gave me a camera choice. You were heading out the door when we last spoke. Im looking for a good / cheap digital camera, the cheaper the better but its not really necessary.
Ryebread --
- Thread starter bobothewizard
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ryebread
Active Member
Hello bobo-
Depending on how much you want to spend, there are a ton of options out there. I would go with one of the true camera manufacturers. Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Pentax, Fuji, or Olympus. I would not go with a Kodak, Polaroid, Toshiba, HP, etc..... Not that these are bad cameras. I run a retail photo shop in Cincinnati. I have become very experienced with these companies and how they help their customers. Kodak has some good quality but, terrible customer service......50 bucks for an estimate on broken cameras (happens often) and an average of 300-400 dollars to fix. Don't forget about Sony.........by far the worst!! We carried them for a while and I stopped after being screamed at by the 5th customer in one day. How much do you want to spend?
I would make the purchase in a retail shop. You may pay more for the camera but, it is worth the extra $. I can tell you endless stories of mail-order digital camera nightmares.
Let me know what you are looking to do with the camera and how much you want to spend. Also how big of a print you want to make with it.
Ryan
Depending on how much you want to spend, there are a ton of options out there. I would go with one of the true camera manufacturers. Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Pentax, Fuji, or Olympus. I would not go with a Kodak, Polaroid, Toshiba, HP, etc..... Not that these are bad cameras. I run a retail photo shop in Cincinnati. I have become very experienced with these companies and how they help their customers. Kodak has some good quality but, terrible customer service......50 bucks for an estimate on broken cameras (happens often) and an average of 300-400 dollars to fix. Don't forget about Sony.........by far the worst!! We carried them for a while and I stopped after being screamed at by the 5th customer in one day. How much do you want to spend?
I would make the purchase in a retail shop. You may pay more for the camera but, it is worth the extra $. I can tell you endless stories of mail-order digital camera nightmares.
Let me know what you are looking to do with the camera and how much you want to spend. Also how big of a print you want to make with it.
Ryan
bobothewizard
Member
Lets start off in the $300 range.. What kind of quality we looking at in that range. Basically what im using it for is just taking pictures of the tank. Also I guess a zoom would be necessary.
slothy
Active Member
www.steves-digicams.com good review site...
dont buy hp... i had nothign but crap luck.... 2 gone sour in 1 year
dont buy hp... i had nothign but crap luck.... 2 gone sour in 1 year
ryebread
Active Member
In the $300 range you might want to check out the Nikon Coolpix 2000. This is a 2 megapixel model with a 3x optical zoom. It retails for about $250 and that would let you get a case, Batteries, extra memory card for about $300. The reason I would suggest this model is because of the macro mode. It can focus down to 1.6". Pretty good for a lower end model. The Olympus, Pentax, Fuji, are also good but, not near the macro capability. The Nikon can also do short movie clips.
Also check out www.dpreview.com for good reviews and users opinions.
Also check out www.dpreview.com for good reviews and users opinions.
ryebread
Active Member
Daaaaaamnnnnn........Slothy is pullin in da big bucks.
Olympus C-720 has been selling good lately. It is 3 megapixels with an 8x optical zoom. Macro down to 3.9". Not too shabby. Also has selectable ISO settings so you can get better pics in low lighting situations. $500. There is also a Minolta Dimage F100 that is selling for $500 that is a 4 megapixel. It only has a 3x optical zoom but with 4 megapixels you have some room to crop and zoom in on the resolution. Macro on this camera is good for 0.7". and it is very small.
Olympus C-720 has been selling good lately. It is 3 megapixels with an 8x optical zoom. Macro down to 3.9". Not too shabby. Also has selectable ISO settings so you can get better pics in low lighting situations. $500. There is also a Minolta Dimage F100 that is selling for $500 that is a 4 megapixel. It only has a 3x optical zoom but with 4 megapixels you have some room to crop and zoom in on the resolution. Macro on this camera is good for 0.7".
and it is very small.
reef fool
Active Member
I took these pictures with My Olympus D-460-Z(1.3 Megapixels) And they are very good quality for a $225 camera.(I paid $350 last year!). IMO Olympus is very easy to use for a novice compared to Kodak, Fuji or Sony.
Check them out
http://community.webshots.com/album/49938845xviHAs
Check them out
http://community.webshots.com/album/49938845xviHAs
almarktool
Member
ryebread,
i am looking at the nikon d100 i hear it is on back order still i need to replace my old canon a-1 i sold and like the flexabilty of being able to change lenses, not happy with canon since they have changed there lense mount atleast 3 times since the 70's what u think? any other recommendations, feel free to give me a price on the setup with a 28-200 nikon lenses, if i got to pay out might as well as be to someone i know you can e-mail me at almarktool@aol.com
i am looking at the nikon d100 i hear it is on back order still i need to replace my old canon a-1 i sold and like the flexabilty of being able to change lenses, not happy with canon since they have changed there lense mount atleast 3 times since the 70's what u think? any other recommendations, feel free to give me a price on the setup with a 28-200 nikon lenses, if i got to pay out might as well as be to someone i know you can e-mail me at almarktool@aol.com
ryebread
Active Member
Hey Almarktool-
I ordered a D100 5 days ago. I am expecting it in next week some time. Good choice for flexability but, I would not go with the 28-200 Nikon lens. When you put that lens on a digital you have to account for a 1.6x conversion due to the size of the digital sensor. That means your 28mm will be like a 46. Not very wide, Plus the 28-200 has terrible close focusing......Five feet at the long end. I would split it up into two lenses. Maybe a 24-85 or wider and a 70-300 macro. You will be happier in the long run.
I ordered a D100 5 days ago. I am expecting it in next week some time. Good choice for flexability but, I would not go with the 28-200 Nikon lens. When you put that lens on a digital you have to account for a 1.6x conversion due to the size of the digital sensor. That means your 28mm will be like a 46. Not very wide, Plus the 28-200 has terrible close focusing......Five feet at the long end. I would split it up into two lenses. Maybe a 24-85 or wider and a 70-300 macro. You will be happier in the long run.
almarktool
Member
k,
gottch thanks for the input and feel free to give me a price or a link to a website of your store if u got one
gottch thanks for the input and feel free to give me a price or a link to a website of your store if u got one
ryebread
Active Member
Hey Almark-
Check out www.photoworld.com
This is where I work and we have been getting D100 pretty quickly. We may even have some at the web store.
Ryan
Check out www.photoworld.com
This is where I work and we have been getting D100 pretty quickly. We may even have some at the web store.
Ryan
bobothewizard
Member
What is macro? All im doing is taking pictures of my fish lol. Is macro the most important thing in a camera im looking for? Also the wife is letting me go up to $500
almarktool
Member
Ryan,
how is nikon's photo software? any good? do u use it or do u use adobe of something of that sort
how is nikon's photo software? any good? do u use it or do u use adobe of something of that sort