Please, an advice on upcoming cameras

[not_this_punk]

Hello everybody!

As you can see, I`m new to the forum but I`m also new to photography. Well, I'm not a total noob, as I`m familiar with most concepts but I never had a really good camera.

The problem is that I don't have enough money for a DSLR, and the 1/2.5" CCD found in present cameras really doesn`t suit my needs ( most likely I'll want to shoot some night pictures while zoomed in and the flash won't reach that far).

I`d also like one of those "long-zoom" cameras. Many people don't like them, but the sheer amount of settings, their zoom range and their smaller size (and retractable lens for that matter) makes them ideal for a novice like myself.

I found 3 contenders: Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Canon Powershot S5 and Sony DSC-H7. And frankly, the winner seemed the Panasonic FZ18 mainly due to its lower noise at low ISO, followed closely by the S5.

Yesterday I found this site: http://fototramp.blogspot.com/2007/07/canon-powershot-with-cmos-sensor-slr.html

Well, I'd absolutely looove a DSLR-like, long-zoom camera with a non-DSLR price, retractable lens like present long zoom and acceptable size and weight. And wow, if Canon and Sony will start producing compacts with CMOS sensors, those cameras will wipe the floor with any present non-DSLR.

So, finally, I get to the point: Could it be worth it buying one of the present long-zoom cameras? As one guy on that website asked, "what kind of time frame we're talking about for the next generation of sensors hitting the consumer market?". Should I wait for some new Canon PowerShot S7 with CMOS? Did you guys read any news about that? And when do you think those cameras will hit the market?

Well, thanks for your patience and I'd appreciate your thoughts on the subject:rolleyes:

[ryanraphael]

As I recall, any Canon DC with their own CMOS should arrive no earlier then July this year.

I expect to see some breakthrough there.

For you purpose(low noise night shot), I suggest you not to consider Long zooms, A650IS or G9 with 1/1.9" CCD is probably a better choice at this moment.

[not_this_punk]

Hey thanks for your reply!
I did come across G9 in my search but its 500$ price tag kinda hurt my eyes. Frankly I couldn't justify the big difference in price just in the larger sensor. The optical zoom is pretty important from my point of view and the G9 doesn't deliver...And there's another issue: the G9 has a pretty weak flash (compared to S5 for instance). So I had a revelation: if I'll shoot in low-light I could use the flash as it's way better. If I can't use the flash it probably means that I want to shoot a distant landscape or something. Well in that case I can set the exposure time to 30 seconds or whatever and still keep the ISO low.
By the way, could I capture the night sky with the S5 (using a long exposure time)?

[capture photons]

just get a xt they go for about 450 with no lens. then for a cheap zoom another 100. the point shoot are not going to do what you looking for. Even with a dslr it's going to hard to get shots at night zoomed in. Night photos need a long time to exposure your talking 15 seconds... Anyways your going to want the lower noise of the dslr eventually so just spend the extra 100 on the xt. If you insist on getting a point and shoot the fuji's are the way to go way less noise and better colors.

[capture photons]

oh were talking landscapes okay well then i guess you could get by with a point and shoot but your still going to want the dslr speed. point and shoots suck even at 200iso. because as it exposes more and more noise gets introduced. thats why they dont shoot 30second exposures in those reviews. also when your shooting night landscapes you need speed because everything is moving. stars, clouds... so you have 30 seconds to capture stars before they start to leave trails. i usually shoot at least 800 isos for star shots. and for clouds you need to shoot even faster.

[ryanraphael]

Hey thanks for your reply!
I did come across G9 in my search but its 500$ price tag kinda hurt my eyes. Frankly I couldn't justify the big difference in price just in the larger sensor. The optical zoom is pretty important from my point of view and the G9 doesn't deliver...And there's another issue: the G9 has a pretty weak flash (compared to S5 for instance). So I had a revelation: if I'll shoot in low-light I could use the flash as it's way better. If I can't use the flash it probably means that I want to shoot a distant landscape or something. Well in that case I can set the exposure time to 30 seconds or whatever and still keep the ISO low.
By the way, could I capture the night sky with the S5 (using a long exposure time)?

I did not compare the flash spec...well, if you want to take landscape photos at night, flash is not necessary unless you want to take protrait as well.
When you use low ISO to take photos with long shutter time, another type of noise arise.
So, I still recommend a camera with larger sensor, and A650IS should provide you this with a more reasonable price point.
I have been using a A80 for years and I am pretty sure A series is good enough.

Maybe you can try to search for second hand A640, still good, and you can move to any CMOS based Canon DC once they are annouced this year!

[not_this_punk]

:)wow thanks for all your replies!

Guys you convinced into buying a DSLR. I got to play with a Nikon D50 and it was awesome. The stuff you can do with that camera is simply mind-blowing. I should mention that this was my first experience with a DSLR and I'm now convinced that a DSLR is simply too much ahead of whatever else I saw.

Meanwhile I started documenting myself about DSLR's and I found the 350D at reasonable prices. The guy with the Nikon D50 told me that the 350D is better than his camera so that got me very excited about the 350D.

Browsing the web and looking for comparisons between D50 and 350D I found some strange info on this forum, with a comparison between D40x and 350D: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1085281

This guy lists here an advantage of D40x over 350D:
"Fully programmable Auto ISO, Auto Contrast, Auto Sharpness, and Auto Saturation all means you can just point and shoot your camera and get the shot, rather than missing it due to fiddling with settings on a camera. I can set my Nikons up so that I can point it at a bright window and an instant later to a dark corner and I'll get proper shots for both of them without even touching the camera."

What does this mean? That the 350D doesn't have "Fully programmable Auto ISO, Auto Contrast, Auto Sharpness, and Auto Saturation"? And what does "fully programmable" mean anyway? A good auto mode is pretty important for photos taken at parties and whatever. So, does the 350D have a good enough Auto mode? At least similar or better than the one on the D50?

Another post:
"Coincidentally, and talking only about current cameras, the little Nikon D40 (not the D40x) has one huge advantage over almost every other DSLR on the market for daytime sports. It has 1/500s flash sync. If you have deep shadows on people's faces from the mid-day sun, and you're also shooting action, the piddly 1/200s flash sync on most other cameras out there stinks."

What does that mean? What are 1/500 and 1/200 flash sync? Are those exposure times or what?

And what would you guys suggest? 350D or D50/D40/D40x? I guess I'd be interested in the camera that can take the brightest shot, without flash, in the exact same conditions and lightning, with the exposure time being low and the same for all cameras. The reason I still have doubts about which camera to choose is that the 350D has a smaller sensor that the D50 (altough it's CMOS and not CCD - anyway, which sensor is better?)

Oh and what's with the soon to come Canon DC's with CMOS? Please give some info on them, little as it may be...A long zoom with a decent sized CMOS would be very nice! So from your information, what are their specification and sensor sizes? Could they have similar quality and speed as a DSLR?

PS: 350D comes with remote control?

[ryanraphael]

:)wow thanks for all your replies!

Guys you convinced into buying a DSLR. I got to play with a Nikon D50 and it was awesome. The stuff you can do with that camera is simply mind-blowing. I should mention that this was my first experience with a DSLR and I'm now convinced that a DSLR is simply too much ahead of whatever else I saw.

........

Well, we don't have any informaton for CMOS based DCs.The only thing we can expect is lower pixels(due to technical issue) and better noise performance.
I guess we may heard of some information in PMA, but not until July we receive CMOS cameras...

to learn more about 350D, check this(As I am not a user)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/


flash sync is the minium shutter speed required so that flash takes action.(If too fast , the picture is being captured without the flash fired)

[peteh]

Hello everybody!

As you can see, I`m new to the forum but I`m also new to photography. Well, I'm not a total noob, as I`m familiar with most concepts but I never had a really good camera.

The problem is that I don't have enough money for a DSLR, and the 1/2.5" CCD found in present cameras really doesn`t suit my needs ( most likely I'll want to shoot some night pictures while zoomed in and the flash won't reach that far).

I`d also like one of those "long-zoom" cameras. Many people don't like them, but the sheer amount of settings, their zoom range and their smaller size (and retractable lens for that matter) makes them ideal for a novice like myself.

I found 3 contenders: Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Canon Powershot S5 and Sony DSC-H7. And frankly, the winner seemed the Panasonic FZ18 mainly due to its lower noise at low ISO, followed closely by the S5.

Yesterday I found this site: http://fototramp.blogspot.com/2007/07/canon-powershot-with-cmos-sensor-slr.html

Well, I'd absolutely looove a DSLR-like, long-zoom camera with a non-DSLR price, retractable lens like present long zoom and acceptable size and weight. And wow, if Canon and Sony will start producing compacts with CMOS sensors, those cameras will wipe the floor with any present non-DSLR.

So, finally, I get to the point: Could it be worth it buying one of the present long-zoom cameras? As one guy on that website asked, "what kind of time frame we're talking about for the next generation of sensors hitting the consumer market?". Should I wait for some new Canon PowerShot S7 with CMOS? Did you guys read any news about that? And when do you think those cameras will hit the market?

Well, thanks for your patience and I'd appreciate your thoughts on the subject:rolleyes:
Look into a Canon Rebel XT new now for $ 450 with 18-55 lens. It's a great camera.
It was my first DSLR. I use mine as a light weight , compared to my Canon 1ds mark2!
You should be able to do 11x14 with it................!

[pieq314]

Look into a Canon Rebel XT new now for $ 450 with 18-55 lens. It's a great camera.
It was my first DSLR. I use mine as a light weight , compared to my Canon 1ds mark2!
You should be able to do 11x14 with it................!
I would recommend XTi for $520. The extra $70 is well worth it. Of course, if you already have XT, then, you do not need XTi for another $520 unless you are looking for a second body.

[not_this_punk]

Yeah, I started reading about the XTi and its advantages really seem to be worth it: the sensor cleaning, the supposed better ISO handling and most of all the better AF. A larger LCD is welcomed as well. It's just the kit lens that don't seem up to the challenge. Well, as I said, I don't have any previous DSLR experience but from my amateur point of view, the pictures taken with the kit lens seem pretty soft even in the center...Maybe I'll look into a different lens system, although they seem pretty expensive...

I'm considering waiting a little longer, until summer, maybe its price will decrease. What do you think?

EDIT: You see, I live in Romania...All digital cameras have a lot smaller prices in the US but in Europe the prices are higher and I'd have to pay pretty expensive custom fees if I order it from the US....That's why money is a problem

[danielyamseng]

maybe just wait few more month for XTi replacement.

[not_this_punk]

so when is the XTi replacement due to arrive?

[John_TX]

so when is the XTi replacement due to arrive?

Announcement will be made January 24, 2008. It probably won't hit store shelves until the end of February or early March.

[not_this_punk]

Hope it will sport Image Stabilizer and a better lens kit...Anyway, what do you estimate its launch price will be?

[John_TX]

Hope it will sport Image Stabilizer and a better lens kit...Anyway, what do you estimate its launch price will be?

MSRP probably around $749 if it has a lot of new & worthwhile features. Hopefully it will have a street price around $649.

Unless the 450d is revolutionary in a decent way, I can't see Canon pricing it more than about $150 over CURRENT 400d prices.