Need Opinion On Buying Camera

[JenLJ]

I'm ready for an upgrade and recently went shopping. Way too overwhelmed I was. Because I have a canon, I noticed that even though the camera was an upgrade, most controls worked the same way on all the other models, therefore I felt very comfortable handling the canons I looked at. I really liked the G3 out of all of them ;-) I don't want to limit myself just to canons though, even though most cameras I looked at, the canons were the best. There are so many review sites and thought someone here could tell me which one was the "Best" as far as being up to date and accurate. Also, for a SLR, is it best to have AP, SP and manual, all in one? (just in case I don't feel like playing for an hour with settings)

Thanks!!!

[martcol]

Hi

If you went with the G3, I think you could do a lot worse. With the latest round of new models, most other manufacturers went for a chip upgrade - more pixels - whilst Canon seem to have reduced the price and made improvements to an already excellent camera.

I've owned my G2 for nearly a year and have enjoyed it. The G3 came out and is selling for £100 less than I paid for mine! Anyway, I have found that most shots benefit from some attention in Photoshop which is time-consuming. I'd like to think the G3 got better. Certainly, from the magazine reviews I've read, it has.

However, you would also get great shots from similar and slightly more pricey cameras from Minolta, Fuji et al.

I've just got a 10D (DSLR) which is a completely different world. If you're really interested in moving up you should think about it although it really will assault your savings! You'd be looking at 2k+with a good lens and other bits and pieces.

I remember when I was chosing my G2 it took ages. Firstly, plucking up courage to spend the money and then comparing similar models. I chose the G2 on the strength of magazine reviews but overall, I think they all have strengths and weaknesses. Chosing the 10D took no time at all. The only problem was finding the money!

I'll stop there for fear of rambling. Let us know how you get on.

Martin

[JenLJ]

Thanks. I'll keep checking around. I'm begining to think that everyone just reads here. I was wondering when someone was going to answer. After all, 30 people read it, surely they know something about cameras. I guess no more than I , but THANKS ;) I'll let you know how I make out. I'm sure it will be a WHILE yet as there's a lot of narrowing down.

[eland]

Hi Jenn
I just saw your post. If you have already bought a new camera I hope you will be happy with it. If not here are a few pointers to consider.
DSLR is of course the best way to go. 10 D is great.
It opens the door to spending lots of money on lenses though.
Otherwise, I personally would not be happy with any camera with only a 3x zoom lens. equivalent to 35-105 on 35mm.
True you can add a tele and a wide angle but not for me. Too limiting.
If the new DSLR is out of your price range, consider a second hand D30 or D60 which are excellent cameras.
Same applies about extra expense on lenses though.

If you buy a camera with non-removable lens I'd say look at some with AT LEAST a 6x zoom. My Canon pro90 is old hat now, but with 10x zoom I love it. And no extra expense on lenses. It won't take them :)
But with 37-370mm zoom what more would I need ?

Nikon makes a good fixed lens zoom camera.
About 6 or 8 x zoom. Not sure. Worth looking at.
Olympus makes one with 10x zoom but I've heard mixed reports on it.

About pixels I'd say any camera with over 3 mega-pixels will be fine. If you want to do very big enlargements then stay over 4 or 5 mega-pixels.

If you haven't bought yet, then good hunting.

regards
eland

[JenLJ]

THANK YOU Eland ;)

[eland]

Thanks Jenn

One thing I forgot to mention.
Don't let any supersalesperson tell you the wonders of Digital zoom.
You should only look at OPTICAL zoom.

Digital zoom is only cropping your image and making it APPEAR larger, but is degrading it.

When I talk about 8x or 10x zoom, I mean only Optical zoom.

eland

[ibecks]

I'm very happy with my Canon G3 (see: http://www.pbase.com/ibecksg3 ). I upgraded a month ago from a Nikon Coolpix 880.

Here are a few things to bear in mind which might help you narrow down the choices:

• DSLR or Compact?
For me, a DSLR is out of my price range, especially when you figure in the lenses. Even if I could afford it, I'm not actually sure I would want one. It's too much stuff for me to carry around, but obviously that's just my opinion.

(at this point I'm assuming you chose 'Compact', since I don't have enough experience of DSLRs!)

• Megapixels
Beware of digital compacts which use interpolation to create bigger images. Stick to an optical resolution of more than 4 megapixels. Not only can you produce bigger prints, but you can crop to your hearts content and still get a reasonable size print.

• LCD
I love the G3's swivel LCD - great for taking shots at strange angles.

• Batteries
Do you prefer rechargable lithium cells or AAs? What sort of battery life will you need (dpreview.com includes a battery life test in its reviews)? The Canon G3's battery use is fantastic.

• Memory
What kind of memory cards do you already have? It may make sense to go for a camera which can accept the cards you've already got. If you have to switch memory card formats, how cheap is the new format? Personally, I steer clear of Sony for this reason (and the fact that I've had repeated problems with dodgy batteries in the two Cybershots at work).

• Accessories
What accessories are available for the camera? If you're looking to advance your photography skills then you'll probably end up with at least a wideangle and telephoto adapters, plus a pocket full of filters. You may also want to add an external flash so check if the camera has a hotshoe.

That's about all I can think of for now. What are you upgrading from?

Becks

[Leighow]

JEN

My take as a beginer -- but after a year with the G2 (artsie photos) and 40 years with a Minolta SR1 (Travel photos) -- that:

1: SLRs are just too much "kit" to travel with. So you have to be real serious to go the SLR route. For example, 8 years ago I had abandoned my SLR in favour of a P&S Olympus camera. My travel campionions were not prepared to accomodate serious photography within a trip (e.g. Ireland).

2: The G2 is very limited by its lens at 135mm, its smallest aperature (F8), and its P&S focus technology (a manual SLR is soooooo much better !).

3: Macro's of flowers er al are impossible to miss.

3: Better than average photos are well within the reach of the G2.

4: While such achievements have a lot to do with the G2 and the digital format and post-precessing, you can never get away from a considered plan that involves location, subject, season, time of day, and available lighting.

Sounds simple, but even if you gave me a free D60, the most it would do for me -- given my levell of expertise and artistic acuity -- would be to help better frame shots.

The real challenge is what to take and how often to push yourself out the door to welcome the magic hours. For example, for the past two night the sunsets here have been outstanding. But they only lasted for 15 minutes. I was out, but too late to locate my intended subject = tall white pines against the western horizon. So I packed up and returned home.

The G3 is sure to be great. Of course, more good stuff is on the way!



HOWIE

[JenLJ]

Becks- Thanks MUCH for the detailed advice. I really appreciate it! As much as I'd like a DSLR to add to my 35mm SLR, I don't think I'm ready, nor do i think my hobby could handle it. If I were professional, and out EVERYDAY perhaps, but it's really just a hobby for me when I have the time. Besides, with the few pieces I have, having to add on constantly with lenses, and all the other goodies that are out there, hubby would go broke ;) I'm sure there is SO much to buy to add on to play with and knowing me, I'd probably would want to get them all, but can't. I'm going to continue looking around, but who knows what I'll find or fall upon. Thanks as well Howie, I'll let you know what I decide ;)

[JenLJ]

It just goes to show you how much I've read up on DSLR cameras. I thought that they would be priced as the regular SLR until i actually LOOKED :O NOT....Holy cow. Didn't stop to think that because they are still so new that they would be so pricy. I went out looking again today and looked a lot online. I think that for what I want, the G3 is one of the btter ones offered and the price isn't that bad. So I guess what I didn't really know was that you could add on to some of the non DSLR cameras, like the G3? Is it just filters?

[ibecks]

JenLJ wrote:
It just goes to show you how much I've read up on DSLR cameras. I thought that they would be priced as the regular SLR until i actually LOOKED :O NOT....Holy cow.

Quite. My boss is always telling me that I should get a Nikon D100. I'm always telling him he should give me a 50% pay rise to cover the cost! ;)

I was the one who got him into digital in the first place - I should get commission!

So I guess what I didn't really know was that you could add on to some of the non DSLR cameras, like the G3? Is it just filters?

The G3 has a bayonet lens ring, which you can take off and replace with the lens conversion adapter. This gives you a 58mm thread, so you can add filters. (A lot of people leave the adapter and a UV filter on the camera at all times to protect the lens) You can also add the wide angle adapter, telephoto adapter, macro ring light etc. There's an illustrated list of G3 accessories at the bottom of this page: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong3/page5.asp

I shoot a lot of landscapes, so the lens conversion adapter and wide adapter were top of my accessories list. I've also got a couple of close-up filters which produced some pretty good results over the weekend.

Becks