ok. so i am in dire need of a nice digital camera. the one i have is almost 6 years old (i know, ancient).
i would use it mainly for shooting models, buildings, and doing amateur artistic photography. i don't know a lot of digi-cam jargon, but i want something that produces high quality shots within $200-300.
I bought a Sony H9 a couple of months ago and I'm more than happy with it. Wide angle (28mm) lens with excellent macro capability, plus an excellent zoom. And aside from not being able to change lenses, it can operate with full manual settings. The LCD screen is HUGE, too (I think 2.5") which is a nice feature that I didn't know I needed until I had it.
I have owned my Fuji Finepix e500 for 2.5 years, and have had no issues. It is wide angle (28mm), and for around $200 what more could you ask for? Maybe now they sell super wide? Like 14mm?
Since you want to photograph buildings, I would recommend at the very least a wide angle (28mm).
Fuji digital cameras have had major issues with defunct LCD screens. Apparently, their newer models haven't done much to address this issue according to recent product reviews. They're screens read poorly in sunlight and die at random. Compared to similar cameras, they appear to have shorter battery life. My Z1 would last about 20 shots before the battery needed to be recharged. Their flash is overpowering and darkens distant objects. My ZI and my boss' Z10 do horrible in low light, regardless of a tripod or steady surface.
Their customer service is a joke. My LCD screen died about 13-15 months after purchase. It took them 8 months to repair my LCD screen. They sent it back to me 3 times before it worked for longer than a 3 day period. Initially, they thought their could have been a weird interface with my digital card so I sent them my 1 GB card. They returned a 16 mb card and claimed I had sent them a 16 mb card. I had to send them my postal insurance that said 1 GB card because they had 'lost' my order received information. They charged my credit card $180 in repair work after I checked the "DO NOT REPAIR CAMERA UNTIL YOU HAVE A SIGNED CONSENT FROM OWNER" box. Their apology for the 8 month kidnapping of camera stated "Due to high volume of repair work on our digital cameras, we apologize for our untimely response."
One positive note about Fuji - they have pretty decent shutter speeds.
The little experience I have had with Kodak cameras (disclaimer: I don't own one but many of my friends own them) have been below par. Cameras are cheaply constructed (think silver plastic) and regardless of their resolution always seems to look grainy and pixelated on screen or when printed.
i love my fuji finepix Z-1. actually, i think it kicks ass. fast shutter speed, best LCD display on any comparably priced camera i've ever seen, 5.0 megapixel. 2+ years, been all over the USA and parts of europe with me with no problems whatsoever. none.
my only complaint is that they use XD cards which are expensive and require the camera to be docked as most card readers don't read XD cards.
a minor inconvenience in an otherwise completely positive experience.
it would be improved upon only by going to a digital SLR, IMHO.
I've owned a Fuji fine pix camera for about 4 years now with no problems. I don't know if perhaps the quality has gone down hill since then, but the picture quality on mine has been great. It tends to be a bit shaky with low light photos, but that is about the only negative.
when are new camera models normally released? i'd like to get one soon, not in a hurry so i'm just curious if i should wait til new models are released.
made that choice after some serious research on dpreview and other such sites and a long afternoon playing with all the cameras on display at b&h
amazon.com seems to have it at the best price (even compared to b&h and j&r - at least back in october, anyway). its a bit pricier than you'd originally wanted to go (also worth noting that i'd originally set out with the same 200-300 price range) but i haven't thought twice about the extra cash it cost - it has a super sweet manual mode. definitely worth checking out/researching for yourself
Nov 25, 07 9:54 pm ·
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need a good c a m e r a
ok. so i am in dire need of a nice digital camera. the one i have is almost 6 years old (i know, ancient).
i would use it mainly for shooting models, buildings, and doing amateur artistic photography. i don't know a lot of digi-cam jargon, but i want something that produces high quality shots within $200-300.
any recs??? TIA!!!
depreview.com
i think this is what jc meant to post:
http://www.dpreview.com/
ah yes thanks e!
rebel 3006.3 MP (200-300) or rebel xt 8.0MP (400-500)
Don't do Fuji or Kodak.
Film still has better resolution and is archival.
on that note i'll put in my vote for the Nikon FM2-N and 100' of Tri-X.
but I have a Canon SD800is that takes great shots and fits in my pocket, and that takes the edge off of missing the darkroom...
I bought a Sony H9 a couple of months ago and I'm more than happy with it. Wide angle (28mm) lens with excellent macro capability, plus an excellent zoom. And aside from not being able to change lenses, it can operate with full manual settings. The LCD screen is HUGE, too (I think 2.5") which is a nice feature that I didn't know I needed until I had it.
y'all rock!!
ima check all of them thangs out this week and hopefully get a black friday deal.
n_ good argument. Care to elaborate?
I have owned my Fuji Finepix e500 for 2.5 years, and have had no issues. It is wide angle (28mm), and for around $200 what more could you ask for? Maybe now they sell super wide? Like 14mm?
Since you want to photograph buildings, I would recommend at the very least a wide angle (28mm).
second the fm2-n. though i'm pretty much shooting digital only now, unfortunately. too many slides..
I've seen some Black Friday deals on the Canon SD1000, (which I have and love) as well as the SD750 which has a slightly larger display.
Gizmodo is recommending you NOT bother with Black Friday camera deals since better deals can be found online.
Fuji digital cameras have had major issues with defunct LCD screens. Apparently, their newer models haven't done much to address this issue according to recent product reviews. They're screens read poorly in sunlight and die at random. Compared to similar cameras, they appear to have shorter battery life. My Z1 would last about 20 shots before the battery needed to be recharged. Their flash is overpowering and darkens distant objects. My ZI and my boss' Z10 do horrible in low light, regardless of a tripod or steady surface.
Their customer service is a joke. My LCD screen died about 13-15 months after purchase. It took them 8 months to repair my LCD screen. They sent it back to me 3 times before it worked for longer than a 3 day period. Initially, they thought their could have been a weird interface with my digital card so I sent them my 1 GB card. They returned a 16 mb card and claimed I had sent them a 16 mb card. I had to send them my postal insurance that said 1 GB card because they had 'lost' my order received information. They charged my credit card $180 in repair work after I checked the "DO NOT REPAIR CAMERA UNTIL YOU HAVE A SIGNED CONSENT FROM OWNER" box. Their apology for the 8 month kidnapping of camera stated "Due to high volume of repair work on our digital cameras, we apologize for our untimely response."
One positive note about Fuji - they have pretty decent shutter speeds.
The little experience I have had with Kodak cameras (disclaimer: I don't own one but many of my friends own them) have been below par. Cameras are cheaply constructed (think silver plastic) and regardless of their resolution always seems to look grainy and pixelated on screen or when printed.
try get a second hand digital slr.
probably find a Cannon 300d or 350d for cheap these days.
slr is the only way to go!
I've got a Cannon SD900 that works great for models and quick party shots, but I'm definitely in the market for a Digital SLR these days.
i love my fuji finepix Z-1. actually, i think it kicks ass. fast shutter speed, best LCD display on any comparably priced camera i've ever seen, 5.0 megapixel. 2+ years, been all over the USA and parts of europe with me with no problems whatsoever. none.
my only complaint is that they use XD cards which are expensive and require the camera to be docked as most card readers don't read XD cards.
a minor inconvenience in an otherwise completely positive experience.
it would be improved upon only by going to a digital SLR, IMHO.
your mileage may vary.
I have a nikon D50 and it is amazing... no problems and a lot of options...
the D40 is a little cheaper but I hear good things....
I've owned a Fuji fine pix camera for about 4 years now with no problems. I don't know if perhaps the quality has gone down hill since then, but the picture quality on mine has been great. It tends to be a bit shaky with low light photos, but that is about the only negative.
sorry guys, he's not getting a dslr for $200-300
I've got a Samsung NV10
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Samsung/samsung_nv10.asp
Built extremely well, takes good pics and is really small. Looks pretty nice too.
You should be able to get one for under 200. There might be a newer one by now.
when are new camera models normally released? i'd like to get one soon, not in a hurry so i'm just curious if i should wait til new models are released.
you guys ought to check out Photo.net - Digital Cameras
lots of good, independent digital camera advice there.
i just got a canon g9 that i love love love...
made that choice after some serious research on dpreview and other such sites and a long afternoon playing with all the cameras on display at b&h
amazon.com seems to have it at the best price (even compared to b&h and j&r - at least back in october, anyway). its a bit pricier than you'd originally wanted to go (also worth noting that i'd originally set out with the same 200-300 price range) but i haven't thought twice about the extra cash it cost - it has a super sweet manual mode. definitely worth checking out/researching for yourself
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