any recommendations?

BrinkofDisaster5 · Sep 16, 2008

Okay soo, I have been using my little point and shoot Sony Crybershot DSC T70. I love the camera and think its great. I just want to get more into photography and i dont think that is what i need right now. So i am looking into bigger and better cameras. The thing is i dont know anything about them or where to even begin looking. I have no clue what to look for. Can anyone help me??? Give me any advice??? Thanks..

-Kayla

Rachelsne · Sep 16, 2008

go into a camera store or electronics store and hold some cameras see how they feel and see how expensive and in expensive they are. I chose mine based on price and where I see my self in a few years with my photography so I chose one that would be suitable for a semi professional photographer, I also chose mine on the basis that I liked canon point and shoots so I would like the canon DSLR's I ordered on line (careful if you do that) after handling a few in the store and was happy with my decision.

BrinkofDisaster5 · Sep 16, 2008

I'll have to do that. Thanks for your help!

Buszaj · Sep 16, 2008

If you don't want to jump into the world of SLRs and spend a lot of money, get a high(er)-end P&S. They are bigger, offer a decent viewfinder (not through the lens though), and have the ability to manually choose your settings. Example: Canon S5, I know Sony has some but I don't know the model.

chrisburke · Sep 16, 2008

Buszaj said:
If you don't want to jump into the world of SLRs and spend a lot of money, get a high(er)-end P&S. They are bigger, offer a decent viewfinder (not through the lens though), and have the ability to manually choose your settings. Example: Canon S5, I know Sony has some but I don't know the model.

the only problem with this is, higher end P&S are the same price as some DSLR's.. the canon S5 is 400 bucks.. the nikon d40 with kit lens is 499 (and cheaper is some places) my thought is, if your wanting to get into photography, spend the money.. if your going to go buy a $400 point and shoot, chances are your pretty into photography.. so spend the extra 100 bucks, and get a DSLR

Rachelsne · Sep 16, 2008

also I started with the s3is (becasue at the time I had no idea that I would end up wanting one) and as soon as I realized how restrictive it was i felt like i couldn't progress.

RyanMillerPhoto · Sep 16, 2008

Pretty difficult to buy a "bad" DSLR. I tend to recommend either Nikon or Canon just because they have the most selection of lenses as you progress.

Get a cheap DSLR for now as you will probably be upgrading in a couple years anyways. Kind of the way it works (typically).

I would say the biggest advantage of a DSLR over a good P&S is how instant a DSLR is. You see it and snap you got the shot.

Overread · Sep 16, 2008

I think the big difference between DSLR and point and shoot is to get hte most out of the £400 camera with a DSLR one has to be prepared to spend far more on lenses for the system - of course not all at once, the joy of DSLR is that you can build your kit up as you go - work and learn with the kit lens and then move on to other more specialist lenses as you need/afford them.

If the idea of a longer term investment is not something you can envision or want to do I would suggest a high end bridge camera - that would give you a good camera that would let you have many of the customisable settings of a DSLR with a decent focal range of lens (zoom range). Of course its not going to beat a DSLR for photo size, speed of shooting and many other things, but it does not require you to keep investing in.
I would (like many here) encourage you towards a DSLR since they are very fine cameras to use but caution you to consider the longer term - though they cost the same a DSLR is a longer term investment - but the rewards (I would say) are well worth it

Buszaj · Sep 16, 2008

True, dSLRs are close in price. But the way I see it sometimes, people buy an SLR, they see that they need a certain lens, buy it, then in some time not interested anymore. That's why sometimes it may be better to get a P&S, and then go further. I dunno, just a thought. Depends on what you're shooting, how far you want to go, etc. Same old stuff.