Beginner Camera from Black Friday

MTVision · Nov 23, 2011

Felix0890 said:
You can do this with a point and shoot. It won't be as easy since you can't manipulate the aperture on most point and shoots but you can definitely still do it. What you need to understand is that buying a DSLR won't necessarily give you that blurry background/foreground that you want. That is usually done by having a very large aperture, which only the fast (and usually more expensive) lenses can obtain. Again, you can still do that with a kit lens (I've done it with an 18-55mm) but it's not as easy as having a fast lens.

To summarize, stick to a point and shoot camera.

And zooming with the hand doesn't really play any role in it. Focusing, aperture, and distance from camera to subject and subject to background do play a role in creating a blurred background.

Destin · Nov 23, 2011

ewlang said:
"Buying a dslr to use as a big point and shoot will actually result in you getting WORSE photos than an el cheapo point and shoot, due to the slow kit lens."

Could someone explain this to me a little bit more?

What I really want to be able to do is that ability to zoom into for instance something close or the background and have the other blurred. (I hope you understand this). That is really why I wanted to control zoom by my hand...

A DSLR has MANY settings on it, and when used in an auto mode, the camera isn't usually very good at guessing what you want it to do. It will just try to give you a properly exposed image. If you don't have a knowledge of how to use the camera's settings effectively, you are just going to end up with a TON of out of focus, blurry photos that are too dark or too bright. Trust me, my dad got a dslr thinking it would give him better results. He goes around taking photos like he's a professional photographer, yet EVERY photo he takes it out of focus, or blurry, because he never took time to learn how to get the camera out of auto mode. The slow kit lens (18-55) that is included with entry level DSLR's is very limiting. It doesn't offer alot of zoom range, and it is slow, meaning it has a small maximum aperture. This brings up a big issue: in low light, specifically indoors, you won't be able to achieve a fast enough shutter speed, and your photos will blur from camera shake. To counteract this, you'd need to buy a flash unit, or a professional lens with a 2.8 or greater aperture. Both options get expensive pretty fast. So if you can only afford a dslr and kit lens, and no accessories, you won't be happy with your photos for very long. The kit lenses slow aperture also means that you won't be able to blur out the background like you want to, because the lenses aperture controls your depth of field. The wider the aperture, the narrower the DOF, and the more out of focus the background will go. Having a max. aperture of 5.6 severley limits how much you can blur the background out.

Unfortunately, photography is an expensive hobby if you want to achieve good results, and even then, you could spend tens of thousands on a pro camera body and a few lenses, and if you don't know the basics of photography, you would still be better off using a $100 point and shoot, because they are designed to make the decisions for you, where are a DSLR is designed for the user to make the decisions. They have auto mode, but it rarely provides desirable results.

ewlang · Nov 24, 2011

Thanks!

So for example a camera like this:
Fujifilm FinePix S3200 14MP 3" LCD 24x Optical Zoom Digital Camera with 4GB SD Card and Case - Black - BJ's Wholesale Club

Would I be able to use some manual settings to improve my pictures or does a camera like this mainly use "auto". Thanks.

mangtarn · Nov 24, 2011

so many questions.... if that camera has manual settings then you should play around with it. manual settings only improve your photos if you know how to set them properly.

ewlang · Nov 24, 2011

Sorry for all the questions! ONE LAST ONE!

Would a camera like this have a lot more options and manual settings. Do you also believe that it is worth the extra 100 or so dollars over the megazoom ones posted earlier?:
Amazon.com: Nikon Coolpix P7000 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 7.1x Wide Zoom-Nikkor ED Lens and 3-Inch LCD: Camera & Photo

I ordered the $100 one at target but I feel this may be too cheap :/
Nikon L105 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 15x Optic... : Target

Please help guys I am so confused at what I should do. THANKS AGAIN

mangtarn · Nov 24, 2011

you know what, i think the nikon coolpix p7000 is the one you should get. it's an advanced point and shoot with many user control modes. but it doesn't look like a DSLR which im sure is what you want in a camera

ewlang · Nov 25, 2011

So i am really leaning towards the P7000 but recently found the S9100....
Amazon.com: Nikon COOLPIX S9100 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 18x NIKKOR ED Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full HD 1080p Video (Black): Camera & Photo

It is cheaper, and has better zoom. It is also a new model. What makes the P7000 almost a $100 more? I am confused. Thanks!

mangtarn · Nov 25, 2011

… i don't know why im still wasting my time answering your endless questions.

the P7000 is their advanced P&S model whereas S9100 is their normal P&S model. the P7000 emphasizes on control while S9100 emphasizes on getting aesthetically appealing photos easily. we (on the forum) can't tell you which camera is right for you because 1) barely anyone on here has extensive knowledge on P&S cameras and 2) no one on here knows what you truly need in a camera.

so save me some time and figure out what you need and what your budget permits, instead of making us try to make the decisions for you.

sorry for the rant. happy thanksgiving.