D50 or Canon PowerShot G7???

[rmh159]

A friend of mine is debating which camera to get (I've recommended the D50 but I'm undoubtably biased) and is stuck between these two.

He's trying to keep it under $600 (he can get a D50 w/kit lens for under $600 from a friend that works in a camera shop) but is feeling like the D50 might be too much camera for his needs. He's going to be traveling within the next year so his main interests are portraits, landscapes and just general photography.

Anyone know any specifics about the Canon or could provide some insight?

 

[CMan]

While DSLR is arguably always better, the G7 is a hot little camera. It's got a 35-200 equivalent IS zoom, 10 megapixel CCD, and a flash hot shoe.

It can also record movies in 1024X768 format, and it's got a bevy of manually adjustable features. And check this out; 9 camera modes, 13 picture modes, 9 WB modes, and it can go up to ISO 1600. Plus it has a 2.5" LCD.

Sounds pretty good to me, and it's priced at $599 on Walmart.com.

I know what your friend is saying, a DSLR is great, but for non-professional enthusiasts there are definetly trade offs. No movie mode, no live preview, etc.

 

[Don Simon]

Yes, normally I'd say definitely go for the dSLR over the compact, but the Canon G series are very good for what they are. Not everyone needs an SLR. Some people prefer framing on an LCD screen and like recording movies. And the G7 is a camera that can be carried pretty much anywhere; an SLR with zoom lens may not be overly heavy but it's not pocketable. If your friend thinks that a digital SLR is too much camera for his purposes then he's probably right.

 

[Big Mike]

I almost always recommend a DSLR over a digi-cam...but I have heard great things about the G7. Michael Reichmann, over at The Luminous Landscape...says that it's the first digicam that is almost as good as a DSLR in terms of image quality and digital noise. Review Here

 

[phil-ray]

a Dslr will always be better than a compact over durability but also the respect u get when u have a big camera, i find i get asked less questions why i have my D50 with me when out randomly taking pics rather than if i had a wee hand held job.

saying that the one thing a Dslr lacks is movie ability, which if your friend will want to take movies tell him to go for the powershot