Help a noobie with buying a camera plz

ffd796 · Mar 1, 2009

For your travels you my want to take a look at the Canon G9 and play with that for a bit, I am a Nikon guy but have a friend that just got one for an every day cary camera and man that thing is impressive.

Seefutlung · Mar 1, 2009

Firstly, the last thing to consider when purchasing a camera is "feel".

What should be considered is Image Quality and Accessories.

Accessories:
When you buy a SLR you are purchasing a camera system. Make sure that the manufacturer makes the accessories which will allow to photograph your desires. (i.e. macro, infra-red and astro photography are a specialty which all manufacturers do not address as well as other manufacturers)

Fast lenses for low light photography is another item which many/some camera makers may fall short. The giants in digital, Nikon and Canon make more lenses and associated hardware than any other company ... but if you have a speciality ... make sure you check it out.

Generally, if you are not willing to add accessories you will probably be better off with an advanced P&S.

Image Quality (IQ):
Do your homework and see which camera in the price range you can afford has the best Image Quality. There is much more to IQ than just MPs. Sensor size and sensor type are significant factors effecting IQ. Most/all SLRs with a minimum of 8MP, shooting under ISO 400 will NOT have a significant difference in IQ up to an 8x10 (from the cheapest Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, et al to the most expensive 1Ds and D3 ... you won't be able to separate inexpensibe from expensive).

At elevated ISO's of 800+ the CCD sensors are noted to all go to hell with noise to the point that the image is not acceptable. CMOS will deliver the highest IQ with the least noise at an elevated ISO.

So if you plan to shoot in low light situations without flash (indoors, evening/nighttime street shooting), I strongly suggest a CMOS sensor. I'm not familar with Sony, but with Nikon and Canon ... only the most expensive Nikons come with CMOS (D90 and up) ... all Canon cameras are equipped with CMOS.

Feel:
Believe me, all modern cameras take the human hand into account when developing a design. Most people will easily adapt from one maker to another quite easily. Camera IQ and camera accessories can/will affect the final photograph ... feel will not. All else being equal, then yeah use feel as a criteria, but make it you last and least important criteria.

Besides, once the viewfinder reaches the eye, the only feel you should have in in the end of your shutter release finger.

Gary

anubis404 · Mar 1, 2009

Seefutlung said:
Firstly, the last thing to consider when purchasing a camera is "feel".

I disagree. Buying a camera is similar to buying a car. Would you buy an awesome car if it had seats made of concrete? I agree that IQ etc. is important, but handling is also very important when considering a camera body.

Katier · Mar 2, 2009

Tolyk said:
Cameras are just computers these days, saying you want something for under 500 that's not going to be obsolete in 2 years... Well, that pretty much limits out everything in that budget

I'd agree with the poster that spoke of bridge/advanced p&s cameras, a G10 or a Nikon Coolpix P6000

Obsolete in two years? Hardly. Unless you are doing pro work that requires huge print sizes (when to be honest MF film or MF digibacks or even LF are the way to get best quality ) even a 6mp DSLR is fine for even A4 sized prints.

The ONLY reason I upgraded my K110D to a K200D was.. well ok two reasons.. one was the bargain price, the other was the fact 6mp is basically A3.. so was a struggle to do prints for my uni work which need A3 or even larger.

I'm tempted to get a 6mp Is* at some point...

oh and by your defination a D40 is obsolete given it's 2 years old, as is, by your definition, the K10D - both (the latter is definatly NOT obsolete).

manaheim · Mar 2, 2009

The D40 was absolete the day it was conceived.

I still have my D100 that I use as a backup camera. It's a little long in the tooth and really suffers from "first prosumer camera ever" issues, but it's just as usable as the day it was born and still enjoyable to shoot with.

As long as it takes pictures and has "film" available for it, it will never be obsolete. (and yes, that includes the D40)

Seefutlung · Mar 2, 2009

anubis404 said:
I disagree. Buying a camera is similar to buying a car. Would you buy an awesome car if it had seats made of concrete? I agree that IQ etc. is important, but handling is also very important when considering a camera body.

I cannot think of any car with concrete seats.

If I need a vehicle for hauling six tons around town ... mmmhh ... nope ... wouldn't look at the seats .... if I needed a vehicle that had to travel at 140 mph ... I'd look at the motor and breaks ... not the seats. Once again, similar to cameras, autos are design for the human body, and generally, anybody can easily adapt and drive any car made.

Now if your buying a vehicle or camera purely for comfort and not for transportation or photography ... then yeah look at the seats first ... otherwise, "feel" is last ... you will adapt.

Gary

Tolyk · Mar 2, 2009

Katier said:
oh and by your defination a D40 is obsolete given it's 2 years old, as is, by your definition, the K10D - both (the latter is definatly NOT obsolete).

Uh, yeah, both those cameras are discontinued, I think there's a reason for it.

manaheim · Mar 2, 2009

Seefutlung said:
Now if your buying a vehicle or camera purely for comfort and not for transportation or photography ... then yeah look at the seats first ... otherwiae, "feel" is last ... you will adapt.

Spoken like someone who has never driven a Viper.

I'm admittedly being a little flip, but I'm also pretty serious. Have you driven one of the older Vipers? They are amazing cars, even for someone like me who doesn't like American cars much... but in the end they are SO uncomfortable to sit in that I absolutely could never see buying one over another even lesser-performing (or even more expensive) sports car.

I do know what you're saying, though, really... for most cameras there is a base-line of reasonable usability that almost HAS to be there or the camera would be such an utter failure it would be insane. What's more is that the level of base usability is SO easy to achieve that it's relatively unthinkable that any camera manufacturer would fail to meet it... therefore, it's safe to assume that you would reasonably adapt to nearly any camera you picked up.

I agree with that statement.

I think there is something to how a camera feels to you... it should be considered. But unless it's an earth shattering thing for you, it's kinda crazy to pick one camera over another based just on feel.

Seefutlung · Mar 2, 2009

manaheim said:
Spoken like someone who has never driven a Viper.

I'm admittedly being a little flip, but I'm also pretty serious. Have you driven one of the older Vipers? They are amazing cars, even for someone like me who doesn't like American cars much... but in the end they are SO uncomfortable to sit in that I absolutely could never see buying one over another even lesser-performing (or even more expensive) sports car.

I do know what you're saying, though, really... for most cameras there is a base-line of reasonable usability that almost HAS to be there or the camera would be such an utter failure it would be insane. What's more is that the level of base usability is SO easy to achieve that it's relatively unthinkable that any camera manufacturer would fail to meet it... therefore, it's safe to assume that you would reasonably adapt to nearly any camera you picked up.

I agree with that statement.

I think there is something to how a camera feels to you... it should be considered. But unless it's an earth shattering thing for you, it's kinda crazy to pick one camera over another based just on feel.

I was trying to be concise ... lol

I know of a few cars that a portly or overly tall person would feel very uncomfortable ... but those are speciality cars (ala Viper) and are not for the general population. I attended Bob Boundurant School of High Performance (racing school), the cars we drove were outfitted with steel seats ... and again, similar to putting your eye to the viewfinder ... once first gear was engaged ... you forgot all about the feel of the seat.

Gary

PS- Hell, my daughter's first car was a Camero and for me it was such a pain to get in and out of I rarely drove it even though it had a T-Roof and there is nothing finer than driving California Highway 1 in an open car.
G

illbleed · Mar 3, 2009

What a great forum! :thumbup: Thanks a lot for all the quality replies everyone, it certainly makes it easier for me to make a decision (a hard one at that)!

I took a look at the G10 the other day and it's a pretty cool camera but it is not as versatile as a SLRs, according to your replies, and its a little portly for a P&S. I will have to check out a D40, D60, D70, and a Rebel soon, to be completely sure.

As far as buying a used camera/lens: is there anything I should be looking out for? I wouldn't want to get stuck with a lemon!