Need help deciding on what camera to get...

[Addicted2Photoz]

Looking to shoot photos that I can make posters with, but also make good close ups and very detailed pictures. I was checking out that canon EOS 5d mark II, but I think it might be priced as high as it is because of it's ability to shoot videos. I'm not interested in videos. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Samanax]

What's your budget?

 

[vh5150]

Get a Nikon D90. I was admiring one at Best Buy earlier today wishing I had one.

 

[Addicted2Photoz]

What's your budget?

Anywhere from 1 cent to $3000. But what would I be looking at if I wanted to make posters? I mean, money is really not an option even if I have to save up for years...

 

[Sherman Banks]

What's your budget?

I mean, money is really not an option even if I have to save up for years...

How about this one. You might have to save for a bit, but I'm sure it's worth it.

 

[Baaaark]

5d mkII...talk about silky smooth image clarity. And great high-ISO performance. But what's wrong with an original 5D? It'd be used, but oohh so nice.

If you are loyal to Nikon moreso, try the D700.

 

[Addicted2Photoz]

5d mkII...talk about silky smooth image clarity. And great high-ISO performance. But what's wrong with an original 5D? It'd be used, but oohh so nice.

The thing I don't like about the 5D mkII is that I feel like most of the money being spent on it is going toward the video feature, which is something I'll never use. You want to shoot a video go buy a video camera! I was checking out the canon 50d, I think that's going to be the winner!

EDIT: I checked out the D700, the thing is 3000 dollars man, and to me it just doesn't seem like it has the quality or the features that canon does. Maybe I'm just a canon fan.

 

[ANDS!]

Wow. If all you are doing is making posters - ANY camera on the market can do what you are looking for it to do. Image quality is largely meaningless in this day and age. It's the lens that you attach to your camera that is going to matter.

As for your combo here is what I would suggest: Stick with Canon or Nikon. If you go for the Canon, I'm sure you can pick up a refurbed 50D (or maybe even new) for about 1000 bucks or so, which would leave you with nice wiggle room to splurge on lenses (and some lighting equipment, depending on what kind of posters you are wanting).

For Nikon, I would suggest a D90 for 900 bucks refurbished from Adorama, and similarly coupling it with appreciable lenses (although, even at a premium, I would go with the more "pro" bodies Nikon D300).

And no, you are not spending money on the video feature. That is going to be in most cameras moving forward. You are paying for a full frame 21MP camera. As such, the 5D might be a better option for you as it has more detail grabbing capability, and if you are "sweating" upscaling your images (which you are going to have to do regardless), then this might be an option for you. However it IS a hefty cost and going to eat up much of your budget and leave you with not a whole lot of wiggle room for accessories.

 

[musicaleCA]

No no no. You need a Hasselblad to take anything close to decent photos! Everyone knows this...

*ahem* Just kidding. Thank you ANDS! for straightening-out the image-quality-ness.

I'll add that you could, if you *really* are going after sharpness for posters, pick-up OnOne's Genuine Fractals (which is actually awesome for resizing images to much, much larger sizes; they aren't just marketing the crap out of it) for a couple hundred dollars. If this is something you're going to be paid for, then factor that into the cost.

Megapixels, shmegapixels.

 

[Steph]

I was checking out that canon EOS 5d mark II, but I think it might be priced as high as it is because of it's ability to shoot videos.

I wouldn't think so. The 5D mkII is expensive because of its full frame sensor. The video is an added bonus that probably did not cost Canon too much to develop as they probably transfered the technology (mainly software) from their video cameras. I don't think they had to create anything new in terms of hardware. Just a guess.