Need Help w/1st camera!!

Hena19

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Hi everybody

As u can see I am new 2 this forum... I've been searching for weeks for a good camera. Lately I have been getting more and more serious about photography and I just dont kno what camera to buy.

I have been searching tons of sites, and reading reviews but Im not sure what is considered 'good'..

I was wondering if you can give suggestions on what would be a good camera 4 me. I want something that takes good crisp photographs... I am willing to spend upto $500 bcz that is all I can afford rite now...

Plz Help!!!!!! :(

R any of these any good?

#1) Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30S
#2) Sony Cyber Shot DSC-H5
 
frankly all my cameras were made around 1930... I doubt you would be interested in my advice.

If you want a film camera there are a ton at that price these days, but they most likely will be used if they are really good ones. Digital I have no idea about.
 
i think... not sure, but you could get a low end DSLR for that price.

on the other hand, you could also get a really good used film SLR plus several lenses for 500.
You could also buy a new Film SLR body and prime lens for under 500.

I have a Pentex MX from the 1970's, its never failed. They go for about 150 on ebay.
 
uh...no actually i prefer film over digital. digital is just more convenient for most people.

here's my suggestion...

buy a cheap 35mm SLR, a wide angle lens, a telephoto lens, a 50mm lens, camera bag, film, and a few photography basics books.
 
Hi Hena19. They are both very similar cameras and there's not much to choose between them. Best thing to probably do is go into a shop and have a play around with them and see how you get on. It will probably come down to which one feels best. Also to consider in that price range is the Fujifilm Finepix s9000 and the Canon Powershot S3. I'm sure Nikon do a similar one in the range too.

One this to remember is that they are not upgradeable and if you find yourself hooked then you might be kicking yourself that you didn't by a DSLR that you can upgrade and buy new lenses as you outgrow the limitation of your purchase (I've got the s9000 and I wish I'd bought a DSLR).

Seriously consider the Nikon D50 and you might be able to pick up a Canon 350D at a bargin price now as the model is being superseeded by the 400D. It's woth spending that little bit more imho.

Good luck on yourt purchase and don't forget to post you picure, whatever you buy :)

Mohain
 
You won't find a DSLR for $500 or under, at least not new. And if you did it would be body only and you'd need another couple hundred for a lens. Not everyone needs a DSLR so don't worry about it.
I've heard good things about the Canon S3 IS, if that is any help.
 
OK, Hena19, I'll go out on a limb here and make a solid recommendation.

Let's begin with what you've said. You're interested in digital and you have a total of $500 to spend. As you are new to photography, you have only a fuzzy idea as to what type of picture you wish to take or to 'specialize' in.

So we're looking for a camera which can be operated in a simple mode at first where the camera does most of the thinking and you push the button. With time, as you begin to learn what photography is all about, the camera should permit you to explore aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes. It should permit you to get close to a subject. It should have enough megapixels to give a good, sharp image. It should permit you to use on-camera and off-camera flash. It should have a good range of focal lengths. I could go on for a while, but you've got the idea.

The bare price of a camera is just the beginning. There's also the cost of the memory card, a spare battery, etc. This being the case, you should look for a camera in the range of $350 or less. This leaves money for the accessories. And there are some accessories you should buy with the camera. The memory card packed with the camera will not be at all adequate, for instance.

At the present time B&H, a reputable firm, is selling the Panasonic DMC-FZ20 in black for $349.95. Add an inexpensive spare battery and a basic Sandisk 1gig card and you still have money left for a warranty and sales tax or shipping. You can save a bit of money by going to a 512Mb disk. That will still give you almost 200 pics at the 5Mb jpeg setting.

At a later date, when you have a bit more money to spend, you can get a tripod and perhaps a separate flash unit. But meanwhile, you have a camera which will provide good pictures for a long, long time. It will have enough features to grow with you as you learn what digital is all about and develop your own photographic 'eye.' Never, never forget that many of the great photographs of the past were made with equipment that you would consider unacceptably primitive by today's standards.

"Yeah, right," you say. "But what would you buy?"

You got me there, Hena19.

It's time for me to 'fess up.

Last week I bought a Panasonic DMC-FZ20, a Sandisk 1gig card, a spare battery and a warranty at the store. The bill [I have it in my hand right now] reads $505.89!

No matter what you buy, welcome to TPF.
 
by Jeasy: uh...no actually i prefer film over digital. digital is just more convenient for most people.

In the film/digital discussions this is one of the more logical statements I have even seen, by a digital photographer. Not the "I prefer film" but the digital is more convenient part.

It's why I told my son in law two years ago to buy digital... If you are a working pro with an eye to max profits or a person who is producing a lot of family things digital makes sense.

That does not make it better or worse, it is actually those who are blind on either side... that make for a sad commentary on either.

Believe it or not it's the attitudes not the equipment I comment on.
 
Great post Torus..same to you Mysteryscribe.

And welcome to the forum Henas!
 
I think you'll find most of the digital cameras in your price range to be very similar, as far as features and image quality go, at least among cameras that cost about the same. You should go to a store where you can actually handle several, and decide which one feels best in your hands.
 
In all this discussion about digital or film you hardly ever find convincing argument on either side. Mostly it is about dogma ...

As far as I see it, the two are different media! You can do mass production of photos with both of them (holiday, family, weddings, product photography whatever) .. and you can do artwork with both of them.

In terms of mass production, digital clearly is the winner in terms of speed and workflow (however to get good results also digital needs some expertise and work in the digital darkroom, but overall it is faster). Anyone with that need should go digital.

If however you want to produce fine art (wahtever that actually means), you can chose between film and digital. It is not that one of them is better, they are just different. And the type of result will be different. Workflow plays less of a role here since this sort of work requires a lot of time per piece anyway. Someone wants to sculpture in stone, someone else in metal. So in the field of photography someone wants to use 35mm film and someone else a DSLR, and someone else again uses a vintage camera. You can produce stunning things with all three, but also rubbish with all three ;)
If you are a computer person, then working with computers might give you inspiration, if so, use digital for artworks. Others might be more inspired by a proper darkroom.

I currently mostly shoot digital (amateur-ish) for reasons of convenience. But if I find the time I would like to get my old large-format wooden pre-1900 camera working. Just because the process of producing an image is much more interesting and demanding.

That much for my own humble thoughts .. sorry, since this did not really answer the question about what digital camera to buy and is way off topic ... ;)

mysteryscribe said:
by Jeasy: uh...no actually i prefer film over digital. digital is just more convenient for most people.

In the film/digital discussions this is one of the more logical statements I have even seen, by a digital photographer. Not the "I prefer film" but the digital is more convenient part.

...

Believe it or not it's the attitudes not the equipment I comment on.
 
Torus34 said:
OK, Hena19, I'll go out on a limb here and make a solid recommendation.

Let's begin with what you've said. You're interested in digital and you have a total of $500 to spend. As you are new to photography, you have only a fuzzy idea as to what type of picture you wish to take or to 'specialize' in.

So we're looking for a camera which can be operated in a simple mode at first where the camera does most of the thinking and you push the button. With time, as you begin to learn what photography is all about, the camera should permit you to explore aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes. It should permit you to get close to a subject. It should have enough megapixels to give a good, sharp image. It should permit you to use on-camera and off-camera flash. It should have a good range of focal lengths. I could go on for a while, but you've got the idea.

The bare price of a camera is just the beginning. There's also the cost of the memory card, a spare battery, etc. This being the case, you should look for a camera in the range of $350 or less. This leaves money for the accessories. And there are some accessories you should buy with the camera. The memory card packed with the camera will not be at all adequate, for instance.

At the present time B&H, a reputable firm, is selling the Panasonic DMC-FZ20 in black for $349.95. Add an inexpensive spare battery and a basic Sandisk 1gig card and you still have money left for a warranty and sales tax or shipping. You can save a bit of money by going to a 512Mb disk. That will still give you almost 200 pics at the 5Mb jpeg setting.

At a later date, when you have a bit more money to spend, you can get a tripod and perhaps a separate flash unit. But meanwhile, you have a camera which will provide good pictures for a long, long time. It will have enough features to grow with you as you learn what digital is all about and develop your own photographic 'eye.' Never, never forget that many of the great photographs of the past were made with equipment that you would consider unacceptably primitive by today's standards.

"Yeah, right," you say. "But what would you buy?"

You got me there, Hena19.

It's time for me to 'fess up.

Last week I bought a Panasonic DMC-FZ20, a Sandisk 1gig card, a spare battery and a warranty at the store. The bill [I have it in my hand right now] reads $505.89!

No matter what you buy, welcome to TPF.

Thank you soo much! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me :). I think today I will go to a camera store and check it out... Thanks so much... :)
 

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