New to this site with a camera question

[pbwhite]

He everybody, i'm new to this forum and it looks awesome, i'm really exited about it for helping me learn some new stuff about photography. I'm pretty much new to photography and i'm getting ready to buy a camera for primarily wildlife and landscape photography. I'm really considering the sony DSC-F828. What do you guys think about this camera for wildlife. I'd like one with a good zoom capability. Any advise and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm no expert and most of the technical terms used i'm not familiar with but i'm excited about learning. Thanks

Phillip

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the site

It looks like a decent digital camera. I personally would rather have an SLR camera with interchangeable lenses.

 

[pbwhite]

Any suggestions mike on an SLR camera that would be a good choice?? And why would you prefer this type of camera over the digital, if you don't mind me asking?? I Don't really know that much about either.

 

[pbwhite]

This is probably a dumb question and i appologize in advance but is an SLR camera just a regular 35mm camera?? Why are these better than digital?

Thanks for the help, i have a million questions about this stuff and am eager to learn and make the right choice before buying a camera.

 

[hobbes28]

Manufacturers have Digital SLRs out now. They are like the older 35mm but they have a digital chip in the place of film.
Canon has a digital Rebel for about the same price as the Sony 828. They also have a EOS 10d for a few hundred more. Or even Nikon one (d75?) for about the same.

 

[Big Mike]

Hey, ask away...that's why we are all here...to learn.

SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex, which means that there is a mirror in the camera so that when you look through the viewfinder...you are looking out the lens and not just a little window.

SLR cameras can be either film or digital. The big advantage that a digital SLR has over a "regular" digital camera is the size of the sensor. If you look at the Canon Digital Rebel or the Nikon D70...they both have 6 MP sensors but will give you a much better image than the 8 MP Sony camera. Digital SLR cameras are expensive though. Film SLR cameras are much more affordable. A lot of us still shoot film and then scan the images so that we can digitally edit and display them.

Besides that, a camera with interchangeable lenses is infinitely more versatile than a camera that has a built in lens. Of course it's much more expensive to buy a bunch of different lenses but think of it as an investment. If you ever wanted to get a newer or just different camera body...you could still use all of the lenses.

Still, a conventional digital camera might be the right fit for you. If you do want to go this route, I would suggest that you get one that allows you to have some degree of control over the exposure. Look for a camera that has aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode and even full manual mode. This will allow you to gain a much better understanding of photography. It may or may not help you take better photos but at least you won't be one of those tourists taking snapshots without a clue.

I hope some of this helped.

 

[Walt]

A good place to research digital cameras is www.steves-digicams.com

 

[pbwhite]

If i take a long range shot with a digital Camera such as the DSC-F828 will it be very clear?? And how clear will it be compared to a digital SLR or a film SLR?

 

[pbwhite]

Would you consider a digital SLR the best of both worlds?

 

[hobbes28]

So far, from everything that I have researched...yes.

Go to www.dpreview.com if you want to read reviews on different types.

 

[pbwhite]

so what is the main difference between the digital camera and an SLR digital camera besides the size of the sensor? Do digital SLRs just not have built in zoom and full manual control?

 

[pbwhite]

well an SLR camera with attached lenses give a clearer picture than that of a digital zoom?

 

[hobbes28]

they have interchangable lenses so you can get whatever lens you want. If you want a 1200mm lens, for a price, you can have one. You also do have full manual control but they also have some automatic settings. Some of the regular digital cameras don't have many manual settings or much of a zoom. There are those in between though. I use a Kodak DX6490 mostly. It has a 10x optical zoom and quite a few manual controls. You can also put filters or wide angle lenses on it also.

Just look around to see what suits your needs.

 

[santino]

I wouldn't buy no "no-SLR's"
Get the Nikon D70 or D100, or safe money and get yourself a normal SLR
:thumbsup:

 

[molested_cow]

Here's my opinion on digital SLR VS traditional SLRs.

I would very much like to get a DSLR, however one thing that puts me off big time is that the current chip ratio is about 1:5, that means if you have a wide angle lens like mine 20mm, when used with a Nikon D70 DSLR, it will be 30mm instead. That means it's not wide angle anymore.

This is important to me, because I use my 20mm lens a lot.

Oh the other hand, if I use my 300mm lens on D70, it will be 450mm instead, means I actually get more zoom than I paid for.

Since I got my camera from my dad, I am going to stick to it for a while. When I send my films for developing, I ask for photo CDs instead of prints, so I don't have to scan each photo myself.

Also, if I like any of the photos so much, I can have it enlarged as much as I like cus I have the original on film. Whereas if you have a digital pic only, there is only so big that you can print without losing the resolution.

As for you..... well, I will suggest getting a affordable traditional SLR, because you are just starting out. You will learn more from using a traditional SLR. It's a lot cheaper, and less gadgets to spend on( no memory card, charger and expensive battery to worry about). Just bring enough rolls of films and make sure you got enough battery.

Also with traditional SLR, you have the choice of using different types of films, like slides and so on. Yes, you will learn photography a harder way, but with a ton more fun.