Need Camera Suggestions

There are so many mid range cameras out there today, just googling them can cause a neural event equal to the eruption of Mount St. Helen.

Honestly the best thing you can do is go out there and put the camera in your hand. Get a feel of it, and ask a lot of questions to the person in front of you. Camera shops are great for this but are now a very rare thing to find. Keep in mind you don't need all those fancy doo-dads since you simply want to take pictures. The pixel size is for the pros unless you are wanting to do some major cropping or photo enlargements. The quality of the lens determines the quality of your photo.

As you found out those cell-phone sized cameras break real easy-I did too. I learned to put a neck strap on the camera and loop the strap around my neck. Hey, I use one for my DSLR so why not for my tiny camera? Putting a pocket camera in your pocket is a death sentence so use the neck strap, even if you are taking one photo-which should never happen. You turn on your camera-you should take LOTS of photos.

Whether you decide on Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, remember all cameras basically do the same thing. The differences in the price reflects the quality of the lens and the size of the sensor. You don't need all those special effects as many computer photo programs can do the same thing.

This photo was taken by a 12 year old Kodak Easy Share. Simply focus the subject in the green brackets and press the shutter. A super easy camera to use. Easy to grip. Keep your distance when using the flash.










Nikon D5100 with using a Nikkor 55-200mm lens. This camera works well in low light conditions. My blonde brain had little trouble figuring out the menu. While this camera is designed for the amateur photographer, it will grow with you until you want to move up to the super high priced DSLR. Nevertheless, get a quality lens on this camera and you can get high quality shots.










Canon Elph 100. This camera was dropped and no longer functions. However, I liked the way I could use this camera in this fashion. It was so small the chickens weren't scared of it. Canon cameras typically produce warmer colors than most digital cameras.




Nikon Cool Pix 5700-this antique digital cross-over can take amazingly clear shots-but the battery life is very short so you'll need several batteries. The flash is harsh in this camera so keep your distance when using it.

 

I used to be a relatively serious/successful photographer, 'til my relatively famous opthalmologist said, "Well .. your corneas look beautiful, but your retinas look like sh!t." So, my dated advice would nearly as useless as my eyes (save for the corneas, of course ~'-)

A few quick points to consider:

1. Most cellphones contain therein better cameras than my (back then) best digitals. If you're considering price heavily, then that'd be the best click for your change.

2. Photography subject has absolutely no bearing on the quality of the images your camera will produce ... a quick chicken can be captured on film just as easily as the typical toddler, which moves far faster than any chicken can, once all adults looks away for but one second.

Seriously ... deciding factors should be performance and quality, rather than price ... save 'til you can get one that shoots full HD 1080p in low light (lux) conditions, and has an extremely fast digital shutter speed for stopping motion -- the size of the lens aperature, and the quality of the lense elements, are critical to both. Sony, Canon and Nikon come to mind, listed by order of simplicity of use and quality of auto programming (again, based upon experience w/ these companies from a way's back).

 

When it comes to scanners and cheaper cameras, I personally prefer Canon. My scanner has been running great under heavy use for years. My camera has lasted my destructive ways and abuse far longer than any other brand, and is about 5 years old now. I've been happy with whatever Canon Powershot model I have, and purchased it because it offered me more features for my price range. On the video though, my model does not let me zoom in while recording. I dropped my poor camera on some rocks by accident, and ever since it has let me zoom in while recording. X). I guess they disable the feature for the cheaper cameras, because maybe in the crazy world of manufacturing it is cheaper to do that then build a camera without the zoom function...no idea, but lad dropping it made the camera better instead of broken.

My camera seems to have trouble picking up red though. It is annoying for sunsets, and makes purple colors appear much more blue.

 

I kept my last phone, the htc droid incredible, 'cause I knew Verizon's throttleing created glitches that any potential buyer would have to deal with, if they consumed the data that they payed for. In celebration of my chick's 21st day after birth day? I'll upload a sample (edited in photo shop -- crop/resized, as the original was over 20M ~'-)

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Used 3G devices w/ high quality 1080p video and very large still can be had for less than even the cheapest of decent cameras (less than $50 ~'-)

 

Here are Consumer's Reports top 5 picks for "Rugged and Waterproof" point and shoot cameras:

Nikon Coolpx AW100 $300
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4 $320
Canon PowerShot D20 $350
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS10 $180

What I always suggest to people is, pick a camera model that you like, determine last years model and then by one used on Ebay or Craigslist. You can save a ton this way. Also, a great source for data, reviews and the history of the different models is www.dpreview.com.

Good luck,

Jim

 

Point-and-shoot cameras have a hard time with quick movements. You can get a good quality 10-14MP camera from Sony, Canon, and Nikon that are fairly easy to use DSLR, for less than $300. I have a more advanced Sony as I am a beginning professional photographer. Try going to a Best Buy and try holding and using the display cameras. They are priced not too high. I ordered mine from Amazon.com after months of research for usage to fit my specific needs. I shoot a lot of wildlife/nature and sports at the local HS. So I needed a high FPS rate with low "noise".

 

Hey, so I check out these recommend waterproof cameras and realized that they are the type that don't have a lens that zooms in and out and all of that. That might be interesting to you considering your experience with the last camera, but these cameras may be zooming digitially which may not give you the greatest picture quality.

So, in case you don't like those, here's their picks for the more typical point and shoots:

Nikon Coolpix S100 $260
Canon PowerShot Elph 310 HS $260
Canon PowerShot S95 (we have an older model. Awesome camera, but pricey) $380
Canaon PowerShot Elph 110 HS $230
Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ1 $160

Jim

 

I have a few cameras. My Canon Powershot is great for throwing in my purse to take quick pictures. I have a SLR when I want to do more serious photography. I also have an Olympus ultrazoom camera, which I used before upgrading to the SLR. All of them take pretty decent pics, but I think I would recommend the Canon Powershot. If you wait until the holidays you can get some awesome deals. I paid a little over $100 for mine and it's already two years old. Battery life is excellent, pictures are pretty decent for a point and shoot (Mind you, I'm used to the quality of SLR cameras), and it was easy enough that my mom learned to use it.

Here are some good options. They should come down in price as we near the holidays. On Black Friday you can get awesome awesome deals, so keep your eyes open!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=canon+powershot