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CaptainCharisma

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Dec 4, 2005
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HAMILTON
I need the help of my fellow terbites on this one.

I"ve been thinking about getting a digital camera, well not thinking, I WILL get a digital camera and was wondering if there are any recommendations for a good one.

I don't take pictures often so I'm not exactly looking for a high tech $1,000 camera - just one that works, takes great pictures and one thats durable and reliable.

Price range is between $300-$750 - Like I said, not looking for a top of the line camera, as this will be used sparingly if not moderately.

What brand should I be getting, and what's a decent low range digi camera?

Feedback is greatly appreciated! I knwo nothing about cameras!
 

jay19

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Feb 19, 2006
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hey...i'd recommend a Canon camera...you're guaranteed to get amazing quality as I have noticed from mine (Canon Powershot A620)...I purchased and returned several cameras before i stuck with the Canon, the 5 models I purchased were Kodak, Sony, HP, Fuji, Olympus...

The Kodak model i purchased was the Z740 in the $400 dollar range..this camera had very poor quality pictures...Every other picture was either dark, or the colours were totally off...even under regular room lighting...I returned it within a week

The Sony i purchased was the P200...it was a great camera...the only thing is that it was the name you are paying for with Sony...they have branded there lens Carl Zeiss, and you are definately paying for that brand name...which is not necessary...other than that the camera was perfect...great quality and great features...but Canon has more shooting modes...so i gave this one up and moved on to HP

The HP camera for a beginner is definately the best...it was the most economical with it's features...it was the R817...had great picture quality and very easy to use...but i decided to give this one up as a gift for my GF as she needed one...the camera is still working fine...and HP is by far the easiest to use...and you get more value for your money...

THEN i saved up some cash and went out to see what was out there...pretty much the same selection (only 2 weeks later)

I chose an Olympus model...they didn't have much of a selection...it was the stylus 600...decent camera...but lacks in features...it looked inferior to the HP and the Sony...therefore i just gave it back...

I picked up a Fuji next...the Fuji F10...this was a good camera...but the only thing with it was that it lacked zoom...optical zoom...if you're looking to zoom in on objects or people from far away...and it takes an XD card...these are limited in size...the biggest size you can find in stores is like 512MB maybe...and they cost more as well...therefore the FUJI was dumped...

At this point I had saved up enough to pick the camera i wanted...and i went with the Canon...it looked amazing...had all of these different shooting modes...a rotating screen so that you can actually view the picture if you wish to be in it...and also if gives u aclear screen so that the sun or light doesn't reflect on it...it takes amazing pictures...at 7.1 MP i am able to zoom into an object and get amazing quality...and i can also crop pictures...and enlarge...without seeing little pixels on the picture it self...the Canon takes an SD card...so i picked up a 2 GB SD card since the higher the pixels...the more room it takes up...but the higher pixels are worth it if you wish to do some editing with you photos...this camera for me is flawless...i have yet to have taken one bad picture on this camera and i've taken a good 500 or so...everyone has been impressed with the quality of the camera...and since i have 2 gb of storage...i can take several mini video clips with audio and they look and sound great as well...it's a little bit bigger than the other cameras and in the 500 dollar range...but you definately get what you pay for...

Hope this helped...i know i went through a lot of cameras...lol but it was my initial plan to go through as many as i needed to to find the perfect one...and thats just what i did...
 

twizzler2

Not Just Candy Anymore
Sep 17, 2005
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There are 1000 questions I could ask you which would help narrow it down. However If I were to make some assumptions like;

-You won't use very many advanced settings like apature and shutter control
-Basically you want a point a shoot, snap shot type camera
-You want decent quality pictures, that you could have made into prints (8.5x10) is as large as you're likely to make them.
-You want a camera you would feel comfortable handing to kids to use
- you want a camera that you could keep in the glove compartment of you car so you have it just in case

If this is true;

you will have no problem finding a camera in you price range. You don't need anything with more than 5 Mega Pixals. If the camera does MP4 movies and that interests you buy a little extra memory for it ( also make sure it does sound with the movies). Always favour optical zoom over digital Zoom. It's a handy feature for helping you frame a subject you shouldn't need more than 3X optical. The digital zooming you can do later with a photo program like photoshop which does a far better job than the camera's internal digital zoom.

check out www.dpreview.com they have a ton of information and pictures from most cameras on there to compare with.

I would stick to a well known brand like Cannon. the Digital elf series has been a benchmark of this type of camera although you do pay a little more for the cannon name in my opinion.

I would buy from someone like future shop who sells a replacement warrenty for the device. Normally I'm dead set against these types of warrenties but if you are going to hand it your kids to use I think it would be worth it, because it's going to get dropped, or sat on, or spilled on. Two years from now they will replace it with current technology which will be light years ahead of anything you can buy now.

hope that helps.
 

jay19

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Feb 19, 2006
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just to let you know about the warranty issues...i feel that future shop and best buy over charge customers for there warranties (nearly half the cost of the product)...Staples provides great warranty service at pretty low prices and gives you the option of refunding your warranty within the first year if you decide the camera will be working fine...thats where i purchased mine from as well...the warranty is valid for 2 additional year on top of the manufacturer's warranty...and i only paid $59.99 for the warranty...whereas best buy and future shop were charging more than double that price for there warranties...i'm not sure why....
 

twizzler2

Not Just Candy Anymore
Sep 17, 2005
734
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I they are overpriced on the warrenty as well, but if you consider it a pre-paid upgrade...It might be worth it. It also might explain the high price of the warrenty.
 

MarkII

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Sep 22, 2004
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Digital camera selection is quite extensive. I'm a Canon user with 2 digital SLR's and about 75,000 images taken so far on these two camera's. Both are under 2 years old. I do shoot professionally.

There are some things to keep in mind in your camera selection.

First, don't get caught up in the megapixel=better picture sales scenario. Megapix determines the potential clarity of the image. It also relates directly to the size of print you can obtain with film quality resolution. If you will never print larger than 8x10 then 5 megapix will suffice. Having anything over 5 will allow you to "crop", meaning with software you can zoom into the shot and print only a section of the original image. Obviously the more data available from a larger megapix camera will allow more flexibility.

But you do not need huge amounts of megapixels for great shots. I took a series of shots in Peru a year ago with a 4 meg camera that were incredible. With a software program called Genuine Fractals I've been able to create large scale prints of 13x19 inches with excellent clarity. I chose the small point and shoot over my digital SLR's as it was a 3 week walking tour and my camera bag with lenses is over 25 lbs...too much weight for 3 weeks at high altitude!! The small point and shoot cameras offer that flexibility.

Second, what type of battery does the camera use? Digital camera's are power hogs! So you want a rechargable option. Using the Nimh batteries helps a lot. They're cheap and reuseable. Stay away from proprietary camera batteries. You'll need extras and they can be quite expensive. Every time you review your shots with the LCD you are chewing up battery time. A quick note...use the viewfinder not the LCD to compose your shot. Turn the LCD off when you don't need it. Your batteries will last 2 to 3 times as long.

Third, what kind of memory card? Sony for instance uses their own "memory stick" and compression for images. It's a very expensive memory card to buy and you cannot get 2gig cards. You want a CF or SD card. Both are widely used and very inexpensive. DO NOT let salespeople upsell you to FAST memory cards if using a point and shoot camera. A basic 1gig CF card will be just fine and you can buy them for about 70 bucks Can$. With a point and shoot at 7 megapix thats about 700 pictures in the largest size. More than enough for the average one week vacation. All the point and shoot camera's will allow you to shoot in large medium and small size. Each have their own use and you'll learn that in the camera manual.

Fourth, shooting in digital means you accept that images will need some manipulation later in the computer. You can capture your images in several formats, jpeg, tiff or RAW. Jpeg and tiff are formats that allow you to manipulate much of the image but not all of it. RAW allows you to manipluate all of the image. File size grows from jpeg to RAW quite extensively, hence the need for larger memory cards. For manipulating the images Canon and Nikon both come with software that is quite good. Adobe Photshop is the industry standard and they also have a lesser version called Adobe Photo Elements. There are vast sources on the net for tips on any of the software you need. Tutorials comin out the ass..which is a good thing!

Now to camera selection.

You're somewhat in luck. The camera industry has 2 major shows for product introduction every year. This week the PMA is on and some new camera's have been introduced.

Some suggestions:

CANON

S3 IS:
499.00 USD
For low light this camera has 800 ISO
2" LCD
6.0 megapix
20 shooting modes
IS means Image Stabilization, in low light situations the lens has a gyro in it that keeps the elements from moving. You get better clearer shots that do not show camera shake.
Available May 2006

A700 and A540
2.5" LCD
6.0 megapixel
smaller size
excellent upgrade to previous models
349 and 299 respectively USD
again 20 shooting modes for selection.
Highly reccomended as a first digital camera

PANASONIC

DMC FZ7
399 USD
6.0 megapix
Excellent follow up to previous model.

NIKON

Cannot reccomend. I've had 2 Nikon point and shoot camera's. Both packed it in after the warranty expired.(about 16 months with no damage and minimal use) Nikon was little to no help in repair. I've heard many horror stories regarding Nikon P&S camera's. They make excellent SLR's and lenses. They sell point and shot based on their name, and people are often not pleased. Menuing system can be very complex and assumes your knowledge of photography is quite good, so for that reason I do not reccomend it as a first camera. The choice is yours. It's an excellent company but you must assume you have photography knowledge or the manuals will confuse you.

OLYMPUS

E300
This is a relatively inexpensive SLR.
Built in Sensor cleaning function, MAJOR BONUS!
Very nice lens selection
An advanced camera that can be used as a point and shoot while you learn with lots of options. An excelent camera for those wanting to move up in the learning curve of photography. A very popular camera for wedding photographers.


So in summation, whatever you buy, take lots of pics in the store. Take the camera outside to see if you can actualy SEE the image in daylight on the LCD. You'd be surprised at how hard it is in bright light to actually see the image on the LCD. Does the camera feel good when you hold it? Does it fit nicely into your hand and can your fingers reach the buttons easily? Do you want a basic camera or one to grow into with more features than you can use at this moment?

So there you have it. The digital buyers 101. There are lots of other cameras to choose from but DO NOT buy one thats cute! Cute camera's are made to be held up and be seen..not used!

These are just the basics..do some research from these suggestions to find what you really need. But DO NOT accept the word of a salesperson as the definitive answer. DO buy from a camera store. DO NOT buy from a Future shop situation and do not accept the sales people at Future shop as photo professionals! Go to a Henrys store, Downtown Camera, Adens...whatever..they will price match. But they also know camera's and are all shooters who know their stuff.

Most of all...shoot LOTS of pictures...you never know which one will amaze you!

M2

one of my camera's is a ID MARKII...hence the nickname here.
 

MarkII

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Sep 22, 2004
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additional...

Twizzler had some good points.

The link he gave you to Dpreview is an excellent source. Although, DPR has become quite jaded recently towards new people..(it's an I have this and you don't thing) Some other excellent sites:

Rob Galbraith;
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/index.asp

Fred Miranda
http://www.fredmiranda.com/

But, I would advise to NOT purchase Future Shop extended warranties. There are more horror stories over getting a camera fixed than success stories.

Henrys has an extended warranty, I have not used it, nor would I purchase it as I shoot too many frames for their warranty to be valid, But Henry's will go to the mat for you in terms of replacement. The odd thing is..it's the same insurance company that Future Shop uses. I believe the chain pays a premium every time the warranty is actually used. ( an assumption) Henry's cusomers always seem to get it fixed by the camera manufacturer, Future Shop send the camera out to third party repair shops, even in the first year of warranty which is covered by the camera maker. By sending the camera to a third party the existing warranty has been voided.

Often the extended warranty is 1/2 the price of the camera. Be smart...do your research and DO NOT accept the sales person's advice ad hoc. Go home, research, and then go back with knowledge. The camera WILL still be available no matter what they say! They have more than one in stock! Why do I state the obvious..because more than a few friends have come to me saying they got "the last one in stock". But it was on sale the next week!

M2
 

CaptainCharisma

New member
Dec 4, 2005
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HAMILTON
You guys are awesome.

I can't thank you guys enough for taking the time to write up all that info - it was very helpful, and not just for me, but for anyone else out there thinking of purchasing a digi camera.

Great response to my thread. Thanks again.
 

antlerman

All about the fun!
Jun 28, 2005
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here basic info

if you do not plan to use it alot consider regular batteries instead of a rechargable
Cannon makes the one of the easiest models....Hell my mother in law and my mother both learned how to use...download...and print with a cannon
Stay away from an SLR style unless you arwe going for high quality and you think size matters.
cannon is small and compact and very durrable
 

KBear

Supporting Member
Aug 17, 2001
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west end
www.gtagirls.com
I have the Canon A610 camera and it seems quite nice. It works well as a point and shoot, and offers lots of options if you are willing to spend a few days studying the manual. It will cost you close to the top end of your price range by the time you buy memory, a couple of sets of rechargeable batteries, little camera bag, and pay tax.

Much depends on what options you want, and how much you are willing to spend. Canon has a good selection of P & S cameras, and Henry's is a good place to buy them.
 

canucklehead

Active member
Oct 16, 2003
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Nothing that has not been said prior.... i always say you can't go worng buying Nikon Canon or Olympus......
 

MarkII

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Sep 22, 2004
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DATYdude said:
This is a really good step-by-step advisor based on what is important to you, from a very good unbiased review site (OK they seem to really like almost every Canon):

http://www.myproductadvisor.com/mpa/camera/inputSummary.do

Good luck.
Intersting site DATY! It does offer more of the Canon in the selection process, the problem is..Canon has some pretty good consumer P&S. Sony makes a great camera, but it's all money after that for cards and cords etc.. Panasonic is a good supplier as is Fuji and Olympus.

The concept of buying the "first" digital camera is quite daunting. People really do have to rely on the sales persons advice.

The true test comes later once they've used it! The review sites are excellent for tech spec's but not a lot of them get into the head space of a new consumer. DATY provided a really good link for suggestions on what to look at.

In my previous post I tried to stay away from the really tech stuff as it's quite confusing and people tend to stand in front on a sales person and nod their head approvingly..because they don't want to seem stupid! Seriously...it happens every day. I have friends that have worked in BOX STORE situations and they've made up stuff on the fly and people have nodded and said yes..they heard about that! No one wants to look stupid when buying.

There's a lot of other considerations when buying digital...but I stayed away from mentioning it as the original poster wanted a beginning point and I felt some other people might find it useful as well.

BTW..if a sales person starts taking RESOLUTION....make them explain it!! Most cannot. Resolution is the same as your computer monitor and your video card. You can set your monitor for various resolutions, the higer the numbers the smaller the info on the screen becomes. Same with photo's...but different. The higher resolution applies to maniplulating the image in post processing software. Obviously the higher the resolution, the more you can do. The average person wants to get rid of red eye...and crop off someones nose who walked into a shot..so they don't need top end resolution! Sales people will always play the resolution card..because they know from their training..most people DO NOT understand what it is. Hence they can say anything and people nod and agree!

If it's your first digital...make sure you understand the camera completely before leaving the store...ask every and any question...a good camera store will spend a lot of time with you..even if it's a 299.00 camera...they want you to come back!

Henrys, Aden and Downtown Camera are excellent starting points...they will not usually upsell unless you force them to. And, that is a really important point. If the salesperson who really knows the camera's says..THIS is the right model for you...don't try and convince them you're better than you actually are...you will not be happy with your camera. It will quite simply be beyond your knowledge and there is an assumption you HAVE the knowledge. You won't get good shots with it 80% of the time.

That is your goal. 80% good shots with a point and shoot. It's not hard to get that. That 80% btw is very hard for pro's to get on a consistent basis in different situations without pre scouting the location. But you can let the camera make most, if not all, of the decisions and get some great shots.

What I like to see is creativity.

To give you an example...a good friend is in Turin right now on assignment for a national paper in the USA. His first front page shot was not the snowboarder in the air...but the shadow of the snowboarder in the bottom of the pipe. Everyone else got the guy captured in mid air...all 700 of them. My friend got the art shot that made the front page! He knew everyone else would cover the basic beauty shot, but thats not the one that people look at and go WOW!
:D
So go make some WOW shots...it's not hard...just stop taking vacation pics and have some fun. It's digital...you can erase if you don't like it!

M2
 

canucklehead

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Oct 16, 2003
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If u want to spend some money and have fun and learn at the same time the Olympus E-200 and 330 or 500 are all good entry level SLRs with a good range of lens and u can get open box specials on these from Henry's i had a E-300 as a back up SLR and loved it after the firmware update last July almost gave up my Canon ....... I used a Nikon D-50 when i was in NYC and my camera got stolen .. bought one cheap but for entry level SLR not that great... but point and shoot the Canon is pretty much always a winner.
 

carguy

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MarkII

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Sep 22, 2004
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carguy said:
Here's some points that weren't covered ...

Price - 2 of the cheaper places in Toronto are costca and adencameras but don't expect much help from the people at costco

http://www.costco.ca/en-CA/Common/Category.aspx?whse=&topnav=&cat=83&hierPath=79*&Browse=
http://www.adencamera.com/index.asp?Category=5

Performance - how fast does the camera focus and write to flash. My Cannon G5 is fast and my Cannon S110 is annoyingly slow. Also get a high speed flash card

Aden was mentioned....As for high speed flash card for a P&S..NO!

I have a 1DMakarII that shoots at 9.5 frames per second....and the buffer will carry it and never miss a shot.

The 5D while slower FPS...handles the "slower cards" quite well. Unless you are shooting sports...and taking shots every three seconds...you do not need a fast CF card. Only in extreme situations do you need the faster cards that are more expensive. Buy basic 1 gig cards and they'll be fine for 99.9% of your shooting. Every new digital camera comes with an internal buffer. If you want to take snaphots...you're fine;. if you want Sports Illustrated action shots...buy the 8000.00 camera and then buy the 500 dollar CF card. That is the main difference. I have not once found my cards to be slow..even when shooting action shots. The camera has a buffer....it loads there then downloads to the card. In P&s it's the same thing.

Now for dads who want to shoot hockey at 6AM...first..the lights wil almost always appear green in your shot. Might be yellow too.

Take one picture, the go to the menu option and select custom white balance...it will then give you a selection of the most recent oictures to choose from...select the last one you took. Now you have made that pcture the basis for white balance. Now go to the menu system for your camera and select sutom white balance...

You are shooting now in the white balance for that arena that day. Not every day...that day!

White balance assumes an 18% grey factor. Digital camera's all work on an 18% grey card principle. But it does not work with many lights in public buildings. Hence you have to set a custom white balance to make the shots come out ok. You're basicaly foiling the camera to create the correct lighting temperature. Our eye's do not see the green from arena lights...but digitals do! If your camera can shoot RAW...shoot RAW! You can change the colour temp and exposure to actaully save some shots you would not have been able to. If it won't offer RAW...then create a custom whote balance for that shooting situation...it wil be worth it! And it's very easy to do on all cameras.

M2
 

21pro

Crotch Sniffer
Oct 22, 2003
7,830
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Caledon East
Check prices in the U.S. before you buy!

I bought my Canon Digital Rebel XT in the US for $599 usd when it was $1499 cdn here!

with the CDN dollar around 86-87cents US, you can't go wrong...
 

sexmeup

Member
Jun 15, 2004
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I have the Canon SD200 and paid 289 last year, now you can get it for 229 if its still available or if you can still get it for that price.
I know about a month ago a friend bought the Canon SD300 for 299/289, think that was a Costco/Staples.
Canon and Nikon are the two top best in my opinion. You can go wrong with either one of them! Just the matter of how much you're willing to spend, depending on model, size etc, etc.
Check them out and get a feel for them, check O/S, that's a good point of the batteries mention earlier ago (rechargeable/AAA).
SD "secure digital" are the most common and standard, also most available and can get them cheap nowadays.
Can't think of anything else for now! LOL!!
 

canucklehead

Active member
Oct 16, 2003
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I bought my D 50 in the states for about 549 on 42nd st and my Oplympus here in Toronto for about 949 open box with two lens....... pricing in the states is almost always better but if something goes wrong Canon Canada has asked me prior to send my markII back to the states...... I have only managed to get about 7.5 frames a second with a high speed card :(
 

MarkII

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Sep 22, 2004
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canucklehead said:
I bought my D 50 in the states for about 549 on 42nd st and my Oplympus here in Toronto for about 949 open box with two lens....... pricing in the states is almost always better but if something goes wrong Canon Canada has asked me prior to send my markII back to the states...... I have only managed to get about 7.5 frames a second with a high speed card :(
Prices will be lower in the US.

I've been waging a a war with the Canadian Canon and Nikon head offices for about a year now regarding this issue. The pricing is way out of line. It's based on Euro dollars and American to Canadian conversions that are 3 years behind current rates.

Companies like Henry's exist because they have competent sales people..if you can go to Henry's and then buy for 4-600 less why would you?

The Canadian pricing is totally out of whack with the market. But, I'd rather buy from a local shop than an internet firm. I get advice when buying and more product info.

As to Canukleheads reference regarding warranty..your Canon warranty is good anywhere in North America, regardless of where you puirchased if the camera was designated for North American sale.

If they're telling you this it's wrong, unless you bought a Grey market camera in the US. Then it would have to be serviced by the US camera stores agents.

Canon has a North American warranty for all it's camera's and lenses sold in North America thru licensed retailers. It's been in place for quite a few years now.

The only exception is "grey market"

The question may well be, did you know it was grey market when you bouight it? If Canon canada is saying it has to go back to the US..it more than likely means you bought a grey market camera brought in from Europe. Hence North America service will not apply. Your only service route is throught the retailer that has set up a service policy in advance, hopefully!

B&H in NY sells quite a lot of grey market. They warranty it themselves. But at least they let you know why the camera/lens is cheaper.

Canucklehead..what is your waranty issue?

M2
 
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