Camera reccomendations for a Poor Bastard!

[Alex C. 0]

Got out of work and raced home to pick up my wife and kids. We had plans to all go hiking together and find a waterfall in the Lake George Area of upstate NY. The Adirondacks are beautiful right now! It's wierd how one mountain will be at peak colors, another right next to it will still have alot of green, and one in the middle already lost many of its leaves Anyways, our hike was about 6 miles both ways, and the scenery and wildlife was just mindblowing :yahoo: Better yet was it was mostly my wife's idea to do it and I'd all but given up on getting her to enjoy th outdoors with me, maybe her standing next to me on a river swinging flies isn't impossible afterall!

 

Anyways, we took alot of pics which I'll post tomorrow after work, and although they are okay for the family photo album, they just don't capture the beauty of the area to make you really apprecitate what it's really like. So now I'm thinking new camera. :devil:

 

Like the title says, I'm not the "Mr. Bean" type of fly fisherman, I'm a poor bastard, and I have to really work hard and save to get the stuff I've got and can't afford to just go out and throw down a bunch of money on a high tech camera. But I am patient enough to save up for a nice one if it will do what I want it to.

 

Heres the features I'm looking for

 

-takes great macro shots

-doesn't require a college degree to operate, yet has alot of differnent setting that I can learn to use as I go along

-takes good outdoor photos such as mountains, wildlife, etc.

- has a nice zoom so I can zoom in on critters that won't let me get close, yet won't hurt picture quality when you really zoom out there

-good family photographs

-if possible, one that is waterproof and/or shockproof

 

I haven't mentioned a price range, and don't have a clue where I should put my ceiling at so I can get the features I want, but I am hoping to stay under $800 with a tripod, memory card, etc. And I'm not opposed to buying used(i.e. ebay,etc)

 

I'm hoping to have the money saved and the camera bought by around next spring.

[Alex C. 0]

Oh, and other than a model name, are there any certain features that I should make sure it has? WHat about the minimum MP it has?

 

To do everything I want, should I get one with interchangable lenses?

[gill buster 0]

we just got ours not to long ago but i like it. its the new sony dsc-h5. i think it was a little over 700 at best buy. it takes awesome macro shots(although ive never really had any to compare to) 12x optical zoom and 24x digital zoom. has an automatic setting that takes care of everything except for flash and macro on its own and a whole bunch of other settings like landscape movie and others. i really like it but ive never really had anything except for 35mm film to compare it too. it doesnt however have interchangeable lenses. not sure if you really need em though.

[Guest]

I had a Canon A80 and it has alot of custom settings like shutter speed, etc. It had a great macro mode and was the camer that I used to take all of the FTOTY photos. That is an older model but look for the newer version of that. Pujic used the model before mine and really loved his as well.

[mitch821 0]

I have a Canon S1 IS- Very easy to operate good quality pictures and I got mine for around $300. I know that with accessories you can spend tons They are now up to the Canon S3 IS-or just get yourself a Rebel, I know quite a few people that are very pleased with it!

When I was first looking for a camera I found this GREAT website

 

http://www.dcresource.com/buyersguide/

 

It breaks almost all cameras down-shotgun style. He takes pictures/movies(if applicable) with almost all the cameras. Just a fantastic website for research on digital cameras

[KVRNut 0]

OLB, I'm in the same boat that you're in. I just made a deal on a Canon EOS 3 film camera with an optional high speed motor drive and it'll be spring before I get it paid for and in my hands and even longer before I can afford the lenses I want for it. (I currently use Canon FD and FL bodies and lenses and they're not interchangable with the EOS.) The price I'm getting it for was too good to pass up and capabilities of the camera blew me right away. It's a camera dream come true. At least I'll be able to go DSLR down the line without having to buy another set of lenses because the lenses are interchangable between EOS film and digital. A very big bonus for me

 

If I was going digital, I'd go for a DSLR with interchangable lenses. It's what I was looking at before the EOS 3 came into my view. Guess I'm old fashioned and I need a viewfinder to look thru rather than a LCD screen to look at. I like the ability to pick a lens with the features and capabilities I want and need rather than compromise with just one lens. I'd also like to able to come close to doing with a digital what I can currently do with my film SLRs. At least with a DSLR you can buy the lenses you want and need over time to spread the investment out, just like I'll have to do with the EOS.*sigh* It's also easier to use filters with DSLRs as the lenses are made to accept them vs some of the 'all in ones' that may not take a filter at all. The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT or the XTi would be two good low priced DSLRs worthy of consideration.

 

 

Before I made the deal on the EOS 3, I took a look at a Canon Powershot S3 IS out of curiosity and that little camera impressed me with it's versatility. It would be one I'd seriously look at if you don't go DSLR as it has a lot of bang for the buck and almost everything you've listed in what you're looking for in a digital. The lens is a good 12x (36-432mm) and has a macro and super macro modes. The fact that Canon put the emphasis on the optical zoom instead of the digital zoom speaks volumes to me. The only draw backs to it are that there is no provision for a remote shutter release so you'll have to rely on the self timer and it only allows images to be stored in jpeg format instead of raw or tif formats. Personally, I could do without the movie and stereo sound features on it too.

 

Good luck with the camera hunt!

 

Ernie

 

[Alex C. 0]

Thanks guys! Whats SLR stand for? I'm guessing DSLR is Digital SLR :dunno: Looks like I've got a lot to learn right now

[KVRNut 0]

A SLR is a single lens reflex camera. Light coming into the camera through the lens that takes pictures is reflected up by a mirror behind the lens onto a ground glass screen above. You look at this screen through the viewfinder and a 5 sided glass prism (a pentaprism) is used to turn the image the correct way round. Simply put, when you look thru the viewfinder, you are looking thru the lens and seeing what your camera sees.

 

The mirror has to lift up out of the way before the picture is taken. Some cameras have used a partial mirror which lets some light through so the mirror does not need to move. Although not succesful for film cameras, this is very effective in some digital models.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ernie

[nemoblackdog 0]

(D)SLRs are great if what you're after is the best possible picture quality, and long-term ability to transfer your lenses to a newer body should the need ever arise. For low light conditions, they can't be beat.

 

However, in your original email, you didn't mention how important portability was to you. In this case, there's no way to stick a (D)SLR into your pocket. The only waterproof (D)SLR I'm aware of is the Pentax K10D, and it's nearly $900 without lenses. Even then, I wonder about the "waterproofness" with all the external moving parts SLR lenses have.

 

If you're willing to look at point-and-shoot types, and want a pocketable camera, I can recommend the Pentax W10 (or newer W20). It's small, light, waterproof down to a few feet. It takes what I'll call "pretty darn good" macro shots (e.g. flies) and meets your other requirements too. As one who really likes the quality of SLR photos over the typical point and shoot, I must say this particular point-and-shoot is pretty nice.

[JJD 0]

I am a fan of the SLR-style, but have been using one since I was a kid and I don't mind lugging it around - or taking it places where it gets put "at risk". Your requirements could be met with a point & shoot (P&S) style camera, but they really cannot compare with the zoom capability of an SLR. An SLR gives you room for growth, in that there are always new, bigger, faster, longer lenses that are available. The downside is that you need a pack just for all of the camera accessories if you are an equipment hog.

 

If you want a good all-around entry into the digital camera world - I have a number of guide friends who really like the waterproof Pentax Optio (<$300). However, if it was me, I would go for something more like the brand new Canon Powershot G7 (~$550). The G7 is about as close to an SLR that a P&S camera can be (keeping in mind the lens limitations).

[Graham 0]

Hi OLB,

 

I agree with nemoblackdog, and think you would be very happy with a Pentax W10, easily slips into a pocket, is waterproof, and takes nice photos. I seem to recall Al Beatty recently bought one and is very happy with it. I'm thinking about buying one, for underwater fish photos, as well as other times when lugging around a big DSLR is not pleasurable.

 

Graham

[flytire 0]

Heres a comparison of 3 popular waterproof digital cameras

 

http://www.bizrate.com/productcomparison/i...__prerd--1.html

[tcr 0]

I also recommend a Pentax Waterprof.

For nearly 1 year i ben using a Pentax Optio WPi 6.0

megapixel.I have ben happy with it.

A Photo from today

A silver Seatrout

Tcr

[Graham 0]

AWESOME fish tcr!!!!

 

Man, it's real hard to keep up with the newest models of electronics these days. Looks like the Optio 20W will replace the Optio W10. Looks like a great camera.

 

Link to Optio W20 info

 

Graham

[Alex C. 0]

That looks like a really sweet camera Graham! Is anyone aware of the quality of the underwater pictures it takes?