Cameras (Re: flickr pages)

[Ian]

Thanks for the advice. Shoulda realized something as simple as a black shirt could cut down on the reflection. Now if only I could get myself a better camera...

Get a Canon Powershot A1100 like I have. It's at a great price, it's nice and slim, and takes excellent photos.

[US71]

Thanks for the advice. Shoulda realized something as simple as a black shirt could cut down on the reflection. Now if only I could get myself a better camera...

I'm using a Canon S3IS and have been very happy with it.

You might check here for camera ratings: http://dpreview.com/

I bought my Canon as the S4 was coming out, but the S3 had better ratings.

[corco]

Canon is the way to go- my A590IS has 20,000 photos on it and is still taking just as good of photos as it was when it was new. I try to buy American with everything, but HP and Kodak don't make anything even remotely as good as a Canon. That's pretty much the only place where I'm willing to say that your best bet is to suck it up and buy a Japanese product. You won't regret it.

Which, side note, twenty years ago if you were to have a camera with 20,000 photos on it, well holy toledo. That's near 1000 rolls of film.

[CL]

I never even thought about Canon... but it looks to be the gold standard with cameras, huh? My first inclination was to go with a Nikon.

[US71]

I never even thought about Canon... but it looks to be the gold standard with cameras, huh? My first inclination was to go with a Nikon.

My first digital was a Nikon Cool Pix, which lasted 2 years before the lens jammed. It was going to cost more to fix it then replace it, so I went with the Canon.

[agentsteel53]

seems the gold standard for compact cameras is Canon, and SLRs it's a tossup between Canon and Nikon.  If anyone ever asks me for a camera recommendation, I tell them to buy the best Canon under $200, and that will allow them to take 97% of the pictures they can imagine taking. 

if they need that extra 3%, and they want to buy into interchangeable lenses and whatnot, then I recommend Nikon simply because I do not believe Canon has an 18-200 lens.  (Correct me if I'm wrong!)  That is my workhorse lens and I take about 98% of my photos with it.  The other 2% (fisheye, 50/1.8, etc) are the reason I have an SLR.  Remember when you buy an SLR, you also need to get lenses, so you are likely locking into a manufacturer.  Though you can usually sell your lenses for more than what you bought them for, due to inflation.  Bodies rot, lenses maintain their value. 

I use a Nikon D5000.  My D50 lasted 99872 exposures before crapping out.  That's generally pretty good.

[hbelkins]

Fewer and fewer camera makers are including viewfinders on their consumer-level digital cameras, just viewscreens. Makes taking pics in bright sunlight an adventure.

[US71]

Fewer and fewer camera makers are including viewfinders on their consumer-level digital cameras, just viewscreens. Makes taking pics in bright sunlight an adventure.

My S3IS has both. Drive-by shots, I uses the viewscreen. Standing shots, I use the viewfinder.

[rawmustard]

My first digital was a Nikon Cool Pix, which lasted 2 years before the lens jammed. It was going to cost more to fix it then replace it, so I went with the Canon.

This is similar to what I'm now experiencing with my Kodak C875. The camera shuts off when I try to zoom all the way out and the lens doesn't retract all the way when it is shut off. I know it'll be much more expensive to repair than replace with a model in the same segment.

[US71]

My first digital was a Nikon Cool Pix, which lasted 2 years before the lens jammed. It was going to cost more to fix it then replace it, so I went with the Canon.

This is similar to what I'm now experiencing with my Kodak C875. The camera shuts off when I try to zoom all the way out and the lens doesn't retract all the way when it is shut off. I know it'll be much more expensive to repair than replace with a model in the same segment.

I wound up selling my Nikon on e-bay for parts. Got almost nothing for it, though.

[mightyace]

At Christmas, I was also having reflection issues as my brother's wagon has a maroon dashboard.

I solved it by using a sheet of black cardboard bought in the crafts section of a Kmart.

My newest is a 12MP Panasonix Lumix DMC-ZS5.  It has a Leica lens with 12x optical zoom.  (equivalent to 25-300mm on a 35mm camera)  It has about everything short of an SLR.  It has multiple exposure modes Auto, aperture priority, shutter priority, MANUAL, etc.  It has a very quick turn on time.

It replaced a Kodak C813 8mp with 3x optical zoom.  As those who were at the Nashville meet saw, it is still functional if you hold the batteries in by hand.  This camera replaced a Canon 7mp where the zoom no longer works.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Methinks we need a thread on camera preference? Seems like that'd make for a good discussion.

Anyway, as most people know I use a Pentax K20D DSLR. I recently purchased a Pentax K-x to use as a backup body for my professional photography, but it's excellent for road photography since it's lighter and records HD video. Pentax is an older brand (older than both Canon and Nikon) and is a little more obscure, but they have great equipment and great compatibility with older lenses for a lower price than the "top" brands.

Of course, not to bash Canon at all, I used a Canon compact (Canon PowerShot SX120 IS) before I got the K-x, and I still use it whenever I need a camera and can't take one of the DSLRs along. It has impressive quality and functionality for a compact (high ISO noise reduction is outstanding for low light/night), and it's also a major bargain now that its upgrade (the SX130 IS) is available.

[rickmastfan67]

My newest is a 12MP Panasonix Lumix DMC-ZS5.  It has a Leica lens with 12x optical zoom.  (equivalent to 25-300mm on a 35mm camera)  It has about everything short of an SLR.  It has multiple exposure modes Auto, aperture priority, shutter priority, MANUAL, etc.  It has a very quick turn on time.

Got the same brand here, except I have the ZS7 one with the GPS in it.

[Duke87]

My first camera was a 2.0 megapixel Nikon E950 with 5x zoom, originally purchased in September of 2000 by my mother. It was a tad large and unwieldy. Digital cameras were still a novelty back then and we were still using film for most purposes. In January of 2006, as I was headed back to college for the spring semester of my freshman year, I inherited this camera. Of note is that in the following six months I took more pictures with it (836) than my mother took with it in the previous five and a half years (793). Then, that July, it fell out of my pocket one day and broke.

So, I went out to Staples and purchased my second camera. This one was a Nikon Coolpix L4, capable of 4 megapixels (but I was still snapping at 2 mostly) with 3x zoom (a downgrade that I absolutely noticed). It was a decent machine, but it took a lot of abuse. In June of 2008, the screen broke when I shoved a tape measure in my pocket on top of it. The camera was still perfectly capable of taking pictures, but after that I was shooting blind. Not for long, though: come August, the lens jammed and that was the end of it. In 2 years and a month, I took 3755 pictures and videos with this camera.

After that, I was cameraless for several months. I was ready to swear off Nikon and try another brand, but that December when I got a new camera for my birthday it was a Nikon. This time, a Coolpix S550, capable of 10 megapixels (I was originally shooting at 3, now I'm mostly shooting at 5) and 5x zoom. This camera, 2 years and a month later (hmmm....) is still functional, albeit a bit beat up. I've taken 4457 pictures and videos with it so far. Interesting is that since I kept using the same SD card from the previous camera, the same file numbering scheme was continued. I'm up to DSCN8212. I'm kinda curious to see what happens when it rolls past 9999....

[OracleUsr]

My camera is a Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel DSLR camera, with a 75-300 and an 18-55 lens.  I've had it for 5 1/2 years...100000 pics would be nice, don't think I'm anywhere near there yet.

[realjd]

I've used a number of brands of cameras but keep coming back to Canon. Currently I use a PowerShot SD750 for a pocket camera and a Canon Digital Rebel SLR if I'm feeling more serious or need more control over the shot. In addition to the 18-55 kit lens, I absolutely love my 50mm prime f1.8 lens. I chose Canon simply because they have such a large assortment of lenses, and since the DSLR cameras are compatible with older Canon SLR cameras, you can pick up older used lenses cheap online.

And yes, Canon makes a terrific 18-200mm lens, although it will set you back $600 or so. I believe it's an EF-S mount also which means it isn't supported by any of the more expensive full-frame DSLR cameras. Personally, I think my next lens is going to be the 55-250mm zoom.