Look to change my Digital Camera? - Page 2

KIPAX · 08-08-2005, 01:44

Having more megapixels does not make for a better picture so don't get carried away.

2 megapixels is fine for up to a4 prints and sometimes beyond...more megapixels does have advantages.......... but it doesnt make better pics

K.S.H · 08-08-2005, 05:13

Has the tripod got a ball and socket head? i,m interested if it has.
What kind of camera are you after? compact dslr or in between?
For compact one of the best out is a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 Digital Camera for about £230
DSLR you want to be looking at a canon 300 or 350d (£500 body only) unless you want a really serious camera!(£800 upwards) then buy lenses you need
for something in between Fuji are bringing a new one out this month see here
gonna be around the £450 range.
Whatever you decide to get let me know before you go out and buy and I will give you some good links to get a good price

Roy · 08-08-2005, 05:52

That fuji looks excellent KSH. I don't think you can go wrong with a fuji really, they work very well and produce very good shots.
I used to have a fuji till I got robbed at christmas, now I've got a Nikon D70 which is also an excellent camera, but it is a bit above me really because I just don't know enough about photography to take full advantage of it.

K.S.H · 08-08-2005, 06:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug

but the flash range available for the G6 is tempting….

I ahven,t come across a digital camera yet with a good flash, there only good for about 12 foot, alright for lighting the main subject but for example if your in a club at night taking a pic of someone, they come out reasonably ok but all the background is lost, in darkness. You can up the iso rating to overcome this but you end up with noisy images. Both camera,s you have mentioned have got hot shoes on them, if you do a lot of flash photography you will be better with an external flash, I have a vivitar 283 and thats good for 100feet, you need a diffuser for close use though and bounce it off the ceiling rather than point at subject.
anyway, back to the cameras you selected, they are both good cameras and on some points they are each better than the other ie aperture range, iso, macro
heres a side by side comparison

K.S.H · 08-08-2005, 06:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy

That fuji looks excellent KSH. I don't think you can go wrong with a fuji really, they work very well and produce very good shots.
I used to have a fuji till I got robbed at christmas, now I've got a Nikon D70 which is also an excellent camera, but it is a bit above me really because I just don't know enough about photography to take full advantage of it.

I know, looks good doesn't it. I have always had Fuji's been really pleased with the results from the, got an S20 pro at\the min but am going to have a look out for the S9500 when i'm on my holidays and see what price I can pick one up for. i have thought about a dslr but decided I dont wqant to go down that route, I dont want the hassle of lenses etc, a lot of compacts wont let me do what i want ie FULL manual, they only have kinds pre-set modes and are limiting, the slr type do let you have full control so are ideal for me.

edit - ignore all the typing mistakes, its this laptop keyboard, not as good as my destop one :-) cant be bothered going through them to correct it!!

WillowTheWhisp · 08-08-2005, 09:16

On the subject of pixels I tend to go for more because it gives greater scope for cropping. And I have been known to do the odd (very odd) enlargement such as the 3foot daisy I have on my office wall!

KIPAX · 08-08-2005, 09:24

Like I say.. more pixels does have advantages... A lot of my collections seen on the web are cropped...and I do make posters for the club.... I just didn't want poeple spending extra money on extra pixels if they thought it meant better pics....

I did a 15x12 for a comp at accy camera club where they are touchy about print quality.. I used a 2.1MP camera and got third place out of about 30 entries..

I love my extra pixels and the cropping capabilites though

WillowTheWhisp · 08-08-2005, 09:36

It might be useful for Doug and his landscapes too Kipax but I know what you mean. A lot of people don't want to do much more than point and click and have a reminder of where they were and what they were doing. My little pocket camera can come up with some quite good images and is a lot more convenient to carry around.

There's also another thing with digital cameras and that is the video facility. Are you interested in video clips Doug? Thats where my little Praktica fails miserably I'm afraid. Yes it can capture the moment but only a small version of it and with no sound. As you are talking about landscape photography I don't suppose that aspect matters as much to you.

One thing it might be worth looking at is how well clouds are defined. Clouds can have a very dramatic effect on an image and if the end result is dull and flat compared to the reality it can be quite disappointing.

KIPAX · 08-08-2005, 09:42

I watched a program this very weekend... Is it digital britain or summat like that? They sent three photoraphers out on location.. One had a camera phone, one a pocket camera and one a dslr ... none I think had ever used one before and all three got stunning pictures... thus proving it's not just the camera

I don't know anywhere near enough about cameras and to that end will be starting a city and guilds (evenings) at blackburn colledge this september....hopefully...

WillowTheWhisp · 08-08-2005, 09:51

I love photography. It's been a hobby of mine for years and I took a lot of convincing to change from film to digital at first. Now of course there's so much you can do with digital that I just don't use film at all now. lol

I think at times I took it far too seriously. I would never use my SLRs in auto mode and always preferred a camera that I had total control over but now have to admit there's a place for convenience and "point and click". I had a cupboard full of lenses, camera bodies, filters and assorted odds and bobs - gave most of them away last year when I finally admitted to myself that I was probably never going to use them again.

I love playing about with digital images. It's great fun.

I have yet to see a decent image taken by a camera phone so I'm sorry I missed that program.

KIPAX · 08-08-2005, 09:59

The problem with new cameras now is that there are so many set modes... sport, landscape, portrait ect .. even on 4 thousand pound DSLRs.. People don't need to learn... they don't get any better results than in a mode... I know why I am going to do a city and guilds and I will learn more.. but theres not that much need the cameras are so good.

Digital has sooo many advantages over film its unbelievable... Some people will still use film for the pure satisfaction of producing a picture and knowing you did every stage yourself..... also slides and black and white are more film...

the mobile phone was top end.. had focus and 2.1MP

Doug · 08-08-2005, 10:35

No interest in video clips whatsoever Willow, The Sony I have now will do three minutes allegedly, never tried it, don’t see to point…I would rather they invested in better metering……Yep, I like to blow prints up and crop dramatically which means I want plenty of depth of field and colour saturation in the original. Although I won’t be doing anything commercial I still want high quality results. I want light weight without a bag full of accessories and a cost effective memory card…Its going to be handheld and used in some pretty grim weather….including snow.

KIPAX · 08-08-2005, 10:39

backgrounds, reflectors, stands..... for studio you eman? how much ?

Doug · 08-08-2005, 10:45

I totally agree with the learning Kipax, there’s such a lot you can do even with point and shoot cameras. Manipulating digital imagery is fast becoming an art form like the old dank days in the dark room…..Today I just want a decent camera that will allow me to point, shoot and walk, but I also want the option to get expressive when the moment takes me. One fascinating option is the ability to shoot at will in manual, experiment, bracket whatever you want to do at the expense of a few memory cards it’s almost cost free. In the old Nikon days I could shoot for a day, spend weeks processing and end up with nothing…………..

Doug · 08-08-2005, 10:53

I’ll need to pop in to the loft and have a good look at them. I can’t really remember what’s up there to be honest. They are stored properly so they will be a good as new. I think there’s 3 - 5’ x 7’ collapsible 1 – 8’ x 10’ with skirt and a 10’ x 12’ with skirt both collapsible. 3 or 4 – 38” reversible reflectors and a bag of assorted stands and brackets and bits and bobs. I’ll let you know what there and you can make a reasonable offer. If they don’t go to a good home they’ll end up rotting….