Whats a good camera?

[wheresstimpy]

Ok just so you know, im on a college budget, but i want something with good quality. whats the best way to go? all i know is that i want digital with better quality than my girlfriends 99 dollar pink poloroid one, lol And yes, the whole reason i want this, is to take pictures of my chams for the contest, lol

 

[royden]

I like what I've seen from the nikon coolpix, for a decent point and shoot.

The canon g9 is a great camera but fairly pricey. It takes great pictures once you learn how to use it.

If you're going to get an SLR - the canon rebel xti, or xsi is a great camera and that's what I shoot with (an xti). If you buy and SLR, it's my opinion that the lens you use is more important then the camera body. Save up for a good lens.

That's all I know.
The real key is to know how to use whatever you buy. Read the manual, learn what each setting does and use the camera's strengths to your advantage.

That's the key.

I'm sure vertex and justin could chime in from the nikon side of the rainbow

 

[wheresstimpy]

I like what I've seen from the nikon coolpix, for a decent point and shoot.

The canon g9 is a great camera but fairly pricey. It takes great pictures once you learn how to use it.

If you're going to get an SLR - the canon rebel xti, or xsi is a great camera and that's what I shoot with (an xti). If you buy and SLR, it's my opinion that the lens you use is more important then the camera body. Save up for a good lens.

That's all I know.
The real key is to know how to use whatever you buy. Read the manual, learn what each setting does and use the camera's strengths to your advantage.

That's the key.

I'm sure vertex and justin could chime in from the nikon side of the rainbow

Thanks a lot for the input, i need to do some more homework on the matter, but at least now i have a starting place. I am still interested to see what everyone uses, it amazes me to see the detail some of these guys are pulling out of their photos!

 

[Dsignrguy]

canon makes good cameras. anything like the sd600 ig pretty good. the g-9 is awesome (I know several professional photogs. who use them as back-ups and in places they don't want to take a big slr)....and the g-10 comes out this month, so you may find some great deals on a g-9

my nikkon coolpics was garbage compared to the canons.

check here: http://www.dpreview.com/

 

[Justin Carl]

Canon Point & Shoots rock the dock.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NK6J6Q/?tag=kenrockwellcom

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012YA4YK/?tag=kenrockwellcom

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I only use Canon

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

I'm super happy with my Nikon D40

 

[wheresstimpy]

so what makes these cameras good? the MP rating or something else? whats a good mp number 7 8 9 10?

 

[royden]

megapixels is the way the marketing gets people to measure one camera against another. We were passed worrying about mp size when we surpassed 6mp. From what I understand, 6mp is big enough to blow up an uncropped image to the size of a billboard. So what really is the point of 7 or 10mp?

For me, I'm often recropping images so it's important to me. When my zoom lens isn't enough, I'll crop away half of the picture to physically 'zoom in'. If that makes sense to you.

To be totally honest, I don't know what makes these camera's different at all. For someone shooting chameleons, I'd test all camera's MACRO function. It's usually the automatic setting that looks like a little flower. Set the camera to the little flower and then see how much detail you can shoot. Some of these little p&s's are incredible.

The only other thing I'd be concerned with is the lag time between pushing the FIRE button, and when the picture is actually taken. Some p&s's are desperately slow. So much so that it nearly makes shooting action in any form..impossible! So keep an eye out for that.

That's all I know!

Good luck!

 

[Justin Carl]

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/camera-adjustments.htm

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/camera-adjustments.htm

When I was linked to Ken Rockwells site, it totally changed my mind. DSLR is the way to go if you want photo quality. Point and Shoots are good if you carry them around with you all the time.

If you want easy functionabiliy, get a point and shoot. If you want the ability to take top quality photos and you also have time to learn your camera settings, get a DSLR

 

[Justin Carl]

Ken Rockwells site is awesome.
He may be a bit bias towards Nikon, but still applauds Canon every now and then.
I've read all sorts of books and other websites, but I always turn to his site first.
I know I got Vibrant hooked on it, but Josh at Lost Lake Chameleons turned me to it.

 

[Sancho]

I have a Canon XTi that I spent $700 on and I don't know how to use it Guess I should of took some photography classes at school

 

[wheresstimpy]

I have a Canon XTi that I spent $700 on and I don't know how to use it Guess I should of took some photography classes at school

Ha, i took one in junior high, lol, but i dont remember anything about it other than things going on in the "dark room", lol

 

[wheresstimpy]

ok this is what im currently working with, a polaroid i533, i know i know, laugh it up, lol. So what kind of settings should i be looking for, for cham photos? im playing with them now and this cheap little camera takes better photos than i though, lol.

now i have it set to portrait with the pre flash thing, it seems to work pretty good...

 

[THECHAMMAN]

my fav is the cannon D1S. probably a-lot pricey, but my favorite cam of all time. 12.1 megapixels, but that doesnt matter. its the lens that matters.

 

[Jeremy l]

i have a nikon d60 and love it now that i have figured it out! i am fixing to buy the new d90 when it is released. i hear that it is going to be an awsome camera i guess i will find out. i am partial to nikon cameras, cannons are good but i will stay with nikons. the d60 is a good camera but for the money you might look at buying a d40 and a couple of good lenses. i have a macro 18-55VR 55-200VR and a 70-300VR i would highly recommend the VR ( vibration reduction ) lenses !

 

[wheresstimpy]

my fav is the cannon D1S. probably a-lot pricey, but my favorite cam of all time. 12.1 megapixels, but that doesnt matter. its the lens that matters.

think cheap, like really really cheap, lol. If i was gonna spend a ton of cash i would buy more chams, lol. Heres my boy Clyde, who hates the flashing pink thing, lol

 

[THECHAMMAN]

the only problem ive had with the nikons, are the probs with dust finding its way in to the lenses and the actual body. so when im taking the lens off, usually i have to shield it from the outside so i dont have to clean it out.

 

[Jeremy l]

nikon solved the dust issue on the new d60 d90 d700 and d300 they have an active sensor cleaner at power up and power off and can be activated during operation. i have not had an issue with my camera i love the performance, now with that said the d40 actually might just be a better camera as weird as it sounds. but i like my d60