the best one to get???

[whispers]

Im looking at getting a new digital camera. I wish I could afford an SLR but I doubt it....

Heres the catch...(requirements if you will)

*Price = $450-550

*Has to be purchased through Best Buy

*Looking for VERY high res (as possible on this budget)images as a result...(large MegaPixel)


Mainly want it for photo manips and image stock for web sites...photoshop..etc..etc.. possibly some straight prints as well. (I would like to get into that a little more)

*So I would guess optical zoom is a nice plus
*Features where I can do close ups for depth of field shots & macros

Im sure most come with a "movie" feature (or 3) LOL....so whatever is most popular Quicktime/AVI, MPEG whatever...

Im not even sure what some features I should be aware of are??? SO if you have suggestions...please post..

thanks for your time.

-whispers-

[aznFilipinezian]

if you're already around $550, i'd be very patient and holdout for a Rebel. thats just my opinion does bestbuy sell them?

[whispers]

Is that an SLR? I think I just looked at that...or is it a 6.3 Megapixel one?

Not sure if BestBuy sells them or not...I'll check web site soon..

-whispers-

update: does it have any MOVIE functions?

[SpockBert]

Might be slightly above your price range, but I'd recommend a Canon G5.

5 megapixels and a load of different shooting modes, takes up to 180 secs of quality video at a time.

Nice big LCD screen that flips all the way round, so you can easily take pictures without ever having to use the viewfinder.

You can plug it straight in to your tv to browse your pictures/videos easily before downloading to your pc.

Its a brilliant bit of kit, wish i had one

only know this about it because my dad has a G5 with a 1gig drive and i've had a play with it...the results are amazing..sharp as a conventional 35mm camera i reckon.

[aversion]

I just brought a canon G5 yesterday

couldn't be happier with it, I owned a G1 for almost 4 years until it died last week so this was the natural step up for me. I did do a bunch of research over the holiday on comparative cameras but the G5 came out on top in almost every regard. The only two cameras that came close were the sony 717 and the nikon 5400.

The sony is a beautiful camera with a great lens but it's short on features, distinctly uncamera-like to use and uses memory stick storage which is more expensive and annoying than compact flash (for $20 you can buy a PCMCIA holder for your flash memory that acts like an extra drive and you avoid having to hook the camera up all the time), the 5400 was also a nice camera, with the same swivelling LCD screen, but it just didn't feel 'right' and the image quality was lower than the G5's. The canon is feature rich, with several functions unique to the camera, but easy to get into.

One common criticism of the G5 is that you get more chromatic aberrations and purple fringing than other cameras, this is true but it's not such a big deal as people make out and easy to avoid in most conditions. If images do get through which need fixing up I've already put together actions for PS that get rid of most of the problems automatically. It is a shame that canon caused this by shoe-horning the bigger pixel size into the same sensor as the G3 (4mp) had but I don't think it's that big a deal, it means some extra care with photos you want to make 'keepers' but I always run those through PS anyway so no big deal to me. The small problems are far outweighed by the excellent feature set and razor sharp (I mean RAZOR sharp) images.

I did a test print on A4 photo paper and the results were gorgeous.

I was going to move up a notch and buy the rebel, but, like the traditonal rangefinder 35mms, this camera suits my shooting style more, it's black case makes it fairly anonymous (unlike the "look at me, steal me" sony!) and ideal for taking photos on the street. I carry my camera everywhere with me and, much as I desired a digital SLR I couldn't see myself using it half as much as I did the G1 and will the G5.

superb piece of kit.

[Markp.com]

What is this "Rebel"? I need links people!

[gerbick]

Originally posted by Markp.com
What is this "Rebel"? I need links people!

Canon EOS Rebel

and if you're so lazy you can't click the link, it's a camera

[Fruitloops]

Originally posted by gerbick
and if you're so lazy you can't click the link, it's a camera

Nooo... are you serious?

[gerbick]

no. I'm not serious.

[ViRGo_RK]

liar.

[tonytryout]

Assuming $550 = £306....

I would recommend a FujiFilm FinePix series -- in your case, check out Fuji Finepix S304 (~£249) which received excellent reviews: 6x optical zoom, 3MP (great for a A4-sized print).

If you have a spare cash somewhere or willing to haggle, try Fuji Finepix S602 (~£349) -- which is I have got for the company I work for and it is simply amazing. You can print your pictures up to the size of A3.

A lot of people are raving about Minolta's Dimage digicams (well within your budget) -- I never had personal experiences with it so I can't honestly say.

I am not a huge fan of Pentax digicams but you may want to check these as they again are within your budget with excellent features like Pentax Optio 450 (5x optical zoom, 4MP).

If you can wait a bit, the prices of medium to high-end digicams should fall in a couple of months.

I have set my eyes on Nikon Coolpix 5700....

[whispers]

Canon EOS Digital Rebel 6.3-Megapixel = $889.00

Would be my first choice..a lower end SLR..but kind steep in price..(I may wait for a couple more weeks)


Canon - PowerShot 5.0-Megapixel (Model: S50) $449.00

Is probably gonna be my purchase..(unless I wait) My price range..5.0 Megapixel..although I am somewhat ignorant (liek I stated above) about other features..that I should be looking for...I stated what I wanted to do with it..but I have yet to find or understand what I should be getting with my camera)


Canon - PowerShot 5.0-Megapixel (Model: G5) $629.99

Aversion hyped it up all nice..the biggest thing that excited me about his review was the "RAZOR SHARP" images comment.. which is seriously a BIG PLUS to me... But what is the differences between the G5 & the S50?

they both have 5 Megapixel and both have video modes.....

so whats the big price difference? Also..do eithe of these cameras have the ability to take "macro" or close up shots? like pictures with GREAT depth of field perception?

I was also looking at the:

Sony Cyber-shot 5.24-Megapixel (Model: DSC-F71) $699.00

not much more than the G5 camera..but again..what is the big difference between the two? opne has 5 MP and the other has 5.24?

Thanks for any insight ya'll can give =)

-whispers-

[haikumania]

Great information and in-depth reviews on this site:

http://www.dpreview.com/

Adam

[aversion]

Originally posted by whispers
Canon EOS Digital Rebel 6.3-Megapixel = $889.00

Would be my first choice..a lower end SLR..but kind steep in price..(I may wait for a couple more weeks)

yah, I looked at this as I mentioned, it's a great camera and I was going to buy one but you really have to think about how you're going to use the camera and for me my primary camera has to be a 'street' camera. I'll get a DSLR one day and use it for specific photography projects but it's not the kind of camera you can carry around with you everywhere you go.

Canon - PowerShot 5.0-Megapixel (Model: G5) $629.99

Aversion hyped it up all nice..the biggest thing that excited me about his review was the "RAZOR SHARP" images comment.. which is seriously a BIG PLUS to me... But what is the differences between the G5 & the S50?

they both have 5 Megapixel and both have video modes.....

so whats the big price difference? Also..do eithe of these cameras have the ability to take "macro" or close up shots? like pictures with GREAT depth of field perception?

I haven't looked at the s50 but I've heard good things about it. The difference between the two cameras comes in features, they're both 5mp but the G5 has a faster lens, a greater optical zoom, as well as having functions and features up the wazoo.

I was also looking at the:

Sony Cyber-shot 5.24-Megapixel (Model: DSC-F71) $699.00

not much more than the G5 camera..but again..what is the big difference between the two? opne has 5 MP and the other has 5.24?

I also looked at the DSCF717 as I mentioned and it does have a nice lens and lots of good features but two things ruled it out for me, it doesn't look or feel like a camera, it's more like something out of star trek and not only is that awkward to use but it also draws a lot of attention with its big lens and silver body. The second thing is the storage, it only accepts sony memory stick storage, which is more expensive and less flexible than compact flash - unless everything else you own in life is by sony.

while they claim 5.24mp that's total pixels, the canon ccd has 5.3 million total pixels and the sony's effect pixel size is slightly lower than the G5's, 2560 x 1920 vs 2,592 x 1,944 pixels at their highest settings respectively. Nothing in it really.

the sony is a fine camera and you couldn't go wrong choosing it if you feel it suits your needs, it has some nice functions, the lens has a function ring on it and is slightly faster than the canon lens but it's not a real zeiss lens, just branded by them.

either one would be a good choice. I went with the canon because I'd owned a G1 for years and loved it and I would be 80% familiar with the G5 and the G5 is a camera, instead of a gadget.



a quick note, I would avoid nikon digitals, I've been to three camera shops over the past few days and all of them told me the nikons are great cameras but their reliability has been poor recently and sending cameras back to them is a pain.


dpreview.com is a great site but their reviews often overlook the non technical aspects of a camera, they're very useful for comparisons though.