In the market for a digital camera- advice? | FerrariChat

In the market for a digital camera- advice?

Discussion in 'Creative Arts' started by KennyH, Nov 17, 2003.

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  1. KennyH

    KennyH F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Aug 13, 2001
    5,238
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    Kenny
    My Olympus C-2020z is a great camera and all- but it's old and tired... After taking a few shots of the Enzo/F40 on Saturday- I was really disappointed at the Ferrari red coming out as Ferrari pink :(.. It's pretty rare for me to get a shot of cars like these, so when I do, I want it to be perfect.

    I am getting very interested with digital photography even though I would consider myself a novice- I want to learn though. I have a budget of $500-$1000 (I'd rather spend closer to the $500 side though). Ideally, my camera would have a usable video option and a manual focus option in which I could really take some nice quality pictures.

    What should I be looking at? What are some tips? Has anyone bought a digital camera recently who could offer some advice?

    Any help is appreciated!
     
  2. Doody

    Doody F1 Veteran

    Nov 16, 2001
    6,099
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    Mr. Doody
  3. 98wahoo

    98wahoo Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    19
    www.dcresource is pretty good too.

    have you looked at the Canon G5 or digital rebel? you could get the digital rebel for under 1k with a lens and you'd have a 6+mp dslr.
     
  4. thecarreaper

    thecarreaper F1 World Champ
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    Sep 30, 2003
    17,564
    Savannah
    i have been into photography as a " other , other " hobby for a long time. like a car, its going to depend on the uses and conditions you will be using it most, say a static protected studio or an all out sports/ outdoors use. i have a nikon something (its in my truck) and i absolutely love it. i use my manual focus minolta 35mm with a bazzillion lenses only for special occasions. just like a test drive, try out as many cameras as you can and get what meets your needs the best!
     
  5. Mike328

    Mike328 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 19, 2002
    2,655
    Boulder, CO
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    Mike
    1.5 years ago, I paid top dollar for a Canon Powershot G2 (4 megapixel).

    I am very loyal to Canon as a brand, and their powershot series is extraordinary. They have G3 and a G5 models out now. These are their top of the line, high-end consumer cameras, and they have a real "photographer" feel to them.

    Even now, even with all my buddies have their cameras--the camera that takes the group shot for the 8x10 is mine.

    I've also gotten some amazing shots in certain conditions (hot air balooning over napa valley) that I was ONLY able to get by manually tweaking the aperature / F stop settings...

    Cons: Kind of big (won't fit in your pocket), must be patient with the autofocus, outdoor pictures occasionally lack good color variance

    Pros: great resolution (amazing 8x10s), great night mode, manual mode for photography buffs to control shutter speed / fstop, uses common Compact Flash cards (not anything proprietary), great zoom, great close-up pictures, remote, timer, great movie mode.

    But, this has been covered before--lots of good info on this in the archives!
     
  6. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
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    Ryan
  7. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    Thanks for posting this subject and for the replies.

    I am looking at purchasing one in about 2-3 months when prices drop some more.
     
  8. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
    Staff Member Admin Miami 2018 Owner

    Dec 1, 2000
    59,406
    Southlake, TX
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    Rob Lay
    time correction
     
  9. KennyH

    KennyH F1 Veteran
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    Aug 13, 2001
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    Kenny
    What do you guys think of the Nikon Coolpix 5700- seems like they are 800-900 new but 500 used- which isn't too horrible. Is it a significant step up from my Olympus C2020z?
     
  10. rodsky

    rodsky Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2003
    1,601
    Los Angeles
    That's a great site. I like the Canons. If you want quality and a decent size go for the S50. If you want a little more functionality buy the G3 or the G5 (4 and 5 Mpixel). They are a little bigger though. I have the G3. It is an amazing camera. Battery life is outstanding and so is quality. I never really use it at the highest resolution so I dont have a need for 5MP. At 4MP I have had 8X11's developed and they are close to perfect with great resolution. With the G3/5 you can add lenses (telephoto/wideangle) with an adapter. I just used my G3 on Safari - worked very well even using the digital zoom (the photos were very clear).
     
  11. thecarreaper

    thecarreaper F1 World Champ
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    Sep 30, 2003
    17,564
    Savannah
    my 2.0 cool pics nikon 2500 whatever takes great pics. i think the newer version is under $300 and has more " pixels" 4.0????? anyway its small and lite, ive taaken it to race tracks, themeparks with rollarcoasters beach and boating trips ect. i would not get one that is too big if you are going to be busy with kids ( dont know if you have any or not.... i dont ) or busy doing other things. yes my 2.0 is on the low side but from cars to pics of naked chicks its been ( ahem!!! ) a great freaking camera. battery will take 150+ pics before it runs out and i have a 64 meg card that will hold 900+ low to med resolution pics. i have had no need for the super high res stuff because i have to resize it to put it in an email on the net anyway.
     
  12. ForzaFerrari

    ForzaFerrari F1 Veteran

    Jul 25, 2003
    7,198
    The Netherlands
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    Waldo
    What do you think about the new Ferrari Digital Camera??
    see:
    www.forzarossa.nl

    (you can buy it at the off. Ferrari Store...link on ForzaRossa.nl)
     
  13. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
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    Ryan
    des

    how many MP is that

    for a person who only takes family pics, car pics, meet pics..and want a little bit of zoom, are these big cameras necessary?

    i would like something i can carry everywhere but 5.0 and good quality.
     
  14. t88power

    t88power Formula 3

    Feb 19, 2001
    2,396
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    Ernesto
    www.stevesdigicams.com is pretty cool.

    I have a Nikon CoolPix 5700, and love it to death - even if it is a little fragile!

    Ernesto
     
  15. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
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    Aug 22, 2002
    18,772
    kenny, i just got a Canon G5 and love it...i'm not even close to using it to its max but has great battery life and takes great shots.
     
  16. Mojo

    Mojo Formula 3

    Sep 24, 2002
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    Joseph
    Does anyone have the Olympus Stylist 400,? Im thinking of buying one this week, 4megapix 3optical and a metal water/weather resistant case. on sale for $306 plus $40 mail in rebate. Heard there good. Any comments
     
  17. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    Aug 3, 2002
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    Carbon McCoy
    Kenny, the camera i have is a little out of your price range (Translation: LESS THAN five hundred dollars!:)) but i like it a lot and can take video with it... It's a Sony Cyber Shot; the camera, with an extra memory stick and an extended warranty was around $300, i think... You could take the extra $200 and buy more memory sticks... The 256 MB memory stick was around $100+ when i bought one, so buying two of those would have you set to take some 500+ pictures... Just a thought...
     
  18. KennyH

    KennyH F1 Veteran
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    Aug 13, 2001
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    Bump.

    Still clueless as to what to buy- I'd prefer to spend closer to the $500 mark- and it seems like everyone is leading me to that new SLR Rebel.. I'd like a camera that is signifcantly more professional than my current c2020Z- which is 2.1 megapixels with a 3x zoom and no manual focus but can't really justify spending 1k on a hobby that I could potentally drop the week after I get the camera due to it being too complicated.

    Anyong have any suggestions for a good beginning SLR/manual digital camera?


    Thanks!
     
  19. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
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  20. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Formula Junior

    Apr 17, 2003
    563
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    Bob Hagendijk
    I got a Sony DSC-F717 which costed me 850 euros

    Great pictures, great options. 5 MP 5x optical zoom, 10x digital.
    Carl Zeiss lens, Nightvision, Infrared focus in dark, Manual and autofocus
     
  21. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 17, 2001
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    Joe Mansion
    if u want something close to 500$ go to manhattan and buy a Minolta Dimage 7i as i did last year..5.0MP and i paid 650$.
     
  22. matkat

    matkat Formula 3

    Mar 18, 2003
    1,840
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    Dave McGuire
    I have 2 fuji finepix F601Zoom (1 for me the other for the wife)I wiuld thouroughly recommend one of these the only thing I did was to take out the stock multi-media and replace it with a 512k card,i find the results are fantastic and it is also very user friendly.
    best regards
    Dave McGuire
     
  23. dan360

    dan360 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2003
    2,669
    Boston
    I have the digital rebel SLR - its VERY easy to use in the first instance. 5 or 6 basic modes:

    Full Auto (point and fire)
    Portrait
    Landscape
    Sports
    Night Portrait
    + one which I forget.

    These plus some basic photoshop skills should give you most of what you need.

    SLR over a regular Digital is all about whether you'll use additional lenses (I have a regular Canon SLR so can reuse my old lenses). Plus whether you'll use the advanced and manual modes. There are lots of cool features on the Digital Rebel which I haven't got into yet.

    Don't forget that focal length changes on the digital SLR so a 200-300 Zoom becomes 1.6x ie 320-480mm.
     
  24. KennyH

    KennyH F1 Veteran
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    Aug 13, 2001
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    Thanks guys!

    After researching a bit I've narrowed it down to the:

    Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Z
    Approx. $750
    6.0 Megapixels
    Max shutter speed: 1/2000 sec

    Canon EOS-300D (Rebel)
    Approx. $900
    6.29 Megapixels
    Max shutter speed: 1/4000 sec

    Sony DSC-F828
    Approx. $1000
    7.99 Megapixels
    Max shutter speed: 1/3200 sec

    From what I understand, Fuji would be the least expensive out of the bunch and offer most of the same options- enough for a novice digital camera user who would like to get into more advanced photography. The other cameras, while more advanced, have a steeper learning curve, and after performing some basic modifications, will be significantly more expensive.

    As you can see, I am leaning towards the Fuji- however, I'd really like to hear from someone who has one (and if possible, could compare it to the Canon)..


    Thanks!
     
  25. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
    Staff Member Admin Miami 2018 Owner

    Dec 1, 2000
    59,406
    Southlake, TX
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    Rob Lay
    My Sony DSC-P5 after two years is having problems turning off and locking after taking flash pictures. I couldn't wait for it to get fixed with a big car show this weekend I bought a Sony DSC-T1. This camera is awesome!

    Ultra small and slim. About half the overall size as the P5 and I bought that camera to fit easily in my pocket. The T1 is 5 megapixel vs. just 3 for the P5. I'll really test it out taking car pics this weekend, but so far I love it quite a bit more than the P5.

    Only negatives are my old Sony memory sticks don't fit. This camera uses a new memory stick duo that is smaller. Now once I buy duo sticks I have an adapter for my old memory stick devices, but not vice versa. Sony kinda ticked my off originally because they used a proprietary memory device and now I can't even use the old ones. ARGH!!!
     

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