I have been trying to keep a log of my Dream restore and CT90 rebuild but my old camera just isn't up to taking the detail close-up's that some of the other log's have. I would only use this for taking pictures of the bikes, close-up and portrait, don't need video or telephoto (unless it helps with portraits).
Price range between $200-$400
I'm using a samsung digimax 530 with 12x zoom and 5 mega pixels that I've had for a couple years and did an ok job, but now the focus on macro doesn't work. I've been looking in the stores and on the internet and found too much information; the selection is mind boggling. Do I want a point and shoot, an SLR, how many pixels is enough, ECT.
After reading a lot of reviews, I find that most of them push the technical side, but most don't tell you about depth-of-field or super close-up's, like trying to take a picture of the inside of a valve guide.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Clarence
Need some opinion's on digital cameras.
I'm not totally up on all the 'consumer' digital cameras out there (I'm a commercial photographer), but I'd think this one would cover all your bases:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 ... amera.html Now, this is at the high end of your price range, but it's a good quality camera that can close focus to 1cm, and would definitely serve you well for some years. This camera below is cheaper ($276), though I don't think it focuses quite as close as the Nikon, but has gotten really good reviews online: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 ... amera.html Panasonic/Lumix has been putting out some really interesting and innovative cameras, so it would be worthwhile to have a closer look at them. B and H is a very reputable seller, and they probably have the best prices around. I regularly order from them, and they are prompt with their delivery, and have great customer service (they are one of the most comprehensive camera stores in NYC). If you're trying to find out the technical specs of a particular camera, Google that camera, go to the manufacturer's website, click on the technical information about that camera, and it should tell you all you need to know (close focus distance, etc). Then, if you want to get reviews, Google the camera, but add 'reviews' to the search. Hope this info helps....
Hi, Vince:
Yes, I've done many searches and got manufactures info back, part of the confusion is the specification's against how the camera looks. Two cameras I had narrowed down on in my search previously is this Nikon at $196: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras ... l?tag=rnav And this Kodak Easyshare for $280: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras ... l?tag=rnav I like the looks of the Nikon (looks like my old 35mm Slr of the '80's) but the specifications are better for the Easyshare except for macro focus only goes down to 20cm and the Nikon goes to 1cm. So in this comparison it looks like the Nikon would be better, but the reviewer on cnet said the focus was "soft as most mega zooms are" and it doesn't shoot video. I had thought that if a camera didn't have video they could put more money into the lens and focus systems but, apparently it doesn't work that way, the ones with video also have other features and better ratings on focus and stability. After watching this review by cnet: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras ... =mncol;lst I wonder if the super zoom's are really needed to take macro close-up's, aren't they more for long distant shots outdoors? I had a simple point and shoot Easyshare back in '05 that I used to take pictures of my Farmall tractore for another forum and it took great pictures of the tractor from 5-6 ft , better than the Samsung with 12x zoom, but I didn't try to take macro close-ups with it. In a comparison of the nikon p90 with 4 other camera's that I have narrowed down to, the only one that will focus to 1cm like the p90 is the Canon sx 120 ls: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras ... l?tag=also I really like the looks of the Nikon and the tiltable lcd viewer, but if I can save the money buying the Canon that would be great; would it do the job? Thanks for your help. Clarence
Last edited by clarenceada on Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
I'm kinda venturing into an area that I'm not completely up on, but I'd say that the Canon would be perfectly fine. My wife has a Canon that is similar to that one, and it is a very nice camera. I've always had a hard time with cameras that don't have the traditional viewfinders, and it seems that all the consumer cameras have you composing the shot with the screen on the back. I guess that difficulty on my part comes from having been weaned on film cameras.
I'm curious about this whole 'super zoom' phenomenon as well. Traditionally, single focal-length lenses deliver much better image quality than zooms -- just imagine how far and how many lens elements the light has to go through to reach the 'film' at the back of the camera, and the image degrades the further the light has to travel to expose that image. So I can't really comment on the cameras with these types of lenses - certainly there's the versatility of the lens range, but for me it's a question of final image quality. I think either the Canon or the Nikon will do the job for what you want -- I think both companies make fine cameras, though sometimes I find that Nikon is always playing catchup with Canon in terms of innovation and camera development (just a personal opinion, and I'm specifically referring to their digital SLRs). Having said that, I've been using Nikon professionally for 13 years. The review of the L100 doesn't sound too good though!
Vince, your post started me on a search for the best camera and after many searches and much reading it became clear that just as in the '60's and '70's when I went from an Instamatic to my first SLR (a weird little 126 Instamatic SLR with a good f2.8 lens made by Ricoh) and then a Canon Ft QL with a huge F1.1; that the lens matters as much or more then the body, and interchangeable lens means your not stuck with what came with your camera.
The price of a new DSLR is a little out of the budget so using the same reasoning as buying older Honda's and fixing them up---buy high quality used and you get more bang for your buck---I started looking at used high quality DSLR's for sale on e-bay (there is no local market for high end cameras here) and quickly saw it was a Canon vs Nikon contest with 10 Canons for every Nikon it seemed. After bidding on around 14 different cameras and always being out bid (people would swoop in the last few minutes and raise the bid---one time I put a bid in 30sec before the end and someone outbid me with 4 seconds to spare----makes it exciting!) I had to learn how to bid on hotly contested items, as the only thing I had bought on e-bay before were buy-now motorcycle parts. I finally won a Canon EOS Rebel 400D/XTi with two lenses: a sigma 70mm x 210mm auto zoom, prospec 400mm auto, plus an under the camera battery pack with a shutter button on the side so you can turn the camera on it's side; all for $419. It takes great pictures even tho both lens are for film cameras and it didn't come with the stock canon 18mm x 55mm, but I've seen them on e-bay for less then $100. Trying to put some pictures of my bike projects on-line but it stores them in raw format which is a huge file so I need to get on photo bucket and learn how to compress them to get them on the format. Vince, thanks for the advice it helped me get back my interest in quality photo equipment and great pictures. Clarence p.s. It's not all in the Megapixels!
Clarence - glad to know that everything worked out.
Here's another source to keep in your back pocket: http://www.keh.com They are the world's largest used camera dealers. Very reputable, very helpful, and they have a huge inventory that is constantly changing.
Just picked up an Olympus E-P2 micro 4/3 camera. Very impressed with the results and the build quality, and if anyone is looking for a smaller interchangeable lens camera, this one might merit some consideration: http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_secti ... oduct=1482
I'm not a huge fan of the 14-42mm lens that comes with the camera, but adding the 20/1.7 Lumix lens to the mix definitely gives it a Leica 'feel'. I'll try to post some examples shot with it in the the next installment of 'Japan Meets Britain'.
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