BetterPhoto Q&A
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Buying a good Digital AND Film camera

To start off, I am well versed in the mechanics and theory of photography and I am always learning but I have limited practical experience. I plan to get on the ball now.

I love nature photography and scenery and all that. I also love car shows (which are often at night in parking lots) so keep this in mind. I don't print the photos very often but I mainly work with studio/commercial graphic publications (like web pages, video and presentations) and I would also like to enter local contests and just build up a good portfolio to impress people :)

I'm looking for an excellent semi-pro/enthusiast, not necessarily "top of the line" or a full professional digital camera. My budget is limited between $800 - $1200 (for just the digital camera) BUT this depends on the feedback I get. I like taking clean, vibrant photos and I appreciate the whole physics and “art” of photography so manual control is essential though auto features would be nice as well.

The ones I have researched are mainly the Nikon CoolPix 5700 and the Sony DSC-F717. Neither of these are true SLRs but seem to be very versatile, highly recommended and come with a good set of lenses (at least as I take it). If anyone out there has a suggestion comparing these with others or perhaps just out of experience in general I would greatly appreciate it. Should I really be concerned with sticking with a true SLR? If so, which ones? I’m not too keen on stretching the budget to a no-lenses-included $2,000 D-SLR unless someone REALLY suggests that I save up hehe

Second, I also want to pack a traditional film SLR in my arsenal. Mainly just because I feel like less of a photographer without one and I do love the sense, feel, and control of a film SLR. I also like playing around and want to start fiddling with developing film. Budget for this is not really set in stone. This is where I actually need the most help. From what I have read, I have this tugging feeling that I want/should buy a used and more vintage-like camera (such as the Canon AE-1). Again, it’s just something about the “feeling” of being a photographer and having a good-old solid film SLR. New ones are not out of the question. I just need advice because when I do searches and read reviews the range of film SLRs is MASSIVE and they range in sooo many functionality and price range. I’ve seen some that people rave about that only seem to cost $400 but then again I’ll see a “higher-end” model that sells for much, much more. Let’s just say I have about the same budget (not including extra equipment such as lenses, flash, etc) for the film SLR as well, but I was getting a bit optimistic about seeing all kinds of great reviews of these 4 and 5 hundred dollar cameras!

Let’s discuss how I should approach this. Thank you for anyone who responds.

-Tony

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January 04, 2003

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January 05, 2003