 BetterPhoto Member |
Buying Digital and Going Nuts I have been reading the QandA section on the BetterPhoto site for a few months now. I have gained so much valuable information, but I am still stuck with a question. My wife and I want to buy a digital camera - especially to have for the birth of our first child. She would like a point-and-shoot with LCD screen. I am leaning much more towards the Canon Digital Rebel (I currently shoot with a Rebel 2000). I enjoy taking close-up shots of flowers, landscapes, and portraits. Here's my question: In terms of quality, would I be disappointed with a point-and-shoot? Are certain point-and-shoots better than others? Can you still control the aperture and shutter speed with a point-and-shoot? I have recently bought a close-up lens for my Canon, so I know that I would be able to use that with the Digital Rebel. I'm also concerned that having to look through a digital LCD screen will drive me nuts when taking shots. I have been driving myself crazy for a number of weeks now. I appreciate any advice you can give!! Thanks in advance.
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Mikki Cowles |
Hi Seth. There are plenty of point-and-shoot cameras with enough manual control to satisfy your creative urges, yet are automatic enough for the ease of one who is maybe not so camera inclined. Check out the Olympus C740-750uz for a great example - the 10x zoom alone is what impressed me. You can control the aperture and shutter speeds (although there is a smaller range than with a DSLR). You still have a viewfinder with this camera, it's just that it's digital - which means that you see exactly what the picture WILL look like, depending on your settings. If you are the primary shooter, then you would probably be pleased with the Rebel, and since you have some accessories already, you would start out ahead dollar-wise. My few cents.
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Damian P. Gadal |
I agree. The Olympus line will do much of what you're talking about, if you can have a salesperson show you a C-750-UZ. The one issue with these is some shutter lag, but they do the trick for much everything else.
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Scott Pedersen |
If you currently shoot with a Rebel, its a no brainer. Get a digital Rebel. You can use your current lenes and accessories on it. A point and shoot camera is just that...a point and shoot camera, (don't let people try to tell you different)it would be a huge step down on your part to go to a digital point and shoot. Its too bad the camera manufactures don't make a consumer digital SLR body, That would convice me to switch.
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- Robert Mann Contact Robert Mann Robert Mann's Gallery |
I agree with Damian about the shutter lag....it is a bit disconcerting. The manual focus on the 750 is no walk in the park either. But the zoom is fabulous and I like the color from the 750 as well! RoB
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Robin Allard |
I recently bought a Nikon Coolpix 4300, making the switch from a Pentax K1000 which is fully manual. I have had some "growing pains". A few disappointments are the lack of adequate flash and difficulty stopping action. On the whole, I think you gain more than you lose by making the switch although I may still use my SLR for some situations.
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Joe |
I went from a K1000 with high quality fixed focal length lenses to a Kodak DX6490. Film processing quality has gone downhill fast and digital point and shoots are a lot smaller. I like the lens and color of the Kodak and chose it over a lot of 4-6 megapixel cameras. I actually had 2 of these cameras. The first one had long shutter lag and took a while to be ready for the next picture. My second one is fast. The photo quality is excellent. I did some direct comparisons with the Panasonic FZ10 and I am keeping the Kodak. It's faster, the lens is better and so is the color. If you want better, you will need to go DSLR but that would be about triple the cost, weight and size. Eventually I will buy one. For now, the DX6490 will suffice. It's $398 at Sam's club too! They also have a great return policy.
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Michael McCullough |
Although I don't own digital,I've heard as well that the Kodak 6490 four mega pixel is a great little machine and one of the best in its classs out there,great lens good resolution and a fair price as well about a third of the cost of the Rebel!!!!!Again this camera comes highly recommended by almost everyone!!!!!
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David Bieda |
Seth: I was interested in a digital SLR as well, however, the price of the Canon 10D prevented me from buying one. I choose the Olympus C-5050 instead. An excellent camera with lots of control. The Canon digital Rebel came out shortly thereafter. I was a bit dissapointed in my timing, however, keep in mind that the digital Rebel does not have any flash compensation. Something to think about as you take pictures of your new child indoors. Eventually when I move up to a digital SLR this will be one of the most important features I look for. The Olympus C-5050 does have a flash compensation feature plus a superbright F1.8 lens. Great for low indoor lighting.
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Joe |
It is a nice camera and I am having a lot of fum with it. So far, I have taken about 1500 photos in less than 4 months. Some day, I would like to get some of the more advanced features of a DSLR.
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Gary Gundy |
You can find excellent in-depth digital camera reviews at www.dpreview.com
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Cindy L. McKinney |
Seth, I have both the digital rebel and rebel 2000. seeing how you already have the 2000 you would have less learing to do the controls are in basicaly the same place. and if you shot in raw you have with the software that comes with the camera flash compensation. also for your wife the camera can be set on full auto just like the rebel 2ooo this is just my 2 cents Cindy
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John P. Sandstedt |
What kind of pictures do you want to take? And, will you or your wife take the bulk of these? If you want "snapshots," the point and shoot [pocket-type] camera may be just the ticket. However, I've seen many folks use the LCD screen as the viewfinder - this is an open invitation to a poorly focused image since the resolution on the screen is insufficient to allow an accurate determination of exactly where the snsing point of the lens is focused. Cameras like the Olympus 750 are more like rangefinders. You'll need to remember the parallax factor when you compose your shot, particularly as you move in closer. SLRs, while generally more expensive, allow you to see essentially the whole picture you want to create create. And, you can get interchangeable lenses allowing you greater flexibility. This is very important if you plan to enlarge one or more of your prints. Since you have a Canon Rebel - if you have $1,000 and you're the primary image maker, the answer is fairly obvious. As someone else said, go for the digital Rebel, but read some of the reviews of this camera at various websites. There's a lot of fuss about the inadequacies of its flash. If the camera is for your wife, buy a point and shot. They're small, packable [so she can take it everywhere], not too expensive and, with practice, she'll take a good images. Remember, one additional thing. Your prints will only be as good as your skills with Photoshop or some other manipulation program. Most folks writing articles in the various photo magazines agree that all images must be sharpened before printing.
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John P. Sandstedt |
What kind of pictures do you want to take? And, will you or your wife take the bulk of these? If you want "snapshots," the point and shoot [pocket-type] camera may be just the ticket. However, I've seen many folks use the LCD screen as the viewfinder - this is an open invitation to a poorly focused image since the resolution on the screen is insufficient to allow an accurate determination of exactly where the snsing point of the lens is focused. Cameras like the Olympus 750 are more like rangefinders. You'll need to remember the parallax factor when you compose your shot, particularly as you move in closer. SLRs, while generally more expensive, allow you to see essentially the whole picture you want to create create. And, you can get interchangeable lenses allowing you greater flexibility. This is very important if you plan to enlarge one or more of your prints. Since you have a Canon Rebel - if you have $1,000 and you're the primary image maker, the answer is fairly obvious. As someone else said, go for the digital Rebel, but read some of the reviews of this camera at various websites. There's a lot of fuss about the inadequacies of its flash. If the camera is for your wife, buy a point and shot. They're small, packable [so she can take it everywhere], not too expensive and, with practice, she'll take a good images. Remember, one additional thing. Your prints will only be as good as your skills with Photoshop or some other manipulation program. Most folks writing articles in the various photo magazines agree that all images must be sharpened before printing.
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John P. Sandstedt |
What kind of pictures do you want to take? And, will you or your wife take the bulk of these? If you want "snapshots," the point and shoot [pocket-type] camera may be just the ticket. However, I've seen many folks use the LCD screen as the viewfinder - this is an open invitation to a poorly focused image since the resolution on the screen is insufficient to allow an accurate determination of exactly where the snsing point of the lens is focused. Cameras like the Olympus 750 are more like rangefinders. You'll need to remember the parallax factor when you compose your shot, particularly as you move in closer. SLRs, while generally more expensive, allow you to see essentially the whole picture you want to create create. And, you can get interchangeable lenses allowing you greater flexibility. This is very important if you plan to enlarge one or more of your prints. Since you have a Canon Rebel - if you have $1,000 and you're the primary image maker, the answer is fairly obvious. As someone else said, go for the digital Rebel, but read some of the reviews of this camera at various websites. There's a lot of fuss about the inadequacies of its flash. If the camera is for your wife, buy a point and shot. They're small, packable [so she can take it everywhere], not too expensive and, with practice, she'll take a good images. Remember, one additional thing. Your prints will only be as good as your skills with Photoshop or some other manipulation program. Most folks writing articles in the various photo magazines agree that all images must be sharpened before printing.
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Brooke Loter |
I had a Canon Rebel G and a small 2.1 MP HP digital camera just for snapshots but the rebel was for my photography, I wanted to upgrade to a better digital and I talked my husband into getting me the Digital Rebel because I knew I would be able to use the lenses I had for the other one and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE my digital rebel!!! The pictures are so wonderful and the only thing you really have to learn about is the digital aspect of the camera because it works just like the regular EOS SLR's as far as the switches and stuff. And as far as your wife using it, it has the auto modes and my husband and mom can pick mine up and use it just fine. My mom is mad because she just bought a Minolta Dimage point and shoot digital and she is so dissapointed in it and she loves my pictures so much more.
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