Which 35mm camera to buy

[MFFL]

I'm looking for a camera for my honey's birthday and I need some advice. I want to buy her a digital camera but she wants 35mm. Since I'm not a rich man don't throw out $1000 cameras.

I think I've narrowed it down to 2. Both have the 28-80 kits. I'd just like advice on either. Or other cameras in that $300 to $400 price range.

Minolta Maxxum 5

Canon EOS Rebel 2000

Thanks

[Drbio]

as a Minolta owner...they are hard to work on. I wish I had a Canon. I hope this helps.

[Smiles]

i don't know cameras, but i like 35mm,

so go with what Doc says.

[MFFL]

<< as a Minolta owner...they are hard to work on. >>



Expensive and hard to repair or hard to work with?

[djb]

Ugh go digital! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Love my Canon S300.

[Blonde Bomber]

I would go digital.

I purchased a Sony Sure Shot digital camera. It's a 3.3 Megapixel camera with 6x zoom. It also has the LCD screen.

It also has the ablity to do movie clips (mpeg format). And it also saves your pics as jpeg which is great for saving space on your hard drive.
The camera is pretty expensive ($499). But take it from me, it's worth every penny. We have taken it with us when we visit friends or family and they all fell in love with it. A few went out and purchased one that day.

And if I were you I would purchase whatever you buy at Best Buy. I'm telling you I shopped for months for a camera for our trip to Vegas.
And some came close to purchase price but none (maybe Curcuit City) came close to Insurance. I purchased 4 year Insurance for the camera for only
$49 bucks. You can't beat that!!!

All in all, I spent around $700 for the whole package plus tax.
(camera, insurance, carrying case, extra memory card (128 mb = around 220 exposures).

And if you want to be mischevious, After about 3 years....short curcuit the camera and Best Buy will replace it with a new one or get face value back in cash.

Good Luck!!

[Drbio]

Go digital if you can for sure.


Hard to work ON...not with. It is expensive to have repaired too.

[Flacolaco]

I wanted to find a thread about cameras and this is all I could come up with...

Anyway, the wife and I just bought a Nikon D40.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Ni...page?pid=25420

I've never had a SLR camera before...this thing is awesome.

[nowhereman]

i'm the manager of the wolf camera in arlington just north of parks mall. we are an ultra store and turn around about 2 million dollars worth of merchandise in a year. i shoot the canon digital 20d and also the film rebel ti. i never shoot film anymore because it's so expensive. i used to spend about 20 bucks a week on film, developing, and digitizing. a year from now, you'll have spent a lot more money on film and you won't take your camera out with you nearly as much.

if you're commited to film, i recommend the rebel ti, and it's about 60 bucks less than the k2 and you can invest the difference in a speedlight or a stabilized lens. the nikon n75 is also extremely sharp.

if you decide to go digital, and if you don't have an SLR already, the d40 is easily your best bet. it uses the same image sensor as the more expensive d60 so your image quality is identical, and comes with a much sharper lens than the canon stuff which is terribly overpriced. avoid sony, olympus, and pentax. don't even dare think about fuji.

you made a good choice flaco. hit me up if you need any advice or direction with lenses or flashes. i'm a huge fan of the d40 and shot with the older d70s for a while so i've toyed with the nikkor stuff before.

enjoy your new cam

[Flacolaco]

Thanks! ... like I said, my wife and I are novices, never used a dSLR before, and this one is great fun so far.

[Underdog]

Canon is the best camera for that money - the glass makes all the difference...

[Janett_Reno]

Talk her out of film number one. With digital you can snap 100's at a time and it cost you nothing and they can be beautiful. Here are the choices you should consider.

1. Canon, good nice clean shots with little noise. DSLR is to expensive and just a dslr would be around 500.00 and up and the lens cost more than the camera for a good lens. If she becomes really good than a dslr would be good for her at some point. I can give you good dslr's to choose from but it is expensive and it is things she would like better and alot of things she would like alot worse on a dslr. Canon g6, g7 or any of the Canon g series is a good choice and she will love.

2. Sony makes great digital cameras. One of the best digital cameras ever made was a Sony DSC-H2 and a DSC-H5 with 12 zoom lens and the picture are crisp and beautiful. The new ones out now won't match these. Don't get caught up in the megapixel game. 6 to 8 megapixels is the sweet spot for p&s digital cameras. You add more pixels, you have some probs alot of times.

3. The best p&s camera ever made and now it is higher than when it was new. It is small and is the best if not one of the very best in low light and in total image quality. The name is Fujifilm F31fd. On close out you could have picked up one of these around $225.00 and now used they are around $350.00.

4. If you have no idea and want to get her a good camera but want to stay at low price, you hardly ever get a bad camera in Canon or Sony and it is a tie on which is best. Most of all of them from $139.00 to $400.00 she would love. If you go for a small pocket camera, you give up zoom but you gain by putting it in your pocket and most p&s's don't have alot of manual control. That Fuji does. The zoom cameras are bigger but that h2 and h5 is one of the very best pic quality, plus will zoom alot but it won't fit in your pocket. I would not get a camera with less than 6 megapixels. On the H9 Sony, it has probs. They bumped up the zoom and pixels and it flopped bad in image quality. Go here and read the reviews and it will take you awhile to read these but by all means look at the conclusion page.

Fuji http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/

Sony http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyh5/

Sony http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyh2/

Canon http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong9/

This is also a good cheaper Canon http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd1100is/

Power Shot sd900 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd900/

If it was me and she wanted small in pocket, if you did not want to go for the best in that Fuji i would get one of the Canons. Those smaller Canons i listed are some of the best they ever made. It won't match the Fuji but the Fuji can't be bought new anymore. Son'y are great also but for a small camera i would go with Canon or that one Fuji. Zoom camera and great image quality, the Sony h3 and h5 are classics. If you have big pockets and can spend up over a grand for a camera and lens, then Canon for a dslr and if you want to get in for around 600.00 and have a nice dslr, then Olympus e-410, e-420, e-510, e-520. This is important and i better explain. Point and shoot cameras have a lcd screen and they are fast and have a live view. Most like using the lcd screen instead of the optical view finder. On expensive dslr's, they never had a lcd screen that was live view. You had to look thru the eye piece. Now some do but the only one that is fast is the Sony a-series that is a dslr and the camera alone is very high and has worse image quality than the Canon. Canon needs to perfect fast live view on dslr's and then jump in. It is alot more pluses and minuses in dslr's.

If your wife wants film, get her Nikon or Canon. Both great cameras.

[Flacolaco]

Good thoughts Janett.

Of course, the original post in this thread is from May of 2002.

I'm sorry I confused anyone by bumping this thread. I just didn't want to start a new one.

[Janett_Reno]

H2 or h5 i meant was classics on the Sony zooms. On the web site i showed, go look at the reviews on the Canon g6 up to the Canon g9's. All good. The Canon G series are bigger than a pocket size but so good. I would first see if you can talk her into digital, then see if size matters and what size she desires, then see what price you are wanting to pay and go from there.

I have a cousin that has a great expensive camera and she hates it. Why? It is bigger than a cell phone. So she likes cell phone cameras and a very bad and very cheap Kodak that is not much better than a cell phone. So with some, size is everything and image quality doesn't matter.

[Janett_Reno]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Good thoughts Janett.

Of course, the original post in this thread is from May of 2002.

I'm sorry I confused anyone by bumping this thread. I just didn't want to start a new one.

Oh ok sorry about that, i didn't notice it was 2002. I guess she has already had a few cameras y now and thanks for the heads up.

[DirkFTW]

Flaco, enjoy the new camera!

Depending on if you can handle an add-on for your camera, Nikon has a pretty sweet lens that can function in almost any situation... 18-200mm. Amazon Link

I think that's the one my buddy has and he loves it.

[Janett_Reno]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I wanted to find a thread about cameras and this is all I could come up with...

Anyway, the wife and I just bought a Nikon D40.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Ni...page?pid=25420

I've never had a SLR camera before...this thing is awesome.

The d40 is one of the greatest. If i wanted to go dslr and didn't care to have live view, probably the d40 or d40x is the very very best with image quality, being fast and price wise. You made a great choice and if i did not care to have live view, i would get the same camera. I think Canon and Nikon make the very best dslr's. I am so use to p&s that i am afraid i would want a good fast live view like what is on a p&s and that is why i am waiting another year or so for Nikon and Canon to prefect this. Image quality is first and with a dslr, Nikon and Canon has the best iq as far as i am concerned.

[Janett_Reno]

You bought a classic in the dslr. Many are buying the d40 over the newer cameras now, even today. Get you a nice 70-300mm lens and enjoy forever.

[u2sarajevo]

This is mine: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=15653

The Canon 40D. I love the thing. Even better is that the lenses from my old 35mm SLR camera fit it as well so I didn't have to go through the expense of buying more lenses.

[nowhereman]

Originally Posted by Janett_Reno

The d40 is one of the greatest. If i wanted to go dslr and didn't care to have live view, probably the d40 or d40x is the very very best with image quality, being fast and price wise. You made a great choice and if i did not care to have live view, i would get the same camera. I think Canon and Nikon make the very best dslr's. I am so use to p&s that i am afraid i would want a good fast live view like what is on a p&s and that is why i am waiting another year or so for Nikon and Canon to prefect this. Image quality is first and with a dslr, Nikon and Canon has the best iq as far as i am concerned.

if you want live view, the only 2 cameras to even consider are the alpha 300 and alpha 350 by sony. The d300, evolts, xsi, and 40d all have to lift the mirror to provide the live view, killing your focus and shutter speed, and to an affect distorting your shots.

sony adds a sensor near the optical viewfinder which relays information to your LCD, so the mirror is never lifted and your slr remains an slr. Of course, the problem with that is that the noise reduction on the 300 and 350 will overly artifact your shots above iso 200. Unless you're shooting in a room where you can't get to the viewfinder, or you need creative perspective with a cats-eye-view effect, i'd stay far far away from live view DSLRS.

and point of clarification UD, the only glass canon makes is the crystal flourite in their luxury series, and that is only maximum 2 elements that are canon constructed. It is nice glass, but the lenses in say the 18-55 VR by nikkor vs. the 18-55 IS by canon - the nikon lens is way nicer. Better glass, better coating, better build. The canon's do however handly noise a little better because of their metal-oxide (cmos) sensor vs. the ccd of the nikon. But give me the 18-55 ED packaged with the d40 over the 18-55 packaged with the xti any day, all day.

U2, what glass are you shooting with on your 40? i'm using the 28-135 and a couple of primes for most of my stuff.

[nowhereman]

Originally Posted by Janett_Reno

You bought a classic in the dslr. Many are buying the d40 over the newer cameras now, even today. Get you a nice 70-300mm lens and enjoy forever.

i have it from my nikon reps that the d40 will stay on the market at least through next summer, to reaffirm the notion that though it isn't as 'new' as some other dslrs, it is extremely competitive (better) than what most other manufacturers are giving you at the entry/prosumer range. that's a great camera. give me that over an $800 sony or $650 olympus anytime.

the 18-200 is awesome, but it's 750 bucks to cover the same focal length that the 18-55 and the 55-200 vr would cover. depending on what you're shooting, you might think about an 85mm f/1.8 for portraiture, or the 100mm f/2.8 for macro photography.

or a 70-200 f/2.8 for those mavs games =)

[u2sarajevo]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

if you want live view, the only 2 cameras to even consider are the alpha 300 and alpha 350 by sony. The d300, evolts, xsi, and 40d all have to lift the mirror to provide the live view, killing your focus and shutter speed, and to an affect distorting your shots.

sony adds a sensor near the optical viewfinder which relays information to your LCD, so the mirror is never lifted and your slr remains an slr. Of course, the problem with that is that the noise reduction on the 300 and 350 will overly artifact your shots above iso 200. Unless you're shooting in a room where you can't get to the viewfinder, or you need creative perspective with a cats-eye-view effect, i'd stay far far away from live view DSLRS.

and point of clarification UD, the only glass canon makes is the crystal flourite in their luxury series, and that is only maximum 2 elements that are canon constructed. It is nice glass, but the lenses in say the 18-55 VR by nikkor vs. the 18-55 IS by canon - the nikon lens is way nicer. Better glass, better coating, better build. The canon's do however handly noise a little better because of their metal-oxide (cmos) sensor vs. the ccd of the nikon. But give me the 18-55 ED packaged with the d40 over the 18-55 packaged with the xti any day, all day.

U2, what glass are you shooting with on your 40? i'm using the 28-135 and a couple of primes for most of my stuff.

Currently I use the same (28-135). However my Dad has let me borrow (for 3 months now) his 24-105 and so I am saving up for it now. Well.... it's kind of on my wish list anyway. Every time I talk to him I keep expecting him to ask for it back.

[Janett_Reno]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

if you want live view, the only 2 cameras to even consider are the alpha 300 and alpha 350 by sony. The d300, evolts, xsi, and 40d all have to lift the mirror to provide the live view, killing your focus and shutter speed, and to an affect distorting your shots.

sony adds a sensor near the optical viewfinder which relays information to your LCD, so the mirror is never lifted and your slr remains an slr. Of course, the problem with that is that the noise reduction on the 300 and 350 will overly artifact your shots above iso 200. Unless you're shooting in a room where you can't get to the viewfinder, or you need creative perspective with a cats-eye-view effect, i'd stay far far away from live view DSLRS.

and point of clarification UD, the only glass canon makes is the crystal flourite in their luxury series, and that is only maximum 2 elements that are canon constructed. It is nice glass, but the lenses in say the 18-55 VR by nikkor vs. the 18-55 IS by canon - the nikon lens is way nicer. Better glass, better coating, better build. The canon's do however handly noise a little better because of their metal-oxide (cmos) sensor vs. the ccd of the nikon. But give me the 18-55 ED packaged with the d40 over the 18-55 packaged with the xti any day, all day.

U2, what glass are you shooting with on your 40? i'm using the 28-135 and a couple of primes for most of my stuff.

I do like the Nikon d40 alot and the d40x but i am holding off for another year or two on better live view. I like both Canon and Nikon dslr's and the Sony's you mentioned, i do like the fast live view they have but at Poplabs they was last in iq. Comming from a consumer camera, they look really good to me untill you get up in higher iso's where Canon is just amazing. With any of the dslr's they are expensive but have come down alot and then to get good lens, they are expensive. Right now, the Sony's are to high, (a) series. I am going to wait and see who breaks out of the pack with a fast live view like the a series you mentioned but with great iq. I expect that to be Canon and Nikon but if Sony improves higher iso's with less noise and price comes down, i will look at them also. The only other i have considered for a bridge camera is the Sony R-1 but it is pretty heavy but a nice camera for a fixed lens camera. If i was not so set in my ways on live view, the Nikon D40 or Nikon D40x would be the way i would go.

[nowhereman]

Originally Posted by Janett_Reno

I do like the Nikon d40 alot and the d40x but i am holding off for another year or two on better live view. I like both Canon and Nikon dslr's and the Sony's you mentioned, i do like the fast live view they have but at Poplabs they was last in iq. Comming from a consumer camera, they look really good to me untill you get up in higher iso's where Canon is just amazing. With any of the dslr's they are expensive but have come down alot and then to get good lens, they are expensive. Right now, the Sony's are to high, (a) series. I am going to wait and see who breaks out of the pack with a fast live view like the a series you mentioned but with great iq. I expect that to be Canon and Nikon but if Sony improves higher iso's with less noise and price comes down, i will look at them also. The only other i have considered for a bridge camera is the Sony R-1 but it is pretty heavy but a nice camera for a fixed lens camera. If i was not so set in my ways on live view, the Nikon D40 or Nikon D40x would be the way i would go.

Good, don't get the sony. My sony rep did inform me that other manufacturers are going to start imitating the sony liveview system so i do expect it implemented a little better by canon and nikon in their lines inside the next year or two. Which actually has me really excited.

I suggest you go play with the olympus e510 once the e520 comes out real soon. It might drop as low as 400 and i've seen some pretty phenomenal prints from that camera. One of my customers picked it up and showed me a picture of a roller coaster ride in motion that was extremely sharp, and i was really impressed. Of course, it has the same mirror lifting problem with its liveview, and it's not near as good as the canons at that high iso, but at 400 bucks it's optically better than a lot of bridge cams out there. I've been meaning to toy with that R-1!

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I wanted to find a thread about cameras and this is all I could come up with...

haha I just did the same thing.

just bought the Canon PowerShot G10

14.7 mega pixels, 5x optical zoom and 28mm wide angle (equivalent of 35mm)

Seems extremely easy to use so far and I went in to the store hoping to sacrifice zoom for pixel quality, so I'm pretty happy with the purchase so far. Really just plan on using it for taking pictures of friends and family at get togethers and stuff, and maybe going out to take some nature shots when the weather gets nicer. I'm a camera noob at the moment though.

[bernardos70]

I hate you cause I have a G9. Very good cam, be careful, soon you'll be wanting an SLR. The Canon G-series is comprised of kinda big cameras for being point-and-shoots, but I can still carry it in my baggy pants so I carry it with me everywhere. I've become kind of an expert with the settings already..... but as soon as you find its limitations, you'll want a DSLR...