[DanPatrick10]

I'd like to pick up a good quality digital camera for shooting photos of the outdoors and possibly having the photos put into books or Magazines. I'd like to hear peoples suggestions on what they use and what works well and what brands to avoid. Thank you.

[NO_NAME]

I'd like to pick up a good quality digital camera for shooting photos of the outdoors and possibly having the photos put into books or Magazines. I'd like to hear peoples suggestions on what they use and what works well and what brands to avoid. Thank you.

I was in the same predicament. Too old to learn new tricks too, don't want to fool with dials and such so I looked at the HP digital cameras. I had girl friend who had one and she took great pictures without breaking a sweat. I went to their web site last year and bought the best one they had, 8 plus pixtels too! Crystal sharp photos and easy to upload to the computer and share them. HP, that's Hewlet Packard. Good support too.

[speed797]

If you are looking for a digital SLR camera ( that is a camera this you can change out the lenses, bigger but better shots) then I would suggest anything made by Canon. I only have Canon SLR cameras. If you are looking for what is called a point and shoot camera, non SLR camera, I would suggest the casio exilim series. They are really good and simple. If you are looking for a conventional SLR camera, one that uses film, I would go with the Canon Rebel G or Canon A1. They a1 is older, best to get one off eBay, but is a really good camera. The rebel G is good but is part of the eos series so the lenses are still expensive because that type of lense is still being used on the new cameras. Of these choices, depending on what you have to spend, one of the digital SLR canon cameras can cost as much as $10,000 but that is for a 21.1 megapixel water resistance top of the line camera. Most point and shoot cameras won't exceed about $500 for the top of the line. The conventional SLR cameras can be gotten for about $50 to $300 depending on what it comes with. The point and shoot cameras and the digital cameras WILL all have auto focus but may not have manual focus. All of the conventional SLR cameras WILL have manual focus BUT MAY NOT HAVE AUTO FOCUS. Hope this helps you out.

[progunr]

Vivitar makes some good, inexpensive digital cameras.

If your not sure about getting into this, you may want to start with a small purchase rather than breaking the bank on a camera, and finding out it is not really what you expected.

I got a Vivitar Digicam 7 megapixels for under $100.

It takes great photos, not to bad on video clips too.

Has LOTS of features and scene modes, comes with rechargeable battery and charger and I've gotten some of my best sunset photos with this little camera.

[WWPierre]

I have been using a Kodak EasyShare DX6490 for a few years now, and I am very happy with it. It has a recharging dock where it lives when I am not using it, so it is always charged up. I put a 1 gig card into it and it can take almost 800 4.5 mb pictures. Set it into the dock, push a button and it transfers all the pics to a dated file. The card allows almost an hour of pretty good video.

It has 10x optical zoom. I seldom zoom without having it on a tripod, and I never use the digital zoom, preferring to crop instead.

Negatives: It is perhaps not so robust. My friend dropped it, making the small (eyepiece) viewfinder fuzzy, but I have gotten used to the view screen, so no biggie.

The on-off switch is a bit sticky, but I think this has been fixed on later models.

It is too large to put in your pocket. I only use it around home anyway, so that is OK by me.

Biggest Beef: the Kodak software is real bloated, and takes forever to load up when I start my (win98) computer. As soon as I have the pics transferred, I dump Kodak and use PSP.

[jcdill]

I'd like to pick up a good quality digital camera for shooting photos of the outdoors and possibly having the photos put into books or Magazines. I'd like to hear peoples suggestions on what they use and what works well and what brands to avoid. Thank you.

There is a common misconception that if you buy a "better camera" you will take better photos. The higher end cameras do NOT take better photos unless you know what you are doing! The more you pay for a camera (e.g. pro-sumer DSLR, pro DSLR) the HARDER it is to take good photos because the camera doesn't have all the auto modes that consumer level cameras have.

The most important thing you need to do to take better photos is learn how to be a better photographer. Any decent mid-level pocket camera will have plenty of modes and settings to allow you to learn how to become a better photographer. You probably won't learn all of those features and settings before the camera is obsolete and you need to upgrade.

If you buy a DSLR, several things to keep in mind:

1) Your photos are never any better than the lens used to gather the light and deliver it to the sensor (or film). Expect to pay 2x or more the cost of the camera body on good lenses.

2) Your DSLR camera body will become obsolete (and you will want to upgrade) in 2-4 years.

With any camera:

3) You need to post-process your images to bring out the best qualities. (Photoshop, etc.)

4) You need to have a color profile for your monitor, and for your printer, in order for your prints to match what you see on your monitor.

I'm a professional photographer, and I shoot with Canon DSLR gear (1d MII body, 24-70 f2.8 L, 70-200 f2.8 L IS lenses, 550 Speedlite flash). I like Canon cameras, but definitely don't recommend buying a DSLR before you have exhausted all you can learn with a simpler camera such as a Canon Powershot model.

[speed797]

jcdill I think you are partially right but if you learn with a point and shoot camera like the powershot series then you don't automatically know how to use an slr. It doesn't really help with focusing or anything other than using the arrow buttons to change which picture you are looking at on the digital screen. I think it is better to get an older slr camera if that is what you want in the end run because you can't learn how to use an slr from using a point and shoot. I'm just saying. I started with a Canon Regel G SLR camera before I ever had a digital point and shoot.

[jcdill]

jcdill i think you are partially right but if you learn with a point and shoot camera like the powershot series then you don't automatically know how to use an slr. it doesn't really help with focusing or anything other than using the arrow buttons to change which picture you are looking at on the digital screen. I think it is better to get an older slr camera if that is what you want in the end run because you can't learn how to use an slr from using a point and shoot. I'm just saying. I started with a Canon Regel G SLR camera before i ever had a digital point and shoot.

Most point-n-shoot cameras have a lot more controls than the users are aware of. Many DO have manual focus modes. Most have shutter-priority and aperture-priority modes, most also have manual exposure mode. Get out the manual, learn how to use these features, learn how to take control over the exposure, before you buy a DSLR. Otherwise odds are very high you will just be wasting your money on the DLSR.

A significant percentage of non-photographer DSLR owners put the camera in automatic mode and shoot in jpeg. They just wasted 80-90% of the money they spent on this "better" camera, because in most cases the "better camera" in automatic mode takes photos no better than the camera that costs 10-20% of what they paid. They have ALL the same features (and most of the same capabilities, modulo lens quality) in the cheaper camera.

There exists a group that is modifying the firmware for most Canon point-n-shoot cameras that give the user access to even more modes, including shooting in RAW when RAW is not an option in the default Canon firmware. Google: Canon firmware hack
For more info.

[DanPatrick10]

So you're saying to start with a less inexpensive SLR camera and practice taking photos than to buy a more expensive DSLR camera that comes with additional features to help take photos such as anti-movement?

[jcdill]

I'm saying that a point-n-shoot camera (not a DSLR) has dozens of controls and features the typical novice photographer doesn't know how to use yet, so it would be wasting money to buy a DSLR at this point. Every day I meet people who went out and bought a DSLR but then shoot in "auto" mode, in jpeg (not raw) and who are wasting 99% of the features they paid all that money to buy! Their photos are WORSE than if they bought a point-n-shoot camera because the better camera doesn't do as much "guessing" - it leaves the guessing up to the photographer but these people aren't photographers (at least not yet) - they just know how to point-n-shoot.

A "less expensive SLR" camera would be a film camera. I don't recommend a novice start shooting film because it's very useful to shoot in digital format, learn how to read the review image and histogram, and adjust your exposure on the spot to get the shot. With film you have to take copious notes, wait to have your film developed, and then scanned so you can bring the image into the computer and take advantage of the software tools to finalize your image.

A typical starter DSLR camera kit will cost you $1000-$2000 (depending on how many lenses you buy, and the quality). The camera body will be worth ~15% of what you pay for it 2-3 years later - the lenses will hold their value ONLY if you buy top-of-the-line glass (e.g. Canon L glass) but you can't buy L lenses with a $2k budget (1 lens alone will run $900 or more, depending on the lens, and it will have 1/3 the zoom capabilities of the point-n-shoot camera). I paid $1000 for a Digital Rebel (300D) with the "kit" lens when it first came out, sold the pair for $150 3 years later.

Instead, put $1800 in a savings account, and spend $200 on a Canon Powershot camera - pick a model that has a hacked firmware version available. A refurb is fine (it doesn't need to be "brand new") and will save you even more money.

Now, learn how to use every single setting in the camera. Learn to shoot in AV mode (and letting the camera pick the shutter speed). Learn when you want to use a small aperture (e.g. f/16), when you want to use a medium aperture (e.g. f/8) or a wide aperture (e.g. f/2.8). Then learn to shoot in TV mode and pick a fast shutter (1/2000), medium shutter (1/200) or slow shutter (1/20). Then learn to use manual mode. Then learn how to use exposure compensation so that photos of a white beach aren't under exposed (too dark) or photos of a dark horse aren't over exposed (too light), etc. Learn when (and how) you want to disable the flash. Learn when and how to increase the ISO, and why you don't want to just shoot with a high ISO all the time (noise). You can spend 1-2 years with this camera learning all these functions. THEN get the DSLR. The money you saved will buy you the hot new DSLR in 2010, a much better camera (and probably selling for a lower cost) than the similar DSLR you can buy today. You will be able to start using all its special features right away. You will also have a better understanding of the type of photography you want to do, and know what types of lenses you will get the most use from.