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kgarchar

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 21, 2006
332
0
So I'm in the market for a new(ish) camera. I really want something that I can take fairly high res photos on, and have them look pretty nice. Nothing Professional, more on the consumer side, or something prosumer. Anyone know of some great consumer/prosumer cameras? I also need a printer, so a camera printer combo would be awesome.
 

Silentwave

macrumors 68000
May 26, 2006
1,615
50
Are you considering DSLRs at all? there are some great ones such as the acclaimed Nikon D40 available for as little as $600 with a lens- plus you have the expandability of a full scale SLR system.
 

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,828
2,033
Redondo Beach, California
So I'm in the market for a new(ish) camera. I really want something that I can take fairly high res photos on, and have them look pretty nice. Nothing Professional, more on the consumer side, or something prosumer. Anyone know of some great consumer/prosumer cameras? I also need a printer, so a camera printer combo would be awesome.

You need to supply a bit more info.

Budget? Do you care about the size. What will you photograph. Insects, football games, landscapes, people indoors? What size prints will you make? Do you need to do large display prints?
 

kgarchar

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 21, 2006
332
0
You need to supply a bit more info.

Budget? Do you care about the size. What will you photograph. Insects, football games, landscapes, people indoors? What size prints will you make? Do you need to do large display prints?
Well, I want a smaller camera. I just know that there are a whole lot of ****** quality small digital cameras out there, and I don't want to get one. I'd be taking pictures of stuff like people and everyday things like birthdays and stuff. Sorry for being vague. Budgetwise I'd be looking to spend no more than $300 for the camera. Printerwise I was thinking about $110-120. as for prints, I want it to look good if I have to make it great at 8x10.
 

devilot

Moderator emeritus
May 1, 2005
15,584
1
I would highly recommend the Canon S3 IS. You can read a rather indepth review, here.

It's quite well-received by many many people. Not super compact, but definitely smaller than dSLRs. Got a great zoom on it, image stabilization, and a movie mode that sets the bar. Oh, did I forget to mention, it takes great photos, too? :p Price-wise, if you keep an eye out on bargain sites (slickdeals.net, fatwallet.com) you can usually find it for roughly $300, but I believe that MSRP sets it closer to $400.

About $389 from Amazon. Oooh, $369 from CircuitCity.com. And those are just a few stores... believe me, you can find it for cheaper.
 

netdog

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
Panasonic Lumix DX2. Great piece of glass (Leica) for a P&S and no noise problems if you stay with ISO100. That said, the noise problem at higher speeds is also greatly exagerated IMO. I have a Leica D-Lux3 (essentially the DX2 badged as a Leica) and I find the results to be outstanding...often better than my Canon 10D DSLR.
 

netdog

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
As for a printer, are you happy to be limited to 8x10 or would you like something that could do a larger format from time to time. The Epsons and Canons are pretty good in whatever size you should desire.
 

Lovesong

macrumors 65816
Panasonic Lumix DX2. Great piece of glass (Leica) for a P&S and no noise problems if you stay with ISO100. That said, the noise problem at higher speeds is also greatly exagerated IMO. I have a Leica D-Lux3 (essentially the DX2 badged as a Leica) and I find the results to be outstanding...often better than my Canon 10D DSLR.

Unfortunately, if you do go at anything above 200 on a Panasonic, you get something like this:

This is my old Lumix FZ-20, at ISO400 at 100%crop.
 

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