I Need Advice on Which Camera to Get?? Help!!

[doucy2]

Ok photographers
i would like to card a decent camera that takes high quality pro looking digital pics

i want to get into photography of taking pictures around my town
I'm looking for something that will capture color very well.

I also need a camera that has a rechargable battery(s) NOT AA Batteries

May something in the 5MP+ Range

what do you photoagraphers reccomend?
any sugestions on a specific camera, that would work well for me?

any help is appreciated

 

[bgd]

Not sure how much you want to spend or what style of camera (e.g SLR, point & shoot) but have a look at the Canon website. I've had several Canon cameras and never been disappointed.

 

[lssmit02]

I did a fair amount of research online here www.steves-digicams.com and here www.dpreview.com. Steve's Digicams is a great site, lots of information which is readily accessible, including reviews of many accessories. I came down to the Canon SD450/550 (basically same camera, 5 vs. 7 megapixels), A610/620 (same) or the Panasonic FZ5 (5 megapixels). All of them were highly rated. I ended up getting the Canon A620 (4x optical zoom) as a nice compromise between the small SD450 (3x optical zoom) and the very large FZ5. I was leaning towards the FZ5, which is a superzoom (12x) with a Leica lens and image stabilization, but I decided that if I wanted that big a camera, I would buy a dSLR. I love the camera. Much faster than my old Nikon 4300, compact (although somewhat heavy due to the batteries - see below), lots of shooting modes, including manual. Pictures are great, both in quality and color. Screen is moveable, and can be turned so that it is protected. Has optical viewfinder.

The A620 does use use AAs (The SD450 has a proprietary lithium battery), but I bought some NiMH 2500 MA AAs with a Maha 204W charger, as recommended by www.imaging-resource.com (Steve's Digicams has a battery section, too, but he refers you to this site for a full review of their capabilities). I decided that the AAs weren't a problem because the rechargeables have gotten to be so good. Estimated 300 pictures per charge, using the screen, upto 1500 if using only the optical viewfinder. The FZ5 has a proprietary lithium battery, I believe. I had to use a charger for my Nikon, so it's not really any different than before.

Any way, YMMV, of course. Best of luck.

 

[doucy2]

wow thank you for that wonderful input
i will look into all of the cameras
the SD450 sounds the most interesting, but i will check them all out
i really want to get into capturing nature scenes and editing them for mac desktop backrounds.
thanks again for both of oyu help

 

[-hh]

The A620 does use use AAs (The SD450 has a proprietary lithium battery), but I bought some NiMH 2500 MA AAs with a Maha 204W charger... I decided that the AAs weren't a problem because the rechargeables have gotten to be so good.

I'd tend to agree with this assessment, although part of the credit also goes to the cameras, which have gotten a lot less power-hungry.

Overall, a camera that uses rechargable AA's is a bit larger than one that uses a proprietary battery pack, but I find that they still easily fit into a jacket pocket or fanny pack (even my now-old Canon A80, which takes four AA's), so my need for the 'rediculously thin' P&S isn't really all that great...I'd say that having a pivot screen is a more important priority to me.


-hh

PS: Back early from the Pacific...cruise to Tahiti cancelled due to the ship taking damage in a full Gale in its Vancouver to Hawaii leg. Concession photo's from Waikiki Beach are here.