Which Camera is right for me?

[raiderfan]

New to this forum, looking forward to learning alot from some of you pro's out there. Seems like a great forum, lots of helpful information and topics here.

Yes I am a newbie when it comes to the professional camera's, so all the pixel, shutter speed, optical, digital, etc etc I kinda understand but i'm new to it all when it comes to this high end cameras.

Purchasing a new camera, and will be my first 'major' camera purchase, as I basically just had cheap little digitals etc.. nothing really over $200. Well now I am looking forward to purchase a nicer camera, and some details ....

Looking to spend around $1000 (CDN/US)
I mostly use a camera for Sporting Events, Concerts, General Travelling, Sightseeing..... I am really more concerned with a good Zoom to take closeups from a distance. The small cheap digitals usually are blurry and not great if you zoom in all the way from a distance (like I said I only used 4x,12x digital zoom's on like a Sony digital, nothing serious).

Basically I dont want to lose quality when zooming in for close ups from a distance....

What's a good option for me? Optical Zoom? Digital Zoom?

What kind and brand could get me a good camera for around $1000 ???

Thanks in advance for your help!

[TCav]

For most of what you want to shoot, any dSLR should do well. A couple of things you mentioned would point me in one direction or another.

1. For sports, Canon makes the best AF system for tracking moving subjects, followed by Nikon, except for its D3000/D5000 bodies. The lens or lenses you'd need depend on the sport. For outdoor sports in daylight, a 70-300 would be fine if you can get close. If you have to shoot from the stands, you should get something longer. For indoor sports, you should get a large aperture medium telephoto. An 85/1.8, 100/2.0 or 135/2.0 would be good if you can be in the right place at the right time. Fast zoom lenses (f/2.8) might be fast enough if you can time your shot well, but that's not generally fast enough. For outdoor evening sports, you'll need a long, fast lens, and all by itself, that will bust your budget.
2. For concerts, you'll need a long lens and image stabilization.

A Canon XSi with a 70-300 IS should work for outdoor sports, and maybe for concerts as well. For indoor sports an XSI with an 85/1.8 or 100/2.0 should work, and maybe even for the converts if you can get close. Any of these configurations should be within your budget.

[mtclimber]

raiderfan-

Welcome to the Forum. We're delighted that you dropped by.

I think you have revealed your photo background a bit. But we can help. Not to worry. When you zoom in with a lens, the general principle is that the available aperture goes to a numerically high F stop and will therefore transmit substanatially less light to the camera's imager.

The result is this: because you have less light for your proposed image, the ISO setting has to be numerically increased to properly capture the image. So your camera also has to be able to shoot good quality images with an increased ISO setting.

High ISO capability is really not native to P+S cameras. It is going to require either a Micro 4/3rd camera, or a DSLR camera like the Pentax Kx model to reach a camera level where one of these cameras can satisfactorily capture images under the conditions you have proposed. In a Micro 4/3rd camera, there are really no wide aperture telephoto lenses at this time.

Wide aperture long focal length zoom lenses for DSLR cameras are very large and very expensive indeed. So, in an efort to stay within your proposed $(US) 1,000 budget, you will have to do it with a consumer level long zoom lens which does not have wide apertures.

So tell us more about: (1)the amount of light found in your least well lighted photo environment. At the outset, I must pass on the information that you could not probably take the photos that you desire, excepting if the stage lighting is quite bright. (2) Your photo experience?? Please keep in mind that DSLR images are not like P+S images, they require post processing. What is your experience with photo editing?

Sarah Joyce

[shoturtle]

If you are looking at a dslr, I would look at the pentax k-x with the 2 lens kit, 18-55 and 55-300. It has a very easy to use menu system and art menu's to let you use the camera like a point and shoot. Also have great low light and very good optics. The kit can be had at abes of main for 700. Also look at the olympus e620 with the 2 lens kit 14-42 and 40-150mm it is in the 600 range. This is will give the best IQ for a photo, especially if the light is not great.

For a point and shoot something like the panasonic FZ35 and Fuji HS10 would be a good choice.

For a compact point and shoot, sony the hx5v.

Another option for compact and almost dslr ability is the epl-1 for around 1000 with the epl-1 and panasonic 45-200mm lens. It is a micro 4/3 so the sensor is 4x larger then any point and shoot. This is a very capable set up.

[TCav]

Originally Posted by shoturtle

If you are looking at a dslr, I would look at the pentax k-x with the 2 lens kit, 18-55 and 55-300. It has a very easy to use menu system and art menu's to let you use the camera like a point and shoot. Also have great low light and very good optics. The kit can be had at abes of main for 700. Also look at the olympus e620 with the 2 lens kit 14-42 and 40-150mm it is in the 600 range. This is will give the best IQ for a photo, especially if the light is not great.

For a point and shoot something like the panasonic FZ35 and Fuji HS10 would be a good choice.

For a compact point and shoot, sony the hx5v.

Another option for compact and almost dslr ability is the epl-1 for around 1000 with the epl-1 and panasonic 45-200mm lens. It is a micro 4/3 so the sensor is 4x larger then any point and shoot. This is a very capable set up.

... none of which would be very good for sporting events, though the Pentax K-x comes closest.

[mtclimber]

...and from the OP's screen name, we have to assume he is indeed a sports fan.

Sarah Joyce

[raiderfan]

Ok, so we narrowed in down to a few cameras I think.

Wife wants a smaller camera, not a huge ass one, she is a beginner, basically a point and shoot for her.... where I know a bit more but I see it as if we investing $500-1000 for a camera I want something pretty good that will last us awhile... but nothing too fancy....

so we are leaning towards these 3

Canon PowerShot 10.0 MP Digital Camera (SX1IS) SLR $599

Nikon COOLPIX P100 10.3MP Digital Camera (26x zoom) $449

Canon Powershot G11 10.0MP Digital Camera $569




lemme know what u think, here's the links from Best Buys site (Canada)

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...a7c85194a3en02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...b53652a21aen02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...245af3e2a6en02



Will the Nikon give us good quality photos even when using the 26x zoom? Wife really liked that one, mostly because it's not a big camera like SLR's, and the zoom is pretty much more than enough.
We're not gonna be getting too advanced with buying add-on lenses and stuff, we just want a nice camera with a great zoom.

[raiderfan]

ok, been looking at alot of reviews online, seems like the Nikon p100 is a great camera, although the biggest complaint would be image quality. Is it that bad? For a newbie like me would it be a big deal and to avoid this camera? I want to be able to use the 26x zoom with good results, not blurry images.

Compare the Nikon p100 to the Canon SX20.... which is all round better?

Video mode looks like the Nikon is really good, at 1080 HD. the 26x zoom compared to Canons 20x is not that big a deal to me, if the SX20 is overall a much better choice, then the little less zoom wont matter.

[shoturtle]

It is strange to say a camera is great if image quality is the biggest complaint as that is the main purpose of a camera to capture great picture. JMTC

[mtclimber]

Raiderfan-

It might be a good idea to purchase two cameras. The Panasonic ZR1 that Costco has on sale. I believe that Costco is also located in Canada. Anyway the ZR1 is a great little camera 12mp 8X optical zoom (25mm to 200mm), excellent image quality, and it does HD video as well. Cost here in the USA is $(US) 169.99 and Costco throws in a free memory card and case.

For yourself, please look at the FZ-35, it is a much better (has higher ISO capabilities, better image quality, a does HD video with dual channel sound) than the Canon SX-20. The SX-1 is no longer manufactured, and the Nikon P-100 has been given really negative marks in the professional reviews for poor image quality, and lots of noise even at ISO 100. Cost in the USA:$(US)304.00

Sarah Joyce