You Pick It!, I Quit?

[owataqt]

Good evening, I quit! I quit, I quit! Who would have know choosing a new camera could actually cause a migrane I've gone through 4 cameras in one year. Still cant get a nice sharp clear photo. Who knows it's probably me anyways.. but they were all of different manufacturers and all under $250.00.

In my line of work, I need to take photos of our jobs. I need interior basement shots, exterior outdoor living areas. ETC.. For the life of me, I was always perplexed as I am standing their holding my camera why the heck do I keep backing up.. backing up.. backing up.. to get the whole photo of the patio or water feature in the shot and yet now the shot is pure and simple 30 feet away. ohhhhhhh maybe I should purchase a wide angle lens camera. When I have a commercial sites I need to get the entire job in the frame.. Again, oh maybe if I just had a wide angle lens.

As I proceed to explain myself please forgive me for my complete ignorance and utter lack of correct terminology.. bare with me

I thought I narrowed it down to of course what so many on here keep mentioning: Panasonic, Sony, and Cannon- the bridge styles as in Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1,Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 Cannon SX20.
All above mentioned have wide angle lens, HD for my requirements, each one can zoom in while I am videotaping, and each one can snap a photo while I am videotaping. All important factors to me. But I do have more!! Plain and simple.. I want a really nice crisp photo!! and editing in the camera.. since I am not computer savy, would very much like to crop in the camera even change the colors in the already taken photo thats stored in the camera... is that possible???? this way.. email and or print and go!!! long lasting battery life..

Now that being said, let me tell you a little bit more about me, Not computer savvy.. would like one day to learn far more about cameras and even hope to enjoy the world of photography as my time frees up. But for now I need to have one that doesnt take a huge learning curve to work, one that I can hand over to my foreman and say here take a shot of the finished project, but have the photo come out better then if I handed him one of my cheaper cameras that's just point and click set on auto.

Due to time constraints I need to order one within the next week Heck, if dont I will start adding even more into final list of choices, like the HX5, but I really cant wait.

I am so tired of having others send me photos of gorgeous shots.. clear crisp colors and images and these people are not rocket scientist.. but their photos always look better then mine!!!! mine always come out kinda fuzzy( possibly what you call noise?).Little like dots in the photos.. etc

I need to be able to take photos of my children, and I am an avid lover of Koi fish-and would love to photographic the watergardens,waterfalls, and swim ponds we install with all the wonderful colors of koi and for it to actually show their vibrancy .. that the yellow is really yellow and not just off creamy orange yellow that shows up in my cameras.... I need to be able to take photos of interior homes , full rooms ( technically the floors), and exterior living areas.. etc

Now here comes the kicker, as I had narrowed it down fx35,Hx1 ,sx20.. I discover SX1 which is what an upgrade from SX20???and the Canon Powershot SX10
and then while reading the reviews I find that .. their is a huge rating descrepency between the sx10 and sx1...as in the sx10 has better ratings, and yet the sx20 has better ratings then the sx10 but I thought the sx1 is the same as the sx20 just a notch up... could someone tell me why?? or someone tell me which camera I may enjoy and utilize without a huge huge headache?? since LOL I already have one just trying to figure out which should be my next purchase. With this economy, I've kinda got a one shot chance.. what I purchase I will be stuck with for sometime!!!so I do really want to enjoy it.. learn too.. but not learn like I would if it were a dslr. How I am sooooooooo not ready for that!!!! LOL

Your me... which one would you suggest
Panasonic FX35
Sony HX1
SX20

or the other two cannon series.. if so which one of those 3( SX1, SX10), and why?? wouldnt it only make sense if I were to decide on the SX20 to just get the SX1??? and why are the ratings better for the sx10 and yet it seems to have less features then the SX1??

all advice would be absolutely appreciated..

A huge thank you in advance

[shoturtle]

I would go with the panasonic fz35. It has a good wide angle at 27mm, so you will be able to put more into the frame. Seen some really nice wide angle shots with this camera.

[mtclimber]

owataqt-

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

It sounds like you are asking a whole lot from a camera that may not really be possible. To get a starting point, why don't you tell us the four cameras that you have rejected as unserviceable, and why you rejected them.

You made virtually no mention of the lighting conditions under which you want to take these photo. Can you be very specific as to the lighting conditions and why the 4 cameras that you rejected did not match up to the lighting condition that you have encountered.

Keep in mind that the magical camera you desire, might not exist in today's marketplace.

Have a great day. We look forward to working with you on this problem.

Sarah Joyce

[Hards80]

I agree with Sarah, It sounds like you may be asking a little too much from a point and shoot camera. Basements usually have terrible lighting, which usually will lead to using high ISO's and alot of shadow areas in the photo, which will contribute to the "grain" or noise you see. Also, finding a wide enough angle lens on a point and shoot may be hard to find, at least one to get a whole room from a short distance in the frame.

Yea, so for us to better help you, list the cameras you have tried, and if you can remember what exactly didn't work for you with each of them.

[owataqt]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

owataqt-

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

It sounds like you are asking a whole lot from a camera that may not really be possible. To get a starting point, why don't you tell us the four cameras that you have rejected as unserviceable, and why you rejected them.

You made virtually no mention of the lighting conditions under which you want to take these photo. Can you be very specific as to the lighting conditions and why the 4 cameras that you rejected did not match up to the lighting condition that you have encountered.

Keep in mind that the magical camera you desire, might not exist in today's marketplace.

Have a great day. We look forward to working with you on this problem.

Sarah Joyce

Thank you Sarah for your quick response, after discovering this forum .. for the past week I've been following your post.

My problem is I need photos in all lighting conditions. I am by no means someone who knew anything about cameras and still no nadah!!

the 4 cameras I had are all broken too, when one seems to just stop working, I went out and purchased another, and another, and another.. LOL
You must keep in mind, I went into the store.. said ohhhhhhhhhhh look its pink, and has 8 mp.. think I'll try this one!!!

I just want out of the above choices someone to just pick it for me!!! if you read my above post .. what I would like to use my camera for is listed in my original post. Everything, day light, interior day lighting, exterior day lighting, evening time, night time.. etc. Most importantly is.. to get fabulous photos of my companies projects...

Lets say you were a newbie- which I so know you arent!!! You help so many here... I do know you have been testing some of the cameras out yourself and stated that you infact like the FZ35
and one other you seem to be using alot.. but then you just got in the Hx1? am I right?? so if you had a friend that needed an all around awesome camera but not quite a dslr type of camera which one if money was know object out of the above referenced would you purchase for your friend who had my needs.

LOL, see I just want you all to pick it for me.. wink wink

[owataqt]

Originally Posted by Hards80

I agree with Sarah, It sounds like you may be asking a little too much from a point and shoot camera. Basements usually have terrible lighting, which usually will lead to using high ISO's and alot of shadow areas in the photo, which will contribute to the "grain" or noise you see. Also, finding a wide enough angle lens on a point and shoot may be hard to find, at least one to get a whole room from a short distance in the frame.

Yea, so for us to better help you, list the cameras you have tried, and if you can remember what exactly didn't work for you with each of them.

I picked cameras before because they were cute looking, or I liked the color. Heck I didnt know what I needed. When someone told me I should go and hire a landscape photographer for my work, because I take such lousy photos. I thought nooooooooooo way, I just dont have the right camera.. I dont want perfection and I am not asking for photography style photos.. but just some nice shots here and there.. sharper and more crisper then what I have in my portfolio.. LOL

Heres my list of cameras.. dont laugh!!! none work, and all in my kitchen drawer still ...

Cannon PowerShot A50
Cannon Powershot A560
Casio Exilim sorry, I cant read the little number on it.. my eyes are now going bad right along with the headache I have from researching.. LOL
Kodak z730
and the one I bought 2 months ago.. which no matter how much I recharge and change the main battery.. it wont come on!!!
Kodak M380( I thought took really really bad photos.. all grainy looking!!!

I think from my list you could probably just gage on your own why they didnt work.. LOL

[owataqt]

Originally Posted by shoturtle

I would go with the panasonic fz35. It has a good wide angle at 27mm, so you will be able to put more into the frame. Seen some really nice wide angle shots with this camera.

Thanks for your opinion and advice!!!

[shoturtle]

Owatagt,

Sounds like you have hit the wall, anyone of the camera you listed are very good cameras, and they are on the high end of the bridge camera food chain. The canon SX1 is a better camera then the SX20, but there is allot of confusion about the SX line. Do not know how bias the each reviewer was that wrote those reviews. But honestly they are all pretty equal. But base on photos I seen, here and on other sites. My eye really like the results of the FZ35. But the sony and canon are equally good. To do all you want, it would require a dslr with different lenses. And from your post, that is not something you are looking for. So my vote is the FZ35.

If you get a chance bring a sd card with you to a store that carry all three. Take some photos in the store and go home and see which ones pictures you like more and which one seems to have the best control layout for you.

[mtclimber]

owataqt-

Thanks for your post. However, you failed to answer my pretty specific questions. So we have no starting point at all. In summation you want a camera that will do it all under any lighting conditions at all. Plus you want your photos to be "fabulous," per your post.

Well, I am sorry to say, that the camera that you envision does not exist anywhere, at any price. Cameras are mechanical and they need a certain amount of light, whether it be natural light or light from a powerful flash to take a photo. Photos taken under very low light level conditions can never be "fabulous." Light is needed for the photo process to to occur. When the light is very low the camera can barely record the image, and the image quality also suffers substantially. In short they don't look very good at all. And they certainly do not look "fabulous," by any stretch of the imagination.

So, lacking the needed information I don't think I can help you. To arbitrarily select a camera from a list for you would be very foolhardy on my part. Chance are very good, that you would just repeat the same failure cycle of the 4 previous cameras. It takes a photographer, a camera, and the needed light to successfully record a good photo.

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce

[owataqt]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

owataqt-

Thanks for your post. However, you failed to answer my pretty specific questions. So we have no starting point at all. In summation you want a camera that will do it all under any lighting conditions at all. Plus you want your photos to be "fabulous," per your post.

Well, I am sorry to say, that the camera that you envision does not exist anywhere, at any price. Cameras are mechanical and they need a certain amount of light, whether it be natural light or light from a powerful flash to take a photo. Photos taken under very low light level conditions can never be "fabulous." Light is needed for the photo process to to occur. When the light is very low the camera can barely record the image, and the image quality also suffers substantially. In short they don't look very good at all. And they certainly do not look "fabulous," by any stretch of the imagination.

So, lacking the needed information I don't think I can help you. To arbitrarily select a camera from a list for you would be very foolhardy on my part. Chance are very good, that you would just repeat the same failure cycle of the 4 previous cameras. It takes a photographer, a camera, and the needed light to successfully record a good photo.

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce

Wow Sarah, and to think.. you usually just say you love this one or that one... thanks for trying to help me though.. just needed a really good all around camera.. step up from just point and shoot and lower then the ones that you have to switch lenses on.

You too have a wonderful evening