Amateur Photographer needs new camera....help?

[Guzmania]

The OP has admitted that he has no technical photo experience and basically just wants to get good snapshots. He also says that he has a $400 budget. So you recommend a dSLR 3 lens combo. Even assuming that he will be able to use many of the features of your proposed outfit, where do you think that he will be able to get it for $400.

 

Answer his question or don't waste his time with useless answers. Can I assume that if this was a car board instead of a cruise board and he asked for a recommendation for a family car at a $25,000 price point, you would recommend a Porsche crossover?

 

DON

 

 

Don, I'm with you on this one. I think it's more what you like than how much you spend, and the quality of the picture has a lot more to do with who's framing the shot than what he/she's shooting it with. To continue your analogy, I'd pick a good driver in a Mustang over an amateur in a Porsche any time!

 

Luis

[pilotdane]

To help lighten the SLR vs point & shoot discussion here a funny shot of my wife and I taking pictures of some monkeys on a recent trip. A fellow traveler snapped the shot because he thought the difference in size between our cameras was funny. He took this picture with his iPhone so you can see the quality from a cell phone is very good these days.

 

 

Both cameras took great pictures. The point and shoot's pictures are easily good enough for posting on the web, E-mailing to friends or printing up to medium sizes. The SLR on the other hand allows you to crop & zoom until able to read the DNA of the monkey I was photographing.

[stevefrankel]

Hi, Luis here again.

 

FYI, the Olympus waterproof camera we have is 10.2 MP. When we cruised to Key West, we had an Olympus 8 MP camera, and took some really neat pics of some great murals on the buildings. When we got home, Julia took the flash card to an office supply store and had them printed out on very large format Kodak paper. We had them framed, and rotate them out on our family room wall. They're 24"X36", and have absolutely no graining. Remember, that was with 8 MP!"

 

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Hey guys, we're not on entirely different sides. When on a cruise, my wife or I almost always carry a Canon SD780 IS for those times when a larger camera isn't convenient, or along with the Lumix G1. So I agree with you that sometimes tiny size trumps everything else.

 

However, that's not usually the case. At least 50% of the time, sensor size trumps everything else: the guy with the larger sensor gets the sharper shot! And sensor size has nothing to do with pixel count; a large and small sensor camera can both have 12 megapixels, but each pixel on the large sensor camera is much larger, which increases clarity and depth. Similarly, no digitial image produces grain unless you do it deliberately! So lack of grain proves nothing.

 

To take matters to an extreme, while working my way through college as a photographer in the early 60s, I shot hundreds of weddings and sports events using a 4x5" Crown Graphic and a 2 1/4" Rollei. Nothing since has equalled the clarity of those images! Later that decade I moved to a Nikon, but I did so knowing full well that I was trading some image quality for convenience and speed.

 

All compact digital cameras has sensors the size of a small fingernail. No matter how many pixels they crowd in, the images won't equal those produced by micro 4/3 cameras, regular DSLRs, full-frame DSLRs, or 2 1/4" digital Hasseblads that pros wait in line for at $30,000 a copy. It's just how far along that continuim you want to go; I happen to think the sweet spot are the micro 4/3 units like the Lumix G-1 that have sensors the size of a small postage stamp and yet weigh only 20-32 ounces with most lenses. If you'ld rather use a compact digital camera, that's your decision, but don't kid yourself that your images are as sharp or can be shot in as low light.

 

Also, to come full circle, if you want to shoot wildlife, fast moving vessels, or other natural targets of outdoor shots onboard on a sunny day, good luck doing it with MOST compact digitals, since the don't have a viewfinder and using the LCD screen is virtually impossible for ANYONE. All you can do is point your camera in the general direction of the target and hope! That's why I picked the Canon SD780 IS as my backup camera, since at least it has a (tiny) optical viewfinder; and that's where cameras with large sharp viewfinders put all others to shame.

 

This is actually the major reason why I think the Lumix G1 or one of the smaller DSLR are better choices for cruisers; but just as most cruisers don't see the sense spending the few extra bucks needed to go on Regent, Crystal, Oceana or Azamara -- even when those brands "go on sale" -- most do not see the need for a slightly larger and more expensive camera. even when they go on sale. I guess that's just the way the world works!

[bakechef]

Hi, Luis here again.

 

FYI, the Olympus waterproof camera we have is 10.2 MP. When we cruised to Key West, we had an Olympus 8 MP camera, and took some really neat pics of some great murals on the buildings. When we got home, Julia took the flash card to an office supply store and had them printed out on very large format Kodak paper. We had them framed, and rotate them out on our family room wall. They're 24"X36", and have absolutely no graining. Remember, that was with 8 MP!

 

I'm not saying that those expensive DSLR cameras aren't worth the high price, but if you think this camera is a "spouse's" or "second" camera, think again. It's well UNDER $400, and I would put its photo quality up against most of the features of those pricey rigs. And, you can drop it into your pocket, it doesn't require its own piece of luggage! That makes it much less intrusive into a port visit, and we take it right into the water with us, no expensive case required. Try THAT with your DSLR!

 

Luis

 

I agree, compacts perform very well these days and most take really stunning shots.

 

Where the DSLR beats out a compact for me is speed and low light performance.

 

DSLRs often focus and shoot much quicker, and even my best point and shoot can't perform in low light as well as my DSLR. I have the option of shooting at high ISO with acceptable quality, which is great when there is very little light and a moving subject.

 

Here is an example. This is a lowlight action shot with a point and shoot, it was nearly impossible to get a clear shot, a flash does nothing from this distance.

 

Here is a shot with my DSLR. Only light is a spot and the subject is dancing quite fast (yes that is a drag queen:D) I set the ISO to 1600, and the shot is cropped, this kind of clarity would be nearly impossible with most point and shoots.

[stevefrankel]

To help lighten the SLR vs point & shoot discussion here a funny shot of my wife and I taking pictures of some monkeys on a recent trip.

Both cameras took great pictures. The point and shoot's pictures are easily good enough for posting on the web, E-mailing to friends or printing up to medium sizes. The SLR on the other hand allows you to crop & zoom until able to read the DNA of the monkey I was photographing.

 

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LOVE IT!!! This photo says it all!!!

[stevefrankel]

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LOVE IT!!! This photo says it all!!!

 

This is what I have in mind when I say you need a Micro 4/3 or DSLR to do serious work on the water. This is a race boat bearing down on the committee boat from which I was shooting. There's a 2-3 foot chop, the committee boat is rising and falling about 4-5 feet every few seconds, and you have only a split second to frame the shot and shoot. This was taken with a Sony Alpha DSLR with a 28-300mm zoom with the zoom fully extended. The boat is actually about 30 feet away from the stern of the committee boat, but if the racers didn't "fall off" and turn in the next few seconds there would have been a serous collision in which several of us would have probably been badly hurt.

[conchead]

A friend of mine got a FujiFilm FinePix S1000. They have now changed the model to a Fujifilm FinePix S1500FD . I have used it some and just saw 4 memory cards of pics he just took on a vacation, and I am impressed. For under $200.00 it is hard to beat 10MP 12X Optical Zoom 3" display. 33 - 396mm (35mm equivalent). I was pretty impressed with the wide angle and pretty decent zoom. It is built like a small DSLR, fits my hands good, which to me is important. Some just don't feel right because of size and shape.

Check it out at WalMart. Walmart online has it for $199.88, it might be a little more in the store..I was just looking at it last night and forgot to even look at the price.

btw.. I was surprised with the video quality. We plugged it straight into a 20" TV and it looked pretty good.

[aprilivy]