What is an SLR camera??

[brittany21]

Im looking to buy a new camera.. i want a film camera, not digital. Im liking this new canon rebel, its says is SLR, but it does nto elaborate as to what that means? Can anyone help? thanks!! :)

[GordyPordy]

Hi Brittany

SLR stand for Single Lens Reflex. This means that you can use different lenses for every photographic situation depending on the effect you want to achieve. There are wide angle, fish eye, tele-photo lenses and everything in between. If you are going to go down the SLR route in might be worth getting a couple of issues of a photographic magazine to get an insight into SLR photography.

All the best

Gordy

[brittany21]

thanks, im just looking to buy a camera with a very good zoom so that i can get great pictures while on my trip. I always get pics with my vurrent camera that i think are too far away. We are going whale watching and such so i want to be sure to get great pics as close as possible.

 

 

are u familiar with the canon rebel?

[vijoge]

Brittany,

We've had our Rebel for about four years and we've been very happy with it. For an SLR, it's very easy to use for a beginner and we were able to take really good photos using the automatic settings right from the start.

[brittany21]

They have it on sale for 198.32 at walmart right now, do u feel that is a good price?

[vijoge]

I paid quite a bit more than that for mine when I bought it.

 

Just be aware that if your reason for buying this camera is to take close up shots of things that are far away your're going to need more than just the lense that comes with it. We've found that in order to get the really good long distance shots we need at least a 500mm lens.

 

Lenses are expensive, as are most of the other accessories (filters, etc) so it's not quite as simples as buying a standard point and shoot.

[kayred]

I am also looking for a new camera, except I do want a digital. I would love some suggestions on a good camera with a good zoom. It would be a plus to also get to take some video. I am willing to buy extra cards and will have my lap top to download and reuse the cards. I would really appreciate any suggestions, I feel lost with all the choices.

[brittany21]

see i dont want digital for the whole reason of messing with the cards and what not, id rather take a bunch of film and come home and get it devleoped and be able to fill a big ol photo album.

 

as far as long distance shots, im not talking like super far away, but better then what i have right now, my camera is a simple kodak, with a button that zooms it in and out, it was about 50 bucks. I think the rebel will be a step up for me. I let my mom use the caera i have now, so that we are both taking pics the whole time.

 

id love to buy a vidoe camera, and be able to film the whale watch and different more exciting things, but i just dont think i can afford that right now, and id rather invest in a reg camera. Although, the price of cameras, and video has really dropped, atleast in my opinion.

[Suzieb]

SLR means Single Lens Reflex, but that was already mentioned, but what it realy means is there is one lens, and when you look through the view finder, you are seeing what the film will see.

Have fun with what you buy

[mountainhouse]

see i dont want digital for the whole reason of messing with the cards and what not, id rather take a bunch of film and come home and get it devleoped and be able to fill a big ol photo album.

 

Film makes good sense. I sure do worry about people crashing computers and losing pictures. I've gone to digital, and miss having prints of everything.

 

Wtih everyone is moving to digital used prices are looking really good. If you, or someone you know, does eBay, there are some amazing deals on film cameras. If you haven't tried eBay, my suggestion is always to buy some REALLY small items, and get used to the process before making a larger purchase. Stick with any of the big names and you should be okay (Canon, Nikon, Minolta or Pentax). Go to a local store, and see which one feels good, then go to eBay. You'll be surprised. For example, I have a Nikon N80. Beautiful camera. B&H Photo (New York) wanted $275 for a new one. In like new condition, they're fetching about $150 on eBay. Good shooting.

[mountainhouse]

I am also looking for a new camera, except ...good camera with a good zoom... some video. I am willing to buy extra cards and will have my lap top to download and reuse the cards. I would really appreciate any suggestions, I feel lost with all the choices.

 

If you plan to shot a little video also, an SLR is out. A good place to start looking is Steve's list of best cameras. You really won't go wrong with any of these. Another good site is dpreview. They've got a feature search where you can plug in the features you want and it finds the camera.

 

If you don't want to do much research, but you say you want a longer zoom, go to Steve's list of best cameras and choose one from the category labeled, "10-12x Optical Super Zoom". One of those should fit the bill. Feel free to e-mail me if I can help. Good shooting.

[brittany21]

those are all digital cameras, i dont want digital... but that is a great site..

[kayred]

Thank you for the site on the digitals....It will give me a great place to start...

[bruce-r]

Kayred, here is an excellent price for a very good camera, the Canon S1 IS:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?ec=BC-EC3-Cat79&pos=2&whse=&topnav=&prodid=11064186

 

Brittany, Canon makes excellent film cameras as well. If you do end up getting a SLR such as the one of the Canon Rebels, you will be able to change the lens to get as long as focal length you'll need to get really close. Of course with a long lens you will need a tripod or your photos will be blurred from the unavoidable camera shake.

 

If you want an easy to use, affordable point and shoot camera with a decent zoom, you might want to consider something like this:

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=142&modelid=10465

[mountainhouse]

those are all digital cameras, i dont want digital... but that is a great site..

 

Read the post I made at 6:33PM. That was directed at you.

[brittany21]

So the canon EOS sure shot that was listed in alink has a zoom of 4.7x... right??

 

 

so the standard lens is the lens that this camera comes with, right?

 

here is a link to the rebel k2...

 

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelFeaturesAct&fcategoryid=138&modelid=9429&pageno=5

 

if so, the sure shot has a better zoom, right out of the box, but the rebel can be upgraded overtime... am i understanding this correctly? :confused:

[Flossie]

Hello all, I have both the rebel film camera that I have had for few years and just recently purchased a digitalrebel. The reason for not wanting a digital is because you will not want pictures on your computer? You can just take the photo cards (flash cards) to any place and they will develope the pictures for you like a can of film, I do understand that the SLR digital cameras are really expense right now, if you ever think that you might want to get one someday then my advice would be to get a SLR that is what you would want in a digital where as it be from Canon, Sony, Pentex etc so that you can purchase lens for that camera that will fit the digital one, since lens are so expensive. I do have to wonder how long it will be before the film camera will be done away with. Kinda like the old 8 track tape thing, and cassettes.

Whatever you purchase there will be something new and better on the market in no time so just get what you like, I purchased the Canon Drebel and three months later they came out with the Canon Drebel XT ! something new and "better" but I am happy with what I got and hope to use it for years to come.

I now am in the market for a CD burner that does not take the computer to use, it is a stand alone unit. One that I am instrested in is a Roadstor. ( found this advice on these boards, arn't they great!) we can take this unit with us and put the flash card from the camera in it and burn a CD and then clear the card and use it the next day , already have our pictures on a CD to take to the developer or print at home. I put all our pictures on CD's for storage in case the computer crashes. Good luck to everyone purchasing a new camera I know I spent hours and hours on the computer looking for a camera before I purchased mine. I had really considered a Sureshot from Canon.

[KansasScrapper]

I shoot Nikon as my SLR and wouldn't give it up in a heart beat. I do have the Canon S1 and also love it. It has a 10x zoom and I did purchase the extra lense for it. I had the Canon Rebel but switched it for the Nikon. So I use both of them. I shoot the Nikon SLR with my 200 zoom lense while the hubby does the Canon S1. We have been happy with both. On our first cruise I shot 50 rolls of film and to my horror the lab messed every one of them up. So I was glad my hubby had the Canon digital. It is kind of like our back up. And I will tell you memory cards do go bad. On our trip to Atlanta the memory card (which was a 1gig and had over 800 photos on it) went bad. Even bought a recovery program and still nothing. But I had the Nikon SLR so I had some photos. So we travel with both & yes I am a photo person.

[mountainhouse]

So the canon EOS sure shot that was listed in alink has a zoom of 4.7x... right??

if so, the sure shot has a better zoom, right out of the box, but the rebel can be upgraded overtime... am i understanding this correctly? :confused:

 

That's correct. The Sure Shot is not upgradeable, and the Rebel is. Be careful about "4.7X" thing. Better to judge cameras in terms of focal length. For example, the Sure Shot is 38-180mm. You can use this neat tool on the Canon web site to compare focal lengths.

http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/lens101/focallength/

 

ALSO, check out the weight of everything. Carrying a Rebel, and 2 lenses in a case, will be something you've have on your shoulder all the time. The Sure Shot, on the other hand, will fit in your fanny pack or jacket pocket.

 

Good shooting.

[Flossie]

KanasScraper, that is scary that your card failed! I think I will take the advice on these boards and just purchase the small cards so that not so many photos are on one card in case this happens.

[bruce-r]

KanasScraper, that is scary that your card failed! I think I will take the advice on these boards and just purchase the small cards so that not so many photos are on one card in case this happens.

I still would want the 1 gig compact flash cards, but then I always take my iBook with me when I travel so I transfer the images from the card to the hard drive daily. I shoot in the RAW format and those files are pretty large. I also like to be able to review my images right away and the tiny screen on the camera just isn't large enough and a TV doesn't have a sharp enough image. I can also play with the images with photoshop.

 

If I was to get a backup device to empty my card, I'd get one of the hard drive based ones. I think that having to deal with a bunch of CD's would be a pain. The Epson P-2000 would be my first choice.

[brittany21]

That's correct. The Sure Shot is not upgradeable, and the Rebel is. Be careful about "4.7X" thing. Better to judge cameras in terms of focal length. For example, the Sure Shot is 38-180mm. You can use this neat tool on the Canon web site to compare focal lengths.

http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/lens101/focallength/

 

ALSO, check out the weight of everything. Carrying a Rebel, and 2 lenses in a case, will be something you've have on your shoulder all the time. The Sure Shot, on the other hand, will fit in your fanny pack or jacket pocket.

 

Good shooting.

 

So the rebels standard lens is 28-80mm, that does not seem so good on the focal comparison thingy.. and the canon sure shot is 38- 180mm, that is better.

The rebel is 198.32 at WalMart, and at best buy the sure shot is 169.99... Frankly, which of the two would u recomend?

[brittany21]

I just looked and the camera that i own now is a canon sure shot 38-76mm... but i dont think the zoom is good enough, and that is why i was researching the rebel. I was going to let my mo carry this one and ill carry the rebel.

[mountainhouse]

So the rebels standard lens is 28-80mm, that does not seem so good on the focal comparison thingy.. and the canon sure shot is 38- 180mm, that is better.

The rebel is 198.32 at WalMart, and at best buy the sure shot is 169.99... Frankly, which of the two would u recomend?

No doubt the Rebel is a better camera, but only you can decide how good of a camera you need. If you are happy with the photos from your current Sure Shot, then the new Sure Shot would be good. With the Rebel, if you want more zoom, you buy more lenses. Downside: it takes a few seconds to switch lenses and you have to carry it all. As far as which lens, here's an example of one that with work nicely with the lens you get with the Rebel:

http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/lineup/telephotozoom/index.html (EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III)

[brittany21]

I guess what im trying to say is the 180mm zoom max of the sure shot very far? I guess i dont really know how to compare. I used the lil focal comparison thingy but im still not convinced

 

I dont know if id be the type to be buying mulltiple lenses. Im just wondering if the rebels standard lens is enough, b/c the sure shot has more zoom.

 

I wish i could buy them both, go out take some pics, get them developed, decide and return the lesser of the two.

~Thanks for putting up with all my questions~