Best camera for a total newbie?

[freedom750]

Yes - it is overwhelming!

 

I just got my wife a Panasonic ZS-40 from Amazon. It is a tad over $300 but it has a 24mm wide angle to about 700mm zoom which should cover everything you want to shoot. It has a stabilizer and is light-weight and can fit in a pocket with no problems..

 

But if it is a one-camera choice, you can't go wrong with the Panasonic!

 

All the suggestions are good but your best bet is to go to a Best Buy or your friendly camera store and look at the cameras suggested, see how they fit on your hand, check the zoom range.

 

X2 - I have had my share of expensive SLR's over the years but this year I got tired of carrying around all that equipment and having a weight around my neck. We were spending a month cruising Europe and I wanted a good lightweight pocket friendly camera. I got the Panasonic ZS 40 and to tell the truth, I can't tell the difference between the pictures I get from it and a SLR. With the wide angle to 30X digital zoom it is quick, easy to use and always handy. You can do video and take pictures at the same time. Awesome camera.

[Cashew14]

Remember that good photographs are not made by the camera, but by the person holding that camera.

 

I know exactly what you are saying. I am not gifted to say the least. But I love art of any kind and love galleries also. If only I could translate what I see onto a photograph!!

 

My way around it is to take many pictures and hope one of them is the one I have in mind.

 

My 6 year old granddaughter has an incredible eye and ideas to take photographs with an ipad!

 

So, yes absolutely right, it's the person who takes the pictures.

[RVRCLC]

I know exactly what you are saying. I am not gifted to say the least. But I love art of any kind and love galleries also. If only I could translate what I see onto a photograph!!

 

 

 

My way around it is to take many pictures and hope one of them is the one I have in mind.

 

 

 

My 6 year old granddaughter has an incredible eye and ideas to take photographs with an ipad!

 

 

 

So, yes absolutely right, it's the person who takes the pictures.

 

 

Good for you! You are more important than the price or brand of camera. Your eye for composition is there!

[97t-bird]

if you are wanting to buy a higher end dslr or even a P&S check out KEH.com

I have bought used pro grade equipment from them with excellent results. The prices are good and the items come with a warranty. More often then not you can get a higher end lens or body for the same as a cheaper/entry level body that is new, I'd rather have the higher end personally. Just something to think about....

[Cashew14]

if you are wanting to buy a higher end dslr or even a P&S check out KEH.com

I have bought used pro grade equipment from them with excellent results. The prices are good and the items come with a warranty. More often then not you can get a higher end lens or body for the same as a cheaper/entry level body that is new, I'd rather have the higher end personally. Just something to think about....

 

Thank you very much! :)

[havoc315]

Glad you like your Sony. And for the same reason, I like my Canon SX50. It has a huge zoom lens (up to 1200mm equivalent), is very responsive, does well in low light (6400 ISO), has a great burst rate (13fps for up to 10 frame, is light and VERY versatile.

 

The SX50 is considered a "bridge" camera. Has point/shot capabilities plus some advanced features similar to a dSLR.

 

It's important to understand the differences between a camera like the SX50 and the A6000. Thanks to mirrorless and other changes in technology, cameras that might be the same size, that might even look alike, can be very very different.

 

The SX50 is a point and shoot, stuck into a dSLR-like body, with a big zoom lens. But at the end of the day, it's a point and shoot... small sensor, mediocre image quality, mediocre autofocus, poor low light performance, etc. (For example, while it allows ISO up to 6400, the independent reviewing group dxomark scores that IQ becomes poor at ISO 179).

 

Where the SX50 is a point and shoot stuck into a dSLR-like body, the A6000 is the exact opposite -- It is a dSLR, stuck into a point and shoot body. It's autofocus system is better than many "real" dSLRs. It uses the same type of sensor found in APS-C dSLRs, such as an advanced user Nikon D7100. The image quality is dSLR image quality. (The ISO score according to dxomark -- image quality doesn't degrade until about ISO 1300.. much much higher than the 179 score of the SX50).

 

Not saying the A6000 is a better camera than the SX50. There is a tradeoff that many people find worthwhile -- the SX50 is cheaper, and because it has a small sensor, it can get a HUGE zoom in a tiny package. To get the same sort of zoom on the A6000, you would need a lens that weighs a couple of bricks, and is about the size of a small suitcase. But aside from the huge zoom in a small package, and the lower cost, a camera like the A6000 (mirrorless camera with APS-C sensor) will outperform a camera like the SX50.

 

Here is a very basic side by side comparison:

 

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-PowerShot-SX50-HS-vs-Sony-Alpha-A6000

[mactire]

I got fed up trying to carry heavy equipment around while travelling and after trying several Superzoom cameras I settled on the Panasonic FZ200 and it is brilliant. Pretty good pictures and great video, including slow motion video as well as respectable burst mode. It can do more than I will ever need it to do. The zoom goes up to 1200 but you will need some way to steady the camera at that zoom.

Hope this helps.

Patrick

[wanderlust lady]

It's important to understand the differences between a camera like the SX50 and the A6000. Thanks to mirrorless and other changes in technology, cameras that might be the same size, that might even look alike, can be very very different.

 

The SX50 is a point and shoot, stuck into a dSLR-like body, with a big zoom lens. But at the end of the day, it's a point and shoot... small sensor, mediocre image quality, mediocre autofocus, poor low light performance, etc. (For example, while it allows ISO up to 6400, the independent reviewing group dxomark scores that IQ becomes poor at ISO 179).

 

Where the SX50 is a point and shoot stuck into a dSLR-like body, the A6000 is the exact opposite -- It is a dSLR, stuck into a point and shoot body. It's autofocus system is better than many "real" dSLRs. It uses the same type of sensor found in APS-C dSLRs, such as an advanced user Nikon D7100. The image quality is dSLR image quality. (The ISO score according to dxomark -- image quality doesn't degrade until about ISO 1300.. much much higher than the 179 score of the SX50).

 

Not saying the A6000 is a better camera than the SX50. There is a tradeoff that many people find worthwhile -- the SX50 is cheaper, and because it has a small sensor, it can get a HUGE zoom in a tiny package. To get the same sort of zoom on the A6000, you would need a lens that weighs a couple of bricks, and is about the size of a small suitcase. But aside from the huge zoom in a small package, and the lower cost, a camera like the A6000 (mirrorless camera with APS-C sensor) will outperform a camera like the SX50.

 

Here is a very basic side by side comparison:

 

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-PowerShot-SX50-HS-vs-Sony-Alpha-A6000

 

These are all really good points. By going with a camera that has more of the SLR qualities, you can learn to start playing with settings like aperture, focus, lighting adjustments, using the rule of thirds, etc... by searching for videos on youtube.

 

One of the things that made the biggest difference in my pictures was not the camera, but by taking an into to photography course (two day workshop.) Good luck!

 

(As a dSLR user, I would always recommend the same, but I understand how people don't like them because are a little bigger and heavier, but with this comes lots of flexibility of lenses and capabilities. :))

[ConsiderThatDiemCarped]

I second the Panasonic fz200. It'so the only non DSLR camera that can keep an aperture of 2.8 through the entire range of zoom. This allows you to use full 1200mm zoom with the open Lenee lighting that a 2.8 aperture provides. Other cameras will automatically reduce the aperture up to 4.5 as you zoom making your pictures taken with zoom dark. This camera uses a Leica lens and is very impressive for shots of wildlife that require high shutter speeds. Should be around $350 on Amazon.

[c230k]

I second the Panasonic fz200. It'so the only non DSLR camera that can keep an aperture of 2.8 through the entire range of zoom. This allows you to use full 1200mm zoom with the open Lenee lighting that a 2.8 aperture provides. Other cameras will automatically reduce the aperture up to 4.5 as you zoom making your pictures taken with zoom dark. This camera uses a Leica lens and is very impressive for shots of wildlife that require high shutter speeds. Should be around $350 on Amazon.

 

GREAT CAMERA

Check out what other cruise critic owners think

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1694983

Tom :cool:

[MOcruiserman]

GREAT CAMERA

Check out what other cruise critic owners think

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1694983

Tom :cool:

 

I agree it's a very good camera however its focal length is not 1200mm but 600mm (24x optical zoom).

[mactire]

The FZ200 has a focal length of 600mm but with some form of technology that has little or no effect on the quality of the picture taken this can be extended to 1200 and then to 2400 with the digital zoom. You need a good steady hand for the 1200.

[havoc315]

I second the Panasonic fz200. It'so the only non DSLR camera that can keep an aperture of 2.8 through the entire range of zoom. This allows you to use full 1200mm zoom with the open Lenee lighting that a 2.8 aperture provides. Other cameras will automatically reduce the aperture up to 4.5 as you zoom making your pictures taken with zoom dark. This camera uses a Leica lens and is very impressive for shots of wildlife that require high shutter speeds. Should be around $350 on Amazon.

 

The RX10 can keep a constant aperture of 2.8, with a much larger sensor.

 

Nice thing with the FZ200 is that is is much cheaper, with a much longer zoom range... up to 600mm optically.

The RX10 only goes to 200mm optically.

 

But the image quality of the RX10 leaves the FZ200 in the dust. The FZ200 gets a DXO score of 37, compared to 69 for the RX10. DXO rates the FZ200 ISO as good up to 114 -- In other words, the IQ starts to get bad once you go any higher than the base ISO. The RX10 rates 474.. about a 2 stop difference. Meaning, even at the same 2.8 aperture, you can use quadruple the shutter speed of the RX10 to get the same quality of image.