Camera?

[JimD]

I know this topic has been done to death, I've searched a few threads but really havent been able to make up my mind so sorry for the redundancy.
Im looking for a basic, maybe point and shoot or anything really that will allow me to take at least decent shots of the tank and of course, good macro. I've heard that some of the older Nicons were ok, wondering if theres anything newer... What say ye?

[Ping]

I think the best point and shoot is the Canon G-10. Rebels are real nice for a hobbiest basic DSLR.

[Ping]

Good luck with deciding, I have been trying to make up my mind for a few months now.

[brewercm]

I just don't think you can go wrong with either Cannon or Nikon. I haven't looked at point and shoot for quite a while but at least up until a couple of years ago the best for macros were always Nikon. they had the best macro capabilities in the P&S catagories. Read through some of the online review places. Here are a few of my favorites.

http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraList.php
http://www.steves-digicams.com/

[mharmon]

It all depends on how much you want to spend. I'm guessing because you mention "point and shoot" that you are looking for a less expensive camera. I would point you toward the Canon cameras. I've owned Canon for years and they work well, but that's not the only reason to recommend them. I've found that the Canons have a capability that I've never seen in a camera that's so inexpensive - the ability to have features added - to be upgraded with features in expensive cameras. See here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

Even if you don't use CHDK, the cameras are fine without it. I bought a Canon SX110 last year for $180 from Dell and it works great.


Mark

[JimD]

Do ya'll have any examples of what these cameras are capable of as far as tank shots go? And thanks a bunch for all the info...

[aquasport24]

Bernie (ltz28) uses point and shoot, don't remember the name, but always shows great tank pics. May want to shoot him a pm to find out more.

[mharmon]

Here are some links to full-resolution photos taken by my Canon SX110:

http://mlharmon.googlepages.com/IMG_0740.JPG
http://mlharmon.googlepages.com/IMG_1270.JPG
http://mlharmon.googlepages.com/IMG_1542.JPG
http://mlharmon.googlepages.com/IMG_1552.JPG


Mark

[JimD]

Those are pretty nice.... Were they taken on auto or manual? The colors look natural, unlike my Kodak Z612, a decent camera for portraits and outdoor stuff but really blows for tank shots..

[mharmon]

Those pictures were taken at different times with different settings, but I'm pretty sure none of them were on full auto. I probably did tweak the white balance and experiment with a number of settings to see what worked.

You can get an idea of what settings were used by downloading each photo and then right-clicking on the file. Then you go to properties, then details. Scrolling down through that screen will sometimes show you the settings.

Mark

[JimD]

Cant find the canon SX110 anywhere for under two bills...

[JimD]

Anyone have any experience the the Nikon Coolpix 5000 5.0 Megapixel?

[mharmon]

I may have gotten an exceptional deal when I found it for $180, so I'm sorry if I set your pricing expectations low. You'll probably have a hard time finding a decent camera with sufficient manual settings for under $200... $225 is probably more like it.

Canon has a nice A2000 model (without many manual features) for around $160 at Dell, but you'll probably want additional manual controls at some point.

If you are in no hurry, you can probably wait and save a little money otherwise you might have to pay a little more.

[apedroza]

We use to own the older version of the fuji finepix S series. Great P&S with some SLR features (macro, whitebalance options) I use to take great pix with our old one. Maybe you can fine an older model for cheaper.