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New Camera for the Holidays :)

M

Miami_Fly_Guy

Gawd
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
523
Hello all, I'm 20..21 on December 20th! Instead of dropping money on things that aren't really productive I think it would be a good idea to buy a nice digital camera. My family doesn't really document many parts of our lives with photo or video but they are beginning to, as am I. I'm down in Miami and since the Bahamas and many other nice destinations aren't far away I'm trying to take some day trips and make some memories. I already have a Konica Minolta Dimage Z2 which I'd love to give to my mom while replacing it with something a little better for me.

My needs are kind of simple. The camera would be used to document different occasions but I would like to use it as a way to step into digital photography like the photos I see in this forum. I really like manual zoom and a video ability would be great. Price is maybe 350ish..not too certain. Any help appreciated I know this is a super noob kind of post.. :)
 
What sort of camera are you looking for? A true DSLR, or something like the Z2? If you're looking for something similar to the Z2, the Canon PowerShot S3 seems to get really good reviews, and it's around your pricerange ($380 at amazon). Looks like it is very good at taking video as well.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s3-review/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s3is.html

For a true DSLR, even buying used you're probably looking in the $500+ range. Though I really haven't looked much at DSLRs lately, so maybe they're cheaper than I remember.
 
how would a camera such as the s3 compare to one of the used or possibly new lower end dslr cameras?
 
It's really tough to say, since it depends so much on the user. If you just want to take pictures using out of the box settings, I'd guess that picture quality will probably be pretty similar. With the S3 you don't get a flash hotshoe, can't change lenses (telephoto, wide, etc), response time for everything will be slower (shutter release, focus time, etc). Probably a bit noisier at high ISOs as well.

On the other hand you do get tons of dSLR features, SLR like manual focus, excellent zoom range, great video capabilites, and you pay quite a bit less.

Hell, I can't even decide for myself, and I've been researching for years (still using my 7 year old Nikon 950! :)). I'd really love to upgrade to a nice dSLR, but when I really think about it, I doubt that I'll use it enough to get my money's worth over a much cheaper camera.

How's that for not helping make the decision any easier? :)
 
i know what you mean regarding using it enough to warrant spending that kind of dough. i see all of these incredible images and i thought the only way to get them was by using a dslr. im a sucker for that manual focus where u twist it with ur hands...sounds lame but yeah lol
 
JBark said:
With the S3 you don't get a flash hotshoe, can't change lenses (telephoto, wide, etc)
Click to expand...

Actually although you can't change lenses with the S3 by, you can buy an adapter and buy add-on lenses (Telephoto, wide etc...) as well as filters. There are actually quite a few options available. Below is a link to a site dedicated to the S3 IS. Check out the forums and you'll see just what you can do with this camera.

http://www.canons3is.com
 
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