Somewhat noob, looking for digicam, one catch

[Bitchnmoan]

The catch is this. Through the Holiday Inn Priority Club rewards program, I have about $900 to blow on whatever I want. That means a camera Directly through the club, I can get a Canon Digital Rebel EOS kit, which includes the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. This will suck up all of my points, but that's okay if this camera turns out to be a good choice. However, I also have the option to redeem the points for shopping certificates (gift certificates, whatever) that I can use at Sears or BestBuy, among other places - those are the two stores that have cameras.

Sears carries a bunch of brands, with a decent range of choices on Canon, Sony, and Nikon. BestBuy has a bigger range of all the major players. So, within my price range of $0-900 (I never said this was going to be easy), here are the features I'm looking for:

- Obviously, it needs to take a quality pic.

- I use macro quite a bit for work, and even though this is a camera for personal use and will not be going with me on the road, I really like the feature and want it to be able to macro well.

- I want to take the camera to the track, meaning Road America, autocross events, things of that sort. It needs to be able to take CLEAR actions shots, not fuzzy ones. I get fuzzy now with my Fuji 2400 for work. I want good shots. Let me know if there are certain terms related to this type of photography that I should watch for when reading reviews.

- This will be a camera to learn with, so I'd like it to be able to get a good shot right out of the box (ie, point-and-shoot type photos) but I also want it to have user-adjustable features that I can learn to use for better shots. I'd like to go from point-and-shoot know-nothing to semi-knowledgeable enthusiast, and I want the camera I buy to help me get there.

- The ability to eventually add lenses would be nice, should we choose to go that route.

- Movie mode with sound, the higher fps the better.

- I'd like to stick with plain ol' AA rechargeables since I already have batteries and a charger, though this is a minor point.

I really do not mind blowing all the points on the camera. This is a freebie and none of it is coming out of my pocket so if the best one uses up my whole balance, so be it. The most important features I want are going to be action photos, video, and macro. Now if I can get those things plus the other stuff listed above for less than the full balance, then I get to blow the extra points on tools

I've started checking various review sites (Steve's, dpreview, imaging-resource) but it'll take me forever to find something in that wide range without some input on specific models to look at. Bring on your suggestions. If you could include the general price of the models you mention, that would be really helpful when making comparisons. Thanks tons.

 

[mdude85]

The catch is this. Through the Holiday Inn Priority Club rewards program, I have about $900 to blow on whatever I want. That means a camera Directly through the club, I can get a Canon Digital Rebel EOS kit, which includes the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. This will suck up all of my points, but that's okay if this camera turns out to be a good choice. However, I also have the option to redeem the points for shopping certificates (gift certificates, whatever) that I can use at Sears or BestBuy, among other places - those are the two stores that have cameras.

Sears carries a bunch of brands, with a decent range of choices on Canon, Sony, and Nikon. BestBuy has a bigger range of all the major players. So, within my price range of $0-900 (I never said this was going to be easy), here are the features I'm looking for:

- Obviously, it needs to take a quality pic.

- I use macro quite a bit for work, and even though this is a camera for personal use and will not be going with me on the road, I really like the feature and want it to be able to macro well.

- I want to take the camera to the track, meaning Road America, autocross events, things of that sort. It needs to be able to take CLEAR actions shots, not fuzzy ones. I get fuzzy now with my Fuji 2400 for work. I want good shots. Let me know if there are certain terms related to this type of photography that I should watch for when reading reviews.

- This will be a camera to learn with, so I'd like it to be able to get a good shot right out of the box (ie, point-and-shoot type photos) but I also want it to have user-adjustable features that I can learn to use for better shots. I'd like to go from point-and-shoot know-nothing to semi-knowledgeable enthusiast, and I want the camera I buy to help me get there.

- The ability to eventually add lenses would be nice, should we choose to go that route.

- Movie mode with sound, the higher fps the better.

- I'd like to stick with plain ol' AA rechargeables since I already have batteries and a charger, though this is a minor point.

I really do not mind blowing all the points on the camera. This is a freebie and none of it is coming out of my pocket so if the best one uses up my whole balance, so be it. The most important features I want are going to be action photos, video, and macro. Now if I can get those things plus the other stuff listed above for less than the full balance, then I get to blow the extra points on tools

I've started checking various review sites (Steve's, dpreview, imaging-resource) but it'll take me forever to find something in that wide range without some input on specific models to look at. Bring on your suggestions. If you could include the general price of the models you mention, that would be really helpful when making comparisons. Thanks tons.

judging from your needs, which are quite varied, I wouldn't suggest the Drebel + 18-55 lens, because it goes against a lot of your needs.

"- Obviously, it needs to take a quality pic." -- Okay, the DRebel will do that, but so will a host of other cameras half the price -- many cameras these days take good pictures -- you'd need to spend less than $100 to get a camera that takes shots that are below most people's standards. How is your experience with photography? If you're not used to looking at digital images from SLRs, you may not notice the quality difference between a DRebel image and an image from a Coolpix 6700 or Powershot Pro1. If you like sharp pictures, the point and shoot cameras will give you those, because they have sharpening algorithms in camera that give you a sharp image "out of box". Images from a Drebel or any other digital SLR sometimes need post process sharpening in the computer.

"- I use macro quite a bit for work, and even though this is a camera for personal use and will not be going with me on the road, I really like the feature and want it to be able to macro well." The 18-55 lens has a minimum focusing distance of about 1 foot, which is not very close, compared to point and shoot cameras. Point and shoots have very small focal length lenses and therefore can focus very close -- many go as close as 2 inches and can still focus. Now, if you attach a $300 macro lens to a Drebel, it will take fine macro shots, but not with the 18-55.

"- I want to take the camera to the track, meaning Road America, autocross events, things of that sort. It needs to be able to take CLEAR actions shots, not fuzzy ones. I get fuzzy now with my Fuji 2400 for work. I want good shots. Let me know if there are certain terms related to this type of photography that I should watch for when reading reviews." For this you're going to need a telephoto lens -- the DRebel does not have come with the feature that lets you continually focus on a subject (this is called AI Servo). I don't know much about AI servo on compact cameras... but the 18-55 is not going to give you the kind of images I think you're interested in taking. It's a wide angle zoom, which means it will take wide angle shots. If you want to take quality autocross shots, you're looking at spending another $500 on a high quality Canon zoom lens (say for instance the 70-200 f/4 L) and getting a camera with a better focus system than the Rebel.

"- Movie mode with sound, the higher fps the better. " -- Rebel doesn't shoot movies.

"- I'd like to stick with plain ol' AA rechargeables since I already have batteries and a charger, though this is a minor point." -- Rebel takes a rechargeable NiMH battery pack, but so do some of Canon's higher end point and shoot cameras, like the G series.


To get the results you see in magazines and such, you're going to need to spend as much as the Rebel costs, just to get some decent lenses. Therefore, I might go the route of a high end point and shoot with a lot of zoom -- maybe the Powershot Pro1, Coolpix 6700, Minolta DiMage 7, or any other camera in that range. Good luck!

 

[Bitchnmoan]

Thanks. I can't find a Nikon Coolpix 6700. Did you maybe mean the 8700 or the 5700?

 

[mdude85]

Thanks. I can't find a Nikon Coolpix 6700. Did you maybe mean the 8700 or the 5700?

sorry, the coolpix 8700 might be suited more for your needs.

 

[nirkillerangel]

sorry, the coolpix 8700 might be suited more for your needs.

The Digital Rebel's 6mp will beat the Nikon's 8700 (even though I prefer nikon, its true) Only down is you dont have a big zoom lens.

 

[mdude85]

The Digital Rebel's 6mp will beat the Nikon's 8700 (even though I prefer nikon, its true) Only down is you dont have a big zoom lens.

there are a lot more downs than that, especially for what the guy wants to do.

Plus the Coolpix 8700 is 8 MP to the Rebel's 6 MP

 

[nirkillerangel]

there are a lot more downs than that, especially for what the guy wants to do.

Plus the Coolpix 8700 is 8 MP to the Rebel's 6 MP

As i said before, its not the MP that always matter. THe D70's or Rebel's 6MP will give you better quality than the 8700's 8MP.

A DSLR will kick you up past the point and shoot camera, although you may spend a tad more for a longer lens/macro. You really have to decide if you just want to buy a camera that has built in lens that has a good bit of options, but usnt upgradeable, or go with the DSLR type where you can switch lenses, take better quality photos, and can upgrade to better lenses/camera back later and save money if you eventualy go that road.

 

[Tim_axe]

The Nikon Coolpix 8700 has a big sensor for a P&S (8.8mm x 6.6mm) but it isn't a match for the sensor in the Digital Rebel (22.7mm x 15.1mm). High ISO performance usually comes from a larger photo-site, which means a larger sensor with larger pixels, even if there are somewhat fewer overall pixels.

That said however, there aren't any DSLR's that have a sensor able to do the live-preview mode required for taking videos. So if you want to be able to take videos and do macro shots right out of the box, a high end P&S is your best bet. If you plan on taking the slower path of investing in a camera system and slowly building an arsenal of lenses, the Digital Rebel and Canon's Lens system is a nice choice.


(BTW, Canon is having a $100 rebate thing right now. If you are interested in that, make sure the company you spend your points at is an authorized Canon dealer. If you buy a qualifying lens, you can double the rebates ($200 back on camera + 2x Lens Rebate). Buy two different qualifying lenses, the rebate tripples ($300 back on camera, + 3x Lens-1 Rebate + 3x Lens-2 Rebate). Glass is addictive and expensive...the cheapest qualifying Lenses are about $350-$400 each...)

I should be getting my Digital Rebel Kit tomorrow. I already bought an 85mm f/1.8 lens to double my rebates -- it was $340-ish @ OneCall

 

[mdude85]

As i said before, its not the MP that always matter. THe D70's or Rebel's 6MP will give you better quality than the 8700's 8MP.

A DSLR will kick you up past the point and shoot camera, although you may spend a tad more for a longer lens/macro. You really have to decide if you just want to buy a camera that has built in lens that has a good bit of options, but usnt upgradeable, or go with the DSLR type where you can switch lenses, take better quality photos, and can upgrade to better lenses/camera back later and save money if you eventualy go that road.

yeah, and as I said, it depends on the quality the OP is used to -- if he is used to the quality of a point and shoot, he might find the D70 images kind of soft for his tastes, but the quality will still be smoother.

 

[Bitchnmoan]

Ok, thanks for the insight thus far. I guess the DRebel is out of the picture (har har) because it lacks the video mode - this should have been obvious since it's a dSLR, but I'm still learning this stuff . Too bad, because it otherwise looks like a really sweet camera. Anyway, here's what I've been looking at, based on what I should be able to get in the local stores:

Canon:
PowerShot G6 - seems like a good rig with all of the capabilities I want.
PowerShot Pro (can't get it from BestBuy) - some gripes out there about the lens attachment set-up but people otherwise seem to really like it.
PowerShot S1 IS - lower res and no built-in macro mode, but very long video-record time. Tough to beat at the price, but since I'm not paying for it out-of-pocket, I think I can do better.

Nikon (I'm still researching these):
8700 - multiple sites griping about noise. nice movie mode at 30 fps 640-480
5700 - my brother picked up the 5400 last year and is quite pleased, so.... maybe I should borrow it for a day. I'd prefer the movie mode to work in 640-480. Apparently the 8700 replaces the 5700, so may as well look at the 8700 instead

As it stands, I think I need to pick between the G6 and the Pro. Hopefully, I can find a place with the 8700 in stock (I can order one and purchase it in-store, still using my points) to get a better look at it. The price of the G6 will leave me some room to buy accessories like a bag, extra battery, and memory. The Pro leaves almost no room for those goodies, same as the 8700. Guess I still have some research to do yet.