I have an old Sony Cybershot, its at least five years old... 7.2 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom (obsolete I know!) woohoo! It takes decent pictures, but I have to edit them to get better quality which I do not mind. I am obviously looking into getting a better, higher quality camera, so I was wondering if you fellow 365-er's could help me out by sharing which brand of camera you use and, and what you like or don't like about it! I know there are so many, I've looked into Cannon, Sony, and Nikon, but I just can't decide! HELP!
@brumbe Haha "sexy name" there are just so many different name brands, I just can't really decide!! Its hard to be like, oh this one is the best... but why? Why is Nikon better then Cannon? or Olymbus vs. Sony? I'm leaning more towards Sony because I have a sony already and am very happy with it, but I don't know!!
I got my Nikon d3000 dslr for $450 ( on sale at Staples of all places lol) & I LOVE it. At first is was a little over-whleming but after you get the feel of it it's amazing. I def. recommend it.
The best thing to do is to write a list of your needs and wants. Also read all you can on www.dpreview.com I really do not think that there is much that sets each one apart at the entry level. It is a matter of personal choice more. I have three main cameras and each one is different, but all had specific requirements when purchasing.
Olympus DSLR - Did it fit the lenses I already owned, ease of use, lighter in weight, did not come with HD Video, and stablization. That made it an easy choice. Basically they are all good and it may come down to how it feels in your hands, cost of lenses in the future, weight. I have not one complaint other than my lens has to be on a 4/3rds system or have a convertor. Everything is easy to understand and use.
Canon Bridge Camera - It is a point and shoot that you can also adjust focus, speed, and aperature. Turn the flash off, and have some arty features. I loved my old one and while the new one takes an excellent photo, it does not have an optical view finder and just a screen which really bothers me and makes some shake for me. While it fits in my purse, I am starting to think I want an Olympus Pen camera system which is a step up from this and well worth looking at.
Iphone - the camera is so much better than my previous samsung and I use it all the time, but amazingly, still do not use the video feature on it either.
My office had a Nikon point and shoot and it took excellent pictures, but was not durable for the person who sat on it and broke the lcd.
I shoot Canon, but I have owned Nikon and many other brands.
The advantage of Nikon and Canon: accessories. These two brands have more genuine and non-genuine accessories available than any of the other brands. I include lenses in that. Canon has more lenses than Nikon, but that is not a significant concern for most people. Either brand offers far more choice than any of the others, and the high availability of non-genuine lenses and other items means that such purchases are often cheaper than Sony et al.
For example, should you decide you want off-camera TTL, radio-operated flash, then with other brands you are restricted to genuine branded items. With Canon and Nikon you can buy the (far superior) PocketWizards. Should you want a speedlight / external flash unit, you are not restricted to Canon/Nikon units - you can buy Metz, Sigma etc. Should you want a lens, there are also Sigma options (amongst others) that can save you loads of cash.
If that stuff doesn't concern you, all the major brands make excellent products. You really can't go wrong, so far as image quality and features are concerned.
@brumbe I definitely have a lot to consider! Thank you for all the information! It helps so much! I really am mainly looking for manual focus, zoom, and aperature! Something my old camera does not have!
@mandyj92 Thank you Amanda! I love Amazon too!! I will check out your link soon! @jinximages I am not really concerned about flash, but thank you for the information! I need to go shopping soon and look and just see! So very much to learn! But thank you again for all the information!!
I mean I love everything about it lol But I feel like, esp. for me as it was my first 'pro' camera, it's very 'user friendly' the night feature on it is pretty cool too
@crispypringles4 Hi Allison you may say now you're not concerned about flash now, I wasn't when I bought my Canon 7D.
BUT when I started 365 I suddenly found myself wanting to do still life inside, water droplets, crowns & water pouring out of bottles etc & found I couldn't until I had saved up & bought a speedlight (in my case) but an external flash can be a necessity for any photography like that.
One other plus to a Nikon DSLR is that they are manufactured to fit (almost) all of the past lenses, Canon won't fit older lenses. That is the main reason I went with Nikon when I went DSLR. I have several older 35mm Nikon/Sigma lenses and I wanted to be able to use them if it was possible. Don't buy into the hype of one is better than the other just because of the name....feel, look, compare for yourself, and don't rule out the Sony or Olympus type brands solely on name alone.
@shadesofgrey EF lenses have been around since 1987 - anything older isn't going to be of sufficient quality for today's digital sensors anyway. I think it is only an issue for those who already have decades-worth lens collections. The alternate, of course, is that not all Nikon lenses have AF motors, and not all Nikon bodies can drive those lenses.
There are plusses and minuses to every brand, of course...
@jinximages I didn't know the info about 1987 so thank you for that. I did fail to mention that all the lens manipulation would be manual, not AF for most of those lenses (at least the ones I have!) The other reason I brought it up was if someone wanted to buy/borrow an older lens that is compatible with the body it is something to think about. I for one don't have the budget to support a brand new lens but might be able to afford a used or older lens, so I like having that option. Even if the glass isn't the greatest, it will work for me, for now. I will have to check my lenses for EF compatibility again though, so thanks again!
@shadesofgrey All good man. I think it's one of those things that photogs have been saying for years now - about Canon's lens mount change - and for some of us it doesn't seem like very long ago. But in reality, there are not many pre-EF mount lenses around anymore. I don't reckon the lack of AF on some Nikkor glass is a real factor, either - some of the best glass out there (Leica for example) is MF-only. I only switched to Canon when I went to digital, because Nikon sucked at the time. But they've certainly caught up now, and I'd have no problem going back to them if I had all my stuff stolen or something (if Nikon was giving me a better deal - possible, since I know one of their reps reasonably well). I had a good play with a D3X about a month ago, and have to say that I enjoyed every second (though not half as much as I enjoyed the H4D 60-megapixel). Ah, camera gear! The right number of cameras to own (like bikes), is n+1, where n = how many one currently owns.
@jinximages Looking at that H4D makes me want to go back to film...cause that is the only way I will probably ever be able to get my hands on a 'Blad. Those are both amazing cameras. I guess every job has it's perks. I would love to try the D3X out. But I think that it is way over my head and way more than I need at the moment. I want to try out some medium format TLR's but that is off in the future too. And I agree about n+1!
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Olympus DSLR - Did it fit the lenses I already owned, ease of use, lighter in weight, did not come with HD Video, and stablization. That made it an easy choice. Basically they are all good and it may come down to how it feels in your hands, cost of lenses in the future, weight. I have not one complaint other than my lens has to be on a 4/3rds system or have a convertor. Everything is easy to understand and use.
Canon Bridge Camera - It is a point and shoot that you can also adjust focus, speed, and aperature. Turn the flash off, and have some arty features. I loved my old one and while the new one takes an excellent photo, it does not have an optical view finder and just a screen which really bothers me and makes some shake for me. While it fits in my purse, I am starting to think I want an Olympus Pen camera system which is a step up from this and well worth looking at.
Iphone - the camera is so much better than my previous samsung and I use it all the time, but amazingly, still do not use the video feature on it either.
My office had a Nikon point and shoot and it took excellent pictures, but was not durable for the person who sat on it and broke the lcd.
The advantage of Nikon and Canon: accessories. These two brands have more genuine and non-genuine accessories available than any of the other brands. I include lenses in that. Canon has more lenses than Nikon, but that is not a significant concern for most people. Either brand offers far more choice than any of the others, and the high availability of non-genuine lenses and other items means that such purchases are often cheaper than Sony et al.
For example, should you decide you want off-camera TTL, radio-operated flash, then with other brands you are restricted to genuine branded items. With Canon and Nikon you can buy the (far superior) PocketWizards. Should you want a speedlight / external flash unit, you are not restricted to Canon/Nikon units - you can buy Metz, Sigma etc. Should you want a lens, there are also Sigma options (amongst others) that can save you loads of cash.
If that stuff doesn't concern you, all the major brands make excellent products. You really can't go wrong, so far as image quality and features are concerned.
@jinximages I am not really concerned about flash, but thank you for the information! I need to go shopping soon and look and just see! So very much to learn! But thank you again for all the information!!
BUT when I started 365 I suddenly found myself wanting to do still life inside, water droplets, crowns & water pouring out of bottles etc & found I couldn't until I had saved up & bought a speedlight (in my case) but an external flash can be a necessity for any photography like that.
There are plusses and minuses to every brand, of course...