Digital Cameras

[Hyperion]

I think I'm going to break down & buy a digital camera. Anyone have recommendations? I don't know if digital cameras are yet at the level of your typical 35mm. I understand more megapixels = better resolution. I'm looking for the best resolution and dependability for the money. If there are other features that would be benificial, please advise. Thanks, guys.

[Freakazoid]

actually i did a ridiculous amount of research on this myself and went with the canon digital rebel xt, but i had a few more bucks to spend.

what's your budget you're looking at?

[Sp00ner]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

actually i did a ridiculous amount of research on this myself and went with the canon digital rebel xt, but i had a few more bucks to spend.

what's your budget you're looking at?

That's the camera I had looked at quite a bit, or at least that line. Nikkon is also a good choice.

When you say 'not yet up to the level of 35mm' there some truth to that, and some falsehoods. Film can be VERY good quality, only in the last few years were large mags and such accepting digital shots, and at first it was a cost and conveninece decision. Now, it's about equal. Particuarly since you have to convert that photo to the computer for most editing. So you're limited by your scanning equipment anyway. If you're going to simply take the negatives and have 8x10's made optically, you could argue for better quality from film, or if you're using a medium format camera. Digital SLR's are now the way to go, IF you can afford a good one. There, film is far superior, you still have to spend twice to three times the cash on a digital SLR as a comparible film-based SLR.

I have held on to film for years now, still use a Cannon Rebel 35mm for 'good' shots, but if I could drop the $1000+++ on a good digital SLR, I'd do it.

As far as the megapixels go, it's almost more important to look at the CCD chip itself, as MP's can be manipulated to some degree. Some older, cheaper, models might give you a 4MP picture, but the CCD size dictates the quality as much, if not more so, than MP's alone.

[danigurl1978]

Originally Posted by Hyperion

I think I'm going to break down & buy a digital camera. Anyone have recommendations? I don't know if digital cameras are yet at the level of your typical 35mm. I understand more megapixels = better resolution. I'm looking for the best resolution and dependability for the money. If there are other features that would be benificial, please advise. Thanks, guys.

I have a fuki and it was great until it jsut stopped working one day, so I guess I wouldn't reccomend that brand!

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Sp00ner

As far as the megapixels go, it's almost more important to look at the CCD chip itself, as MP's can be manipulated to some degree. Some older, cheaper, models might give you a 4MP picture, but the CCD size dictates the quality as much, if not more so, than MP's alone.

Good point Sp00ner, I shoulda mentioned that off the bat as well, megapixels now mean NOTHING. The old canon rebel only had 6 megapixels but is 10x better than some of the 8 megapixel cameras out there, so forth and so on. If you want a REALLY good budget camera, find someone's used canon rebel. I think you can get them for like 400-500 bucks now. great camera and only a notch below the new XT

(btw sp00ner I broke my toshiba already :P POS laptop lol)

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by danigurl1978

I have a fuki and it was great until it jsut stopped working one day, so I guess I wouldn't reccomend that brand!

well with a name like that, can you be surprised?

[Flytrap]

Like Spooner I did a lot of research, about 3 to 4 months of it on digital cameras before I plunked down almost $2k. I'm a higher level ama or low level pro as far as experience goes (weddings, model contact sheets, nature photography, etc.). I've had an older Nikon 8008 film camera and an earlier version Canon Rebel. This time I ended up with the Nikon D70s w/3 different lens to accommodate the full range of what I needed to do. For the money I think Nikon gives you a little more bang for the buck. If your just starting out and want to stay under $1k my recommendation would be the Nikon D50. If your budget tolerance is a bit higher the Nikon D70 or D70s is unbeatable.

[Aeain]

I recieved a Sony Cybershot DSC-P100 as a gift and it is good. It's not proffessional quality but, as you can see from my gallery it is pretty good.

[Hyperion]

What is CCD? I'm probably looking at a budget of $400-$500. I like overkill (having the best) but I'm gonna fight that urge on this as I have little disposable income & this would just be for regular pictures, nothing professional. I just don't want to end up with grainy, crappy pics.

Flytrap, your ride looks bitchin'! You need to turbo that thing & put some ppl to shame!

[Hyperion]

Originally Posted by Aeain

I recieved a Sony Cybershot DSC-P100 as a gift and it is good. It's not proffessional quality but, as you can see from my gallery it is pretty good.

Have you printed any of your pics? If so, how do they compare to film pics?