What is a Great User Friendly Professional Digital Camera for a beginner?

Question

I am looking into camera's to do what I have dreamed of doing for years. I see wonderful idea's for pictures that my tourist like digital camera just doesn't capture. I need something very User Friendly (am willing to learn for camera's that are border line into slight difficulty). It would also be a plus If I could print the pictures at home on my printer. I am not looking for anything that requires a dark room. I appreciate any advice and info I could get.

Answer 1

If you want a good "Professional" Beginners camera check out a Cannon EOS. i have had my EOS digital rebel for a little over a year now and its wonderful. the pictures from my Older model 6.1megapixel are amazing. the new 8 mega pixel has to be great. The EOS Digital Rebel is a nice entry level digital SLR. You can control you shutter speed for nice low light shots or blurred movement shots. You can control you aperture value for nice professional looking portraits. The EOS comes with your standard Zoom 18-55mm lens. But you can buy additional wide angle and telephoto lenses for this unit that will work on all Canon EOS models. so if you want to upgrade your camera later you don’t have to spend tons of cash buying more lenses.

you can check out all of canons EOS cameras at: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=111

Answer 2

Get a Nikon D200 and a good lens and use it in "P mode while you learn more about photography. If that's too steep for your budget or your learning curve, get a Nikon D50. It has a few "consumer friendly" automatic modes that make it very easy to use, but still offers total photographic control when you are ready to take charge. Get a "decent" lens, such as their Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f/3.5-4.5G ED DX lens and not the "kit" lens. This pair will cost you less than $1,000 and you will be very happy with it. If you want more lenses for the same money, you can get this camera with two "kit" lenses that are decent, but not as good for the long haul as the one I mentioned. When you are ready to add lenses, the sky is the limit with Nikon. Get a 1 GB memory card, such as the Sandisk "Ultra" for decent write speed. You can get these in the $30 range. An "Extreme" is faster, but I doubt anyone would notice the difference except a pro.

Someone else will undoubtedly recommend a similar Canon camera and I will not dispute that choice. I know Nikons and someone else knows Canons. Both are excellent cameras and you will never outgrow their system offerings.

If you are not looking for an SLR, get a Canon Powershot A630 or A640. Consumer Reports for November 2006 has ranked the Canon Powershot A620 as the best compact digital camera. It is becoming almost a legend for longevity at the top of various consumer lists. It looks like this model has been replaced by the A630, which I would expect to be just as popular. The A640 appears quite similar and shares the "600" series numbering, so I guess it's just another upgraded version of the now-classic A620. It looks pretty much the same except for baing a 10 MP camera. The continuous drive is a little slower, but the files are larger, so that's no surprise. I own a few Nikon DSLR's and I'd buy the Canon A630 or A640 for myself.

With this camera, you will find the memory card is a cute little token of thanks from Canon, but not much more. Buy a 1 GB Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme III card. You will NEED the increased capacity and write speed to fully realize the benefits of your camera.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_a620%2Ccanon_a630%2Ccanon_a640&show=all

If you want to trim the budget a little, the Canon Powershot A430, A530 or A540, are all great choices. You will still need a decent memory card as discussed above, though.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_a430%2Ccanon_a530%2Ccanon_a540&show=all

Answer 3

This site is awesome. I found this site when I was 15 and everyone I know now uses this is to see the digital cameras reviews..

You can see how to use the camera and also they have a side by side comparison if you like more than one. they give up a sorta price, the manufacters, in the review but you can get better deals

I got the exs100 for about $150. very small nice pics. THere are alot less/more pricey cameras

Answer 4

look close at Canon Rebel XTi (40D) + Canon EF 17-88 mm IS USM as a lens (not the standard one from the kit - buy de body only and add the IS = image stabilizer lens)
It is very user friendly with full automatic modes and if you need ...full manual mode. This DSLR camera will fill up you need for much more quality than any point-and-shoot class camera.

Answer 5

I bought the Pentax k100d, having many of the same needs you mentioned. It is pricey but has these feature I like. Uses a popular and cheap SD card to store info on. uses common batteries, 4 AA batteries, that can be bought just about anywhere. It uses all the Pentax lenses, one can find many used Pentax k lenses that work with this unit. It can be used in the Manuel or auto focus modes (good for beginners). Other then that it is similar to other brands on the market.