I take a lot of pictures. What camera should I buy?

Question

I'm on my high school's yearbook staff, so I take a lot of pictures of different things.
What kind of camera is good for sports and candid shots (short delay), and also close-up, good quality stuff?
Additionally, what would be the best choice for durability? I always have my camera with me; I use it for more than just yearbook.
Various brand and model examples would help me out a ton. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Let me guess that you have a student's budget, but want to meet as many of your criteria as possible. The new Nikon D40 might be what you want. Yes, it's an SLR, so you can't stuff it in your pocket, but it should be decent for sports (with the right lens) and it has virtually zero delay on taking pictures. You can get pretty close with the kit lens or you can add a quality macro lens and get a full 1:1 reproduction.

You can go here to get an idea about the specs:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_d40.asp

but Ken Rockwell has come out with a most enthusiastic review:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/d40-recommendations.htm

The good news is that the kit includes a decent lens and lists for $599.00. The bad news is that this baby is going to be hard to find for a while. It is brand new, reviewed very well, and priced right for Christmas shopping.

You can add a lens that is similar in build quality to the kit lens to help with sports coverage. The 55-200 mm f/4-5.6 DX lens sells for about $180. Add this lens and a good sized memory card and you will have a versatile set-up for well under $1,000. Under $900, in fact.

I would argue against film, because you said that you want to take lots of pictures. Once you own the camera and a good memory card and a computer, the pictures are free. With film, the costs never end.

Answer 2

Go to a Best Buy the day after Christmas and buy what ever they have for the Door Buster. Then buy a big memory card probably like $40 for 512 MB.

The little palm sixed camera don't have as many functions but are great. Most any camera over $150 would be great. Life is simple some times.

Answer 3

You should always get a name brand camera, like Sony or Nikon, etc. Mainly because their overall better, but it really depends on the memory stick you purchase. The more it costs, the more it will hold. It usually explains on the back of the memory stick box, how many pictures a camera will take!

Answer 4

the terrific selection for you is to purchase a SLR. human beings tend to lean in direction of compact cameras in favour because of the elementary use of them. take a seem on the Nikon D40, not lots bigger than a compact and extremely tender to shield. using a SLR is incredibly elementary in case you place it on a computerized mode and there's a lot those digital camera's can do in case you prefer to test manually. The Nikon D40 SLR will blow any compact out of the water. Its incredibly marvelous peace of equipment. Google it, its have been given astonishing comments and at a cost of a extreme end compact

Answer 5

no...canons are not great cameras. you are def. looking for an SLR camera, the question is, film or digital??? I, personally, prefer film and would suggest going with a Minolta camera. However, if you prefer digital, which they do make SLR digital cameras, i would look at a Nikon camera, both quality cameras. the digital ones are REALLY expensive, and you will have to buy the lenses seperately.

Answer 6

The thing you have to remember is the memory cards are what stores the pictures so the amount of pictures you can take depends on the size memory card your camera can handle..and what you are willing to pay

Answer 7

canon's are great cameras! =)

Answer 8

I have sold and used camera's that I have sold for the past 5 years. I love the fugi's if you are looking for digital. I have one and I don't recommend dropping it ... but hey it happens right??? well mine is in great condition. I got the least amount of returns on them. The model of fuji that I recommend is Fugi FinePix V10. It cost about 250.00

Here are the spec's:
Image Capture Device:
MP: 5.1MP
Optical zoom: 3.4x
Digital zoom: 5.7x
CCD: 1/2.5” super CCD HR
Real photo technology: Yes
Start-up speed: Approx. 1.5 sec.
Image processing type: Fujifilm Real Image Processor (RP Processor)
Number of Recorded Pixels:

Still image: 2,592 x 1,944 (5M)/2,736 x 1,824 (3:2) 2,048 x 1,536 (3M)/1,600 x 1200 (2M)/640 x 480 (0.3M)
Movie recording: 640 x 480 pixels (30 frames/sec.), 320 x 240 pixels (30 frames/sec.)
Lens:

F2.8 - F5.5
Basic/branded: Fujinon
Focal length (rated) / (35mm equiv.): f=6.3mm - 21.6mm, Equivalent to 38-130mm on a 35mm camera
Focus: Auto, manual, macro, auto/macro
Focusing operation AF system: TTL contrast type
AF frame selection: AF (center), AF (multi)
Focus range:

Normal: Approx. 2.0 ft. to infinity
Macro: (close up) wide angle: Approx. 3.5 in. to 2.6 ft.
Telephoto: Approx. 1.3 ft. to 2.6 ft.
LCD:

3.0”
Aspect ratio: 4:3
230,000 pixels, low-temperature polysilicon TFT
Color LCD monitor, approx. 100% coverage
LCD low light viewability
Gain-up brightness mode: Auto, manual
Aperture and Shutter:

Aperture range wide angle: F2.8/F7.0, -2EV to +2EV in 1/3 EV increments
Shutter lag time: 1/100 sec. (with auto focus/exposure locked)
Shutter release control press half way to set focus, all the way to release the shutter.
Shutter speed: 4 sec. to 1/2,000 sec. (exposure mode dependant)
Light Metering Method:

Auto/ISO range equivalent to 64/100/200/400/800/1600
Light metering (photometery): TTL 256-zones metering
Exposure:

Exposure control: Program AE
Built-in Flash:

Flash mode: Auto, red-eye reduction, forced flash, suppressed flash, slow synchro, red-eye reduction + slow synchro
Effective range (ISO auto): 1.0 - 14.4 ft. (wide), 2.0 - 7.5 ft. (tele), 1.0 ft. - 2.6 ft. (macro)
Self timer: approx 2/10 sec.
White Balance:

Automatic, preset (fine, shade, fluorescent light (daylight), fluorescent light (warm white), fluorescent light (cool white), incandescent light)
Shooting Specifications:

Scene modes: Natural light, natural light & with flash, portrait, landscape, sport, night
Shooting modes: Auto, Preprogrammed Scene Position (SP), manual, macro, movie, burst/continuous
Number of color options: Standard, chrome (vivid), black and white
Image management modes: High speed shooting, best framing, post shot assist window, frame number memory
Movie recording: 640 x 480 pixels (30 frames/sec.), 320 x 240 pixels (30 frames/sec.) with monaural sound
Zoom cannot be used during movie recording
Audio recording mode: Yes
Video out: NTSC/PAL-type
Image Storage:

Memory type: xD-Picture Card
16MB xD Picture Card included
Image /Movie File Format:

Still image: DCF-compliant (compressed exif. Version 2.2 JPEG), *Design rule for camera file system compliant/DPOF-compatible
Movie: AVI (motion JPEG)
Audio: WAVE format, monaural sound
Playback Specifications:

Playback: Trimming, image rotate, automatic playback, multi-frame playback, sort by date, voice memo, game function
FinePix photo mode (F-button)
Interfaces:

USB 2.0
5-Volt power-input socket
Video-out (NTSC/PAL)
Printing Interface: PictBridge, DPOF and EXIF Print compatible
7-language menu interface

Power Supply:
Power source: Rechargeable NP-40 li-ion battery
AC power adapter: AC-5VW (included)
Pictures/battery charge (CIPA standard) battery NP-40: Approx. 170 frames

Dimension and Weight:

Dimensions: 2.5”H x 3.3"W x 0.9"D
Weight (with batteries & xD card): 6.2 oz.
Weight (without batteries & xD Card): 5.5 oz.
Package Contents:

USB cable
A/V cable
Hand strap
NP-40 li-ion battery
16MB xD Picture Card
FinePix Viewer
ImageMixer VCD2 LE for FinePix
Raw file converter LE
User manual