Can anyone recommend a good slr point and shoot cameras for beginner photographer?

Answer 1

As your question is a little confused, you have to ask yourself a question, do I just want to snap away and accept less control or am I wanting something that gives me full control even though it won't fit in my pocket?

If you just want to snap away, get a little point and shoot, I love my Fujifilm F450 (a little old now but great little snapper). I wouldn't worry too much about which model, the ones from any recognised manufacturer are mostly so similar you won't tell without lab testing.

If you want an SLR, go for an entry level body, e.g. Nikon* D50/40/80 and spend the rest of your budget on the nicest lens(es) you can afford for the type of photography you are interested in. I shoot aviation and landscape mostly so I have a nice telephoto and a nice wide angle lens with only a basic kit lens for day to day snaps. All this mounted on a D50 body, which gives me all the things I need. I have to say I don't miss anything from the more expensive bodies and when the D50 is obsolete I only have to switch bodies and I have a nice set of lenses ready and waiting.

*I use Nikon and like their quality but what I say goes equally for Cannon kit. - But with the Nikon D40 just out, D50's have started to fall in price, so for a first SLR I'd jump at it even if I had to start again ;-)

One thing I would say is stay away from the high end fixed lens "slr like" cameras e.g. the Sony R-1, they may look fancy but they are poor performers compared to most basic SLR's with slower focusing (esp annoying if you shoot moving subjects) and often higher noise levels. Also, their lenses may cover a wider range than the kit lenses supplied with most SLR's, but when you break the camera or upgrade it all goes in the bin, whereas that little extra investment in a nice SLR lens means you will still be able to use it when you replace the SLR body (and entry level SLR's are often cheap enough to buy the body and a nice lens with change left over from the cost of the fancy fixed body versions).

Answer 2

For a good beginner SLR I would choose a Nikon. The entry level Nikons have better lenses than Canon so that is the most important factor. I have used both Nikon and Canon SLR's so I know this from experience. The lens of the camera is the most important part of the camera, that's why this is a deciding factor. I hope this helps you some, good luck!

Answer 3

First, SLR and point and shoot cameras are different. If you want to become a good photographer then go for a SLR camera. Otherwise, if all you want is good pictures without hassle then go for a point and shoot camera. SLR's advantage is you can "compose" your picture because you adjust the settings for lighting , speed, aperture, etc ... A digital one would definitely be advantageous because you get to see the results immediately over the films but as far as picture quality is concern, true vivid colors are best on film cameras.

Brands to consider are Nikon and Canon and models may vary according to your budget.

Answer 4

If you want a digital slr that can point and shoot go for it just because it is slr it doesn't mean you can't point and shoot.

Invest in a lovely nikon I use a D70s it is great set your focus to auto then the setting to auto and you can POINT AND SHOOT.

Have fun with which ever camera you purchase.

Ps the nikon slr range from a little £s to a lot of £s.

Answer 5

Everyone recommends a digital. Everyone but me.

Digitals have problems and all you have to do to see what some of those problems are is to look at programs like Corel's Photo ProXI and Microsoft's Digital Image. They have parts of them that are designed so that you can attempt to elimination color abberations, noise (that one might be hard for most to understand), and other problems.

To start and start properly, I would recommend a good film SLR that has both manual and auto modes. Better than that would be a camera that only offers manual mode.

My reasoning is this:
In order to understand the nuances of photography, you have to learn the relationship between film speed, light, shutter speeds and lens stops and depth of field. If you have a camera that is automatic, you have a tendency to be lazy and let the little computers in the camera make your decisions for you. You need to learn these concepts first - even before you go the expense of setting up a dark room.

Of course, if you go digital, you don't have to set up a dark room at all.

My recommendations would be in the Olympus OM1 or OM2, the Canon A1 and AE1, and corresponding Nikon, Pentax and a myraid of other brands. For some strange reason people seem to think that Nikon is the best in SLRs, but in reality, the camera is only a box - that is what the word means in Latin - box or room. The lenses of the Nikon,Canon, Pentax and Olympus are equal lens to lens, so it hardly makes a difference which one you choose. The OM1 is totally manual, Canon has made totally manual and has Nikon and Pentax. My first camera was a Pentax that you never see on the market today unless it is very expensive. It had no light meter. Olympus is lighter and smaller than the other brands - just stay away from OM10s, they are plastic junk.

Learning photography that way gives you an insight into photography that will allow you to grow with it. You can change later to a digital when they have ironed out all the confusing problems. Film is cheap and processing is cheap. To me, there is not a $$ difference between shooting a 24 exposure roll of film and running it down to Target, Walmart or any other 1 hour processor and printing off those pictures that you like from your digital on a computer printer. If you figure the cost of ink for your printer and the cost of paper, everything equates or the advantage is in film.

It is good to look at second quality photos to see what you think that you did wrong, what mistakes you made and what you can do to change it and improve your skills.

My suggestion is to look at the website www.keh.com and go through the camera manufacturers that I have mentioned before. Or better yet, go through all of them. When you click on "store" you are given options of manual cameras or automatic cameras - look at all of them. At the bottom of the page, they have a "contact us" place to click, pick up the phone and give them a call. Learn photography by trial and error and don't depend on computer chips.

Answer 6

If you are asking about a 35 mm SLR camera, you are looking at a cost of under $150 for a good used Nikon or Canon with standard zoom lens on craigslist. If you are asking about a DSLR, the least expensive one (if you can still find one) is the Nikon D40 with 18-55 mm lens for around $450 to $500

Answer 7

Canon's Digital Rebel series has a lot of "beginner" features that will ease you into the professional settings later on.

They have a "potrait, sports, macro, landscape" mode that sets the camera up for you. When you get good you can still use the same camera for aperture/ shutter priority and manual.

Answer 8

There is a difference in Point & Shoot and anDSLR. A great P&S that takes attachements is the Kodak P715. Less thatn $400 with 7.1 MP and 12x zoom, and hot flash shoe for external flash.

I have the P850 and only 5MP, but very very happy with it. I am an ex-pro (35mm).

Beaux

Answer 9

I would choose the Nikon D40 at this point in time. When you are ready you can get a better quality lens and then if you upgrade the body later, the lens will fit, so you can work up slowly.