What is the best D.Camera to get - Good, Professional, Reliable and Good Price Tag?

Question

I would like to know on behalf of the photographic community, if anyone knows of a killer camera I may get as a gift for myself at a decent price.
The camera doesn't have to be fancy or anything, forget about slim-cams and other expensive useless piece of craps which take pixelated blurry pictures, what I want is a true heavy duty camera.

Call it like this, I have a Sony CyberShot and another camera, and both simply ruin my pictures as they either blur right at the time I'm about to cute the cake or noise out during my ballad at night.

So my question is simple...what camera can I buy that is big, bad and professional, and that has a good flash and takes near flawless pictures, without any blurring or noise effects?

Answer 1

This, if you care about cost. Image stabilization, usable in dim light. The integrated flash is decent, and you can easily mount a more powerful accessory flash.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/k100d.html

Or, if you don't care about cost:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/1dsm2.html

You'll want to use Canon's lenses that have image stabilization, there's none in the camera body.

If you're really concerned about cost, this is about the cheapest thing with image stabilization, which is feature I think you want. Takes nice pictures, but not as nice as the Pentax.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/a710_pg5.html

Answer 2

I LOVE my Canon PowerShot A620. It's a 7.1 mp camera which takes awesome still shots, and just as awesome video.

I had a Sony, and I gave that to my daughter, and purchase the Canon PowerShot A610 for my teenage son. The Canon A610 is exactly like my A620, but is a 5 mp digital camera. They both take GREAT pictures, but my favorite thing about the camera, is the vari-angle LCD screen.

I purchased both NEW Canon this past late spring. My son's was under $200 and mine was $204. Just Google or Yahoo! Search for the merchant with the best price, and order on-line. The price is waaaay better than going physically to the stores. If you need it right away, just upgrade the shipping. It's still cheaper than buying at the stores. No matter what model camera you're searching for, better prices are on-line.

Our A610/A620 has a setting, call "kids&pets". Typically you use these on the subjects that usually has a hard time keeping still. But I also use this setting when taking pictures of my soccer team during game play. I've also taken pictures of my kids, nieces and nephews jumping in the air, a la cheerleader jumps, with great results. Lag time is very, very minimal.

I don't know if you'll find these models at the stores. They have newer models of these cameras that boast more mega-pixels (mp). But 5mp, more that suffices for most users.

Here is the link if you'd like to check out the specs: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/contro...

While you're searching on-line, you'll also find many reviews on these cameras. All raving about the camera. You'll also find information on this camera in Yahoo! Tech.

Answer 3

Check out the Canon XTi, which is an incredible camera. You can get the body only for around $700. A 28-135mm IS lens is a great walk around lens. If you get a kit lens (18-55mm), it does work well for wide angle shots.

There are a ton of other accessories to suggest. e-mail me if you want any suggestions...

The Sony Alpha has gotten decent reviews and you'd be able to use your Pro Duo cards, although, that shouldn't be the driving factor. Try dpreview.com for a ton of camera reviews.

Answer 4

Nikon D200, 10.2 Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera Kit with Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX VR II Autofocus Lens - $2,199.95.

And you will need a memory card. Consider the Sandisk 2GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card - $74.95.

This is exactly the set-up I have (although my card is Lexar) and use about 80% of the time for my photography. I have other lenses that are probably better lenses, but they are for special situations. If you want to GET THE PICTURE under nearly any situation, this will do it for you.

Answer 5

Well half of taking a good picture is in the photographer's skill of taking a good picture. I laugh every time someone says 'Buy this expensive model because it will always take a good picture.' or 'This one is too cheap - it won't take a good picture.' That is a cop-out.
Stick with DSLR - Canon, Nikon, Pentax. Fuji is too pricey and uses a Nikon body anyways - might as well buy a Nikon.
If you really don't mind forking over the cash - go as expensive as you want. I can't promise that the pictures will be good.

Answer 6

I am really happy with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5. I got if for about $350.
I looks professional, has lots of different settings, was well priced, and is easy to use and figure out. If you buy it though, make sure to get an extra card for more pictures. I got a 1.0 GB card that holds like 300 pictures.

Answer 7

Priceless

Answer 8

Well, it all depends on how much money you want to spend and what you want in a camera. Personally, If I were going to spend any money on a camera, it would be a Nikon D80.

10.2 Megapixel Nikon DX format CCD imaging sensor: Effectively optimized by Nikon to deliver a wide dynamic range, producing outstanding images with high resolution and vivid detail yielding 3,872 x 2,592-pixel files.

New high-resolution Nikon image-processing engine: New 12- bit Image Processing Engine combines color independent analog pre-conditioning with improved image processing algorithms.

Instant 0.18 sec. start-up with fast 80ms shutter response.With a power-up time of a mere 0.18 seconds and a shutter release time lag of only 80ms, responsiveness is extraordinary.

Continuous shooting at up to 3 frames per second and up to 100 consecutive JPEG images: Fast framing rates contribute to the ability to capture moments in time instantly. Sophisticated systems throughout the D80, including high-speed buffer memory handling, fast image processing, high-speed memory card access and large system bus bandwidth help make this possible.

Up to 2,700 images per battery charge:* High-Efficiency power systems featuring reduced power consumption and Real-Time Fuel Gauge with Nikon's EN-EL3e Lithium Ion rechargeable battery.

Nikon 3D Color Matrix Metering II, plus Variable Center-Weighted and Spot Metering: Substantially more sophisticated than traditional multi-pattern metering systems, Nikon's 3D Color Matrix Metering II instantly and accurately evaluates brightness, color, contrast, selected focus area and subject-to-camera distance information, referencing the results against an onboard database of 30,000 scenes from actual photography. Vary the size of the center-weighted area reading and spot metering readings correspond to 11 focusing points.

In-Camera Image Editing with Retouching Menu: Highly versatile in-camera editing features include Nikon D-lighting, Red-eye Correction, Image Trimming, Image Overlay, Monochrome Black and White, Sepia and Cyanotype along with Skylight, Warm Tone and Custom Color filter effects.

Built-in Speedlight with Nikon i-TTL flash metering and two-group Wireless Commander: Nikon’s acclaimed i-TTL flash control evaluates flash exposure with greater precision to achieve better automatic flash balance and deliver outstanding results with SB-600, SB-800 or SB-R200 Speedlights.

2.5” LCD color monitor with 170-degree, wide-angle viewing: Playback images can be viewed easily from all angles with extraordinary color and clarity.

11-area AF system with Wide-area Center Segment and Auto-area AF functions:Nikon’s Multi-CAM 1000 provides maximum flexibility and optimum performance under varied shooting situations. 11-area autofocus system features a cross-type sensor in the center, broad frame coverage, as well as class-leading low light detection and convenient AF-assist illuminator to aid in low-light conditions. New Wide Area AF option gives greater compositional freedom when shooting sports and action.

Seven Digital Vari-Programs plus Programmed Auto with Flexible Program, Shutter-Priority Auto, Shutter-Priority Auto and Manual: Digital Vari-Programs include: Auto Portrait, Landscape, Macro Close up Sports, Night landscape, Night portrait each of which adjust automatically for optimal results under varied conditions—automatically.

Image Optimization Mode: Optimize color, contrast, sharpening as well as other image settings according to the type of scene or output desired. Options include: Normal, Softer, Vivid, More Vivid, Portrait, Custom, Black and White

Large, bright 0.94x viewfinder: Optical glass viewfinder features large (0.94X) magnification making composing frames easier while overall viewfinder brightness makes low-light photography possible.

Built-in Slideshow function with Pictmotion: Select a range of images, pick a style and add music for beautiful picture presentations delivered from the D80 to a television or simply view on the camera’s 2.5 inches LCD. Effects include: slide-in, slide-out, fade-in, and fade-out

Available: September 2006

$999.95 ESP1 Camera body only, lens sold separately2
$1299.95 ESP1 Packaged with 18-135mm DX Zoom Nikkor lens2

Footnote:
1ESP (Estimated Selling Price) listed is only an estimate. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
2Configurations available at individual retailers may vary.

*Achieved under the following test conditions: Fully charged EN-EL3e battery; temperature of 20°C/68°F; Zoom-Nikkor AF-S DX 18-135mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED lens; continuous shooting mode: continuous-servo autofocus; image quality set to JPEG BASIC; image size set to Medium; shutter speed 1/250 second; shutter release pressed halfway for three seconds and focus cycled from infinity to minimum range three times with each shot; monitor turned on for five seconds after six shots and then turned off; cycle repeated once exposure meters turned off.