Camera purchase

Bob-Dubery · 2010-05-19T05:39:53+00:00

Any tips on what to look out for when buying a digital camera? I am a "point and click" kind of guy, not a great photographer. So things with twiddly lenses are more than I could usefully errr... point and click. Things that would interest me 1) Long battery life 2) Lots of capacity on the camera so I don't have to keep on dumping onto disc (which is a bit of a bugger when you're at stonehenge and the camera starts saying "no room to store another photo"). Thanks

MikeM

I think the S90 is awesome ? Really cool little cam. If you have the spare cash go for that, thing is where digital cameras are now, they'll last for quite a long time before they get outdated etc so it's kinda an investment.

I still think the little Nikon is a good cheap alternative at almost half the price. Only 4x zoom but @ 12mp you can essentially crop 50% and still have a good enough image for a print.

http://vr-zone.com/articles/nikon-coolpix-s4000-review/8751-6.html

@MCB, you're entitled to your opinion - however I also guess you are speaking blind as you haven't used them.

Ray

Get a slr or get a nice phone.

MikeM

Ray wrote Get a slr or get a nice phone.

No disrespect, but as a semi-pro tog I'm so sick of everyone thinking that an SLR is needed to take good photos for an average person, and then majority of the time they end up using crap kit lenses or similar.

singemonkey

Ray wrote Get a slr or get a nice phone.

Have to disagree there Ray. An Slr will give you better image quality (as will a 24x24 inch giant bellows monorail camera), but it just doesn't have the convenience that Bob's after (slipping it into your jacket pocket).

[maximise your image quality Bob!] ?

Phone cameras are an abomination in my view. They're great if you have absolutely nothing else to hand (their key reason for being) but the image quality of the very best, most hyped ones, is just outright shocking. They have a sensor the size of a pin head, and yet marketing makes them cram more and more pixels into this shrimp - compromising the quality further and further. They could make a decent 1 megapixel phone cam now. Instead, they'll cram 12 into the same space. Insanity.

Bob-Dubery

Ray wrote Get a slr or get a nice phone.

Sure.

Buy a '59 sunburst or go down to Cash Crusaders.

Get a porsche or stick to Shank's pony

etc

guitarboy2828

MikeM wrote
Ray wrote Get a slr or get a nice phone.

No disrespect, but as a semi-pro tog I'm so sick of everyone thinking that an SLR is needed to take good photos for an average person, and then majority of the time they end up using crap kit lenses or similar.

+1 Mike! I'm not a semi pro or anything, just an amateur, but there are so many people getting SLR's now and they are shooting on Auto and thinking they're the world's greatest.. Frustrates me to no end, because their photo's come our blury and they blame the camera.. SLR's are GREAT if you going to spend time reading about them, learning to use them, experimenting with them and really practicing using them!

Reality is, I've seen a good photographer take better photo's with a R1000 P&S camera than a random guy with a 450D... It's a technique, just like guitar.. Paul gilbert will shred out a Squire more than I can shred on his PG special.. ?

MikeM

Yea dude. My bro wanted to get into photography (I have been doing it for about 6 years now) and I made him get a prosumer. Taking a good photo comes with practice and experience. I can take as good a snapshot (not a "photograph") with a point and shoot as I can with a slr (In the daylight ?)

[deleted]

MikeM wrote @MCB, you're entitled to your opinion - however I also guess you are speaking blind as you haven't used them.

You're right - I haven't used Tamron lenses myself, because I've been advised against it by several professional photographers (who wouldn't touch them with a barge-pole) and by the good people at Orms. ?

Wizard

MoreCowBell wrote ... and by the good people at Orms. ?

+1
Orms is the best camera shop in the country ... and also has the best prices

[deleted]

Wizard wrote +1
Orms is the best camera shop in the country ... and also has the best prices

Agreed! It's like a small piece of heaven in there... ?

MikeM

MCB we all have pro tog friends ? But yes, the photography and music world is closely related. Loads of snobs that turn their noses up at things just because they're new/different ? Like I said, the old stuff is awful but many of their new lenses are bridging the gap between Sigma and Canon.

Lol yea Orms.. Sales people. We ALL know that they give the absolute best advice ?

Wizard

MikeM wrote Lol yea Orms.. Sales people. We ALL know that they give the absolute best advice ?

I've known Mike Ormrod since he was a salesman at Cameraland in Claremont.
And he consistently gave me good advice and good prices for many years.
Just like guitars ... good service & good advice over a long period goes a long way

singemonkey

Wizard wrote
MoreCowBell wrote ... and by the good people at Orms. ?
+1
Orms is the best camera shop in the country ... and also has the best prices

Quite possibly they do. Which is a sad indictment on the prices in SA. For example, I saw a 2nd hand 80-200 f2.8 in there. 2nd hand. How much? R11,000. I break into a fit of coughing, my eyes swimming in disbelief. So I buy one - brand spanking new - from the states. R7500 after shipping and duty.

Nikon F100 - R22,000. From the states, R11,000. No way I'll buy any equipment from Orms with price differences like that.

Furthermore, they have scant respect for the films of anyone who's not a pro. I just had the second 120 film back where they'd put the hanging clip right through the frame (this is a film from a 6x7 camera that only shoots 9 6cmx7cm frames per roll, btw). I've had thumb-prints, films that have obviously been dropped on the floor because every square millimetre is coated in crap. If there were any other options (short of sending films overseas for development - something one working pro I know has been forced to do), I'd take 'em.

Then the sales staff act like they're doing you a huge favour in answering any enquiries (the film and print counter staff are not so bad) - despite the fact that a fair few of them are not as knowledgeable as they'd like you to think.

So a big -1 for me. Being the only option doesn't make them good.

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