Are SLR cameras worth the money??

[bigfella77]

Look at the Canon G10 or Gll, I hear they have astounding picture quality for a point n shoot.

Look how much I wrote, I need another Bundy.

 

[Snakelove]

G10 is a good camera. Very good camera for it's size, but I think there's a G12 out now .

 

[bigfella77]

Yeah but you shold be able to pick up a G10 / G11 for a good price, I imagine a G12 is around the grand $ mark.

 

[Snakelove]

haha yeah, I was pointing it out just in case he's into things that are new and shiny. haha.

 

[bigfella77]

LOL, yeah i must confess im a sucker for shiny new gadgets myself.

 

[Squinty]

`What the hell is that thing??!!`

 

[bigfella77]

Isnt it amazing how a quality camera makes a mundane picture look great. What ISO you using there Squinty?

 

[Squinty]

what is ISO?? i am just using it on auto atm. I have taken a few macro shots. I put them in the show us ya womas thread.

Ill find time to read the manual tomorrow.

EDIT - I had a look in the manual. I found the section. Its on auto atm.

 

[falconboy]

The only problem with the Canon G9/10/12 etc is although brilliant cameras feature wise, pretty much all the manual settings you could ask for (hence a popular backup for SLR users) they don't have great zoom most people wanting a P&S camera would want - 5x optical. And for $600 + you would have to be a bit of an enthusiast to want one.

There are hundreds (and more) P&S cameras, the tip is to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, read reviews online, compare prices and bring it down to a few, then eeny meeny miney mo for the final one. Every time I research for myself or someone I know who wants a new camera, it is usually something in the Panasonic Lumix range that ends up in the couple of possibilities. None of the name brand point and shoot cameras are bad (other than ANY entry level model), so its a matter of finding one that suits you.

When looking, its also not all about megapixels but more about quality and performance. As an example, on a recent holiday my wife and I both took our point and shoot cameras, her a $150 Olympus, me a $400 Panasonic Lumix (of course - mainly priced because of twice the zoom of her Olympus), at the end of the day photos out of both were similar, you couldn't neccesarily pick which photos were from which camera, however, on several occasions, for instance out of a moving taxi/bus/boat, when photographing someone on street, hers took several long seconds to turn on, zoom, for the shutter to be ready and actually take the shot, by that time it was too late - mine, with a much faster response was ready and shooting before hers was even focused. You don't want to miss a great photo opportunity because of a slow camera, hence my recommendation in an earlier post for the Lumix FH25, as reviews mentioned it had very fast response with very little shutter lag before photo is taken.

Did I mention in P&S I like the Panasonic Lumix cameras?

Isnt it amazing how a quality camera makes a mundane picture look great. What ISO you using there Squinty?

His photo was taken at 400 ISO at 55m focal length at 1/60 at f5.6 with flash.

Squinty, if you keep using it on auto you might as well buy a point and shoot.

Read up on how aperture effects a photo (particularly with depth of field) and stick your camera on Aperture Priority so you have a bit more control over the final result.

 

[bigfella77]

Yeah Falconboy, I bought my wife a Lumix DMC-TZ6 its its a great camera. I mention the Canon G series because I saw in Australian Photography a review on it and saw some same shot pics comparison between the G10 and a top end slr and the G10 with its new wangfangled sensor blew it out of the water quality wise, especially when blown up to large proportions. It just lacks a little in the zoom depatment. Great for taking pics of the lovely NZ vistas.
But the Lumix is great too, anything with a Leica lense is going to perform well.

 

[Squinty]

how the hell did you know what it was taken at??

yeah i will get into that after i have had a read of the manual and a bit more of a play. That was the 4th photo i took with the thing!!

 

[falconboy]

how the hell did you know what it was taken at??

yeah i will get into that after i have had a read of the manual and a bit more of a play. That was the 4th photo i took with the thing!!

Photographic eye mate. LOL. Just kidding. Download a program called 'IEXIF' which has a plug in so you can right click and view the Exif data (the data imbedded in a jpg which tells all the details on camera, exposure etc). That is, if the Exif hasn't been stripped by an image editing program.

 

[Squinty]

I did play with some of the functions. I played with the macro and this focus thing where you can select what you focus on manually.

I also like how the menu screen turns off when you put your face toward the viewfinder and back on when you pull away. That kept the mrs entertained for a whole 3 minutes. Lol.

 

[falconboy]

I did play with some of the functions. I played with the macro and this focus thing where you can select what you focus on manually.

I also like how the menu screen turns off when you put your face toward the viewfinder and back on when you pull away. That kept the mrs entertained for a whole 3 minutes. Lol.

Your wife sounds easily entertained. At least for 3 minutes.

The selectable focus points are great. Especially when wanting something off center to be focused. Whereas previously you focused, kept your finger half on the button and re-framed your shot, the selectable focus points make it a lot easier.

 

[heidii]

SLR's are definitly worth the money. I have had my Nikon D80 for about 4 years now and am looking at upgrading to the D7000, can anyone give me advice on this camera, i have been told they arn't good for point and shoot (auto) but can someone clarify?....I do alot of point and shoot unless im taking photos of a particular object or trying to get something different, or night photography etc, other than that point and shoot for me and then i play around in photoshop.

 

[lizardmech]

SLR's are definitly worth the money. I have had my Nikon D80 for about 4 years now and am looking at upgrading to the D7000, can anyone give me advice on this camera, i have been told they arn't good for point and shoot (auto) but can someone clarify?....I do alot of point and shoot unless im taking photos of a particular object or trying to get something different, or night photography etc, other than that point and shoot for me and then i play around in photoshop.

A D7000 is no more difficult to use than a D80. It's pretty much just an upgraded D80 with a newer sensor, bigger screen, movie mode and better autofocus. Usually upgrading lenses gives better results than getting a slightly newer camera body, just depends if your existing camera body is worn out or you really want a certain feature the D7000 has.

 

[falconboy]

I do alot of point and shoot unless im taking photos of a particular object or trying to get something different,

If you are still using point and shoot for most (or any!) of your stuff, then you aren't going to make use, nor see any improvement in a 7000. As mentioned, upgrade your glass or add another lens or 2 that you will make use of - suggestions are a Tamron 90mm macro and/or a wide angle zoom like the Tokina 12-24 or Sigma 10-20.

 

[bigfella77]

I dont really seethe point of upgrading the Nikon if you mainly just point n shoot. Get a high end compact if your camera is not going to be the main creative tool in your picture process. Personally I only like software for very minor image corrections and think the real skill is in capturing your shot in camera.

 

[Snakelove]

I dont really seethe point of upgrading the Nikon if you mainly just point n shoot. Get a high end compact if your camera is not going to be the main creative tool in your picture process. Personally I only like software for very minor image corrections and think the real skill is in capturing your shot in camera.

Yeah I agree. I try not to post process my pictures too much. Except for the occasional sharpening and noise reduction. What do you shoot with?

 

[eipper]

Kit lenses are fine....and i feel that photoshop is cheating