Digital Camera choices/opinions?

[Tobe404]

I was thinking about getting a decent digital camera to take some pictures of my Herps and just for general use.

What do you guys think some good choices are?
I'm willing to spend around 500 dollars.

Thanks guys.

 

[eddie123]

i have read good stuff about the canon 600d and thats what im getting in a week or 2. Seen some good shots with it but unless you look on ebay i doubt you can find one under 500 your more looking at 750

 

[Konjira]

Are you planning to shoot video at all? there are some models in that price range that do video better than others but lack other features.

The Canon Rebel's are a good starting point if you're after a DSLR, but that budget is kind of straddling the line between the really good Point-and-Shoots and the lower range DSLRs. Frankly, if you're not going to be doing much more than just general use or taking pictures of snakes then you can easily get away with just having a P&S (plus you can get quite a nice one for <$500). I would only recommend buying a DSLR if you plan to take it off autofocus and really get into your photography.

You can also get in nice and close with the regular features on a P&S, but this is a little harder with a DSLR if you just stick to the lens that comes in the kit - meaning that if you want to get a greater range of shots then you will easily end up spending more than $500 in the long run on lenses alone. This will probably only matter if you want to take photos of hatchies to sell - but then again lots of people get by without it.

My partner and I invested $1200 in a Canon 550D twin lens kit + setup - the guy at JB gave us an awesome deal (it was about $1500 worth of stuff RRP). It was only worth that much because he also uses it to take photos of car parts that he buys and sells (useful for picking up nicks and scratches on the more expensive items).

If in doubt, just go to JB (don't bother with Ted's Camera House) and ask the guys there. Or do what we did, and go to Ted's, get a quote from them, then go to JB and ask them to pricematch it

 

[borntobnude]

for the absolute idiot proofness i have had canon Ixus's for the last ten years .A metal ish case they are fairly indestructable , not as tough as the olympus indestructable range but pretty good . IMHO

 

[Tassie97]

NEW Nikon D3100 DSLR + Lens KIT 18-55mm 1 Year Warranty | eBay Nikon D3100

 

[Tobe404]

Yeah after doing a bit more research I realise I'll have to spend around 1k just for en antry level DSLR and a few lenses. Which I don't mind. I'm pretty set on a Canon 600D or 650D and a two lens kit or I'll just buy the body outright and research lenses a bit more for what I want out of them and buy them seperately. Cheapest I can find a 650D body is 600 odd and about 900 with a two lens kit.

Thanks guys.

 

[Pinoy]

I'm thinking of upgrading from the Nikon D60 to a D90 for the video and found this...

The company is called Kogan. They have some pretty good deals

 

[saratoga]

A top notch point and shoot you can always have with you in you pocket.

A DSLR can become a real burden to carry around with lenses, flash etc and you may often find yourself not taking it out all the time.

The quality that comes off a good P & S nowadays is pretty astonishing and the top models have RAW files and a good range of manual functions.

Also remember a smaller sensor size in the P & S gives you a much better depth of field, something which is often a big plus in reptile photography but not so good for portraits.

The choice is yours but remember that having a great camera doesn't necessarily correlate with being able to take great photos, it's what you do with the camera you have.

 

[AUSGECKO]

For a budget of $500 you will get best results with a high quality point and shoot like Saratoga said. I started out with an Olympus SP-500, the SP range are very good for the price.

 

[Colubrid]

For $500 you could get a decent second hand starter DSLR with a few lenses.
Start with something cheap and upgrade if you get "the bug" and feel the need to.

I got in to DSLR recently and since then haven't used my P&S cameras at all. DSLR gives me more control with better outcomes and to me that is the deciding factor.

 

[Tobe404]

To be totally honest I already have a Canon IXUS75 point and shoot camera from a few years back that still does the job, so I'd rather a DSLR anyway.

And if I have to I'm willing to spend around 1000 on a DSLR and a couple of lenses to start off with.

Thanks for all the opinions and advice so far.