jaxomofterra
05-24-2006, 12:51 AM
Budget
I'm willing to go to $1000, but my sweet spot is $700, and if $450 is just as good an option i'll do that. I'm 21 and don't make much, not sure if cameras are worth making "investments" in in this technology age, but willing to put money into something that will last me a long time.
Size
I don't mind the size, I've seen ipod sized cameras and I think those would be great for moms taking pictures of their kids all the time but I need something that can also take serious photos.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
I'm looking to go to Europe and take a ton of pictures and plan on blowing some of those up to portrait size, and I need to have high resolotion pictures for my animation textures, so I am thinking I need 8 megapixels.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
I'm looking for something with a lot of zoom, targeting the 10-12x range.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
8, I would rather put a priority on the quality but not if it will cost a lot of effort or money for something most people wouldn't even notice.
Do you care for manual controls?
I would prefer that the camera has a really good auto mode, but if I want to I can have complete manual control, but to me that basically means zoom and focus, I don't know or care about the rest.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
I basically want to take lagre landscapes, pictures of buildings, and normal everyday people pictures, but I also want to be able to take high reslousion close ups of things to use as textures in my animation.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
I plan on making big prints on some of them, just the 8 x10(?) size
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Iwill shoot these but I wouldn't say they would be the bulk.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
it's not a priority
Miscellaneous
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I have been strongly considering the Canon Digital Rebel XT, Fuji FinePix S9000, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30. I read about the grainy effect of both the Fuji FinePix S9000 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30, at the high ISO on the reviews here. (the nighttime skyscape sectons) But I don't understand that, are they both grainy for different reasons but basically equally grainy? Is this a small issue that I really don't need to worry about? I really don't want to mess with different lenses but is it better to go with the fixed lens cameras or is the Rebel XT with the lens kit equal to those? If I got the Rebel XT I would only really use the one lens, will that give me the same performace as the fixed lens cameras, or am I better off with the fixed lens cameras for the versitility? As far as I can tell the FinePix and the Lumix see at about an equal distance at the same quality, does the Rebel XT with the basic Lens kit see just as far as those?
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I really don't plan on buying a tripod so I think I'll need something with an anti-blur or Image Stabilization. I also wear glasses so I would really prefer using the LCD screen over the viewfinder.
Thank you very much for your input :)
I'm willing to go to $1000, but my sweet spot is $700, and if $450 is just as good an option i'll do that. I'm 21 and don't make much, not sure if cameras are worth making "investments" in in this technology age, but willing to put money into something that will last me a long time.
Size
I don't mind the size, I've seen ipod sized cameras and I think those would be great for moms taking pictures of their kids all the time but I need something that can also take serious photos.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
I'm looking to go to Europe and take a ton of pictures and plan on blowing some of those up to portrait size, and I need to have high resolotion pictures for my animation textures, so I am thinking I need 8 megapixels.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
I'm looking for something with a lot of zoom, targeting the 10-12x range.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
8, I would rather put a priority on the quality but not if it will cost a lot of effort or money for something most people wouldn't even notice.
Do you care for manual controls?
I would prefer that the camera has a really good auto mode, but if I want to I can have complete manual control, but to me that basically means zoom and focus, I don't know or care about the rest.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
I basically want to take lagre landscapes, pictures of buildings, and normal everyday people pictures, but I also want to be able to take high reslousion close ups of things to use as textures in my animation.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
I plan on making big prints on some of them, just the 8 x10(?) size
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Iwill shoot these but I wouldn't say they would be the bulk.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
it's not a priority
Miscellaneous
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I have been strongly considering the Canon Digital Rebel XT, Fuji FinePix S9000, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30. I read about the grainy effect of both the Fuji FinePix S9000 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30, at the high ISO on the reviews here. (the nighttime skyscape sectons) But I don't understand that, are they both grainy for different reasons but basically equally grainy? Is this a small issue that I really don't need to worry about? I really don't want to mess with different lenses but is it better to go with the fixed lens cameras or is the Rebel XT with the lens kit equal to those? If I got the Rebel XT I would only really use the one lens, will that give me the same performace as the fixed lens cameras, or am I better off with the fixed lens cameras for the versitility? As far as I can tell the FinePix and the Lumix see at about an equal distance at the same quality, does the Rebel XT with the basic Lens kit see just as far as those?
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I really don't plan on buying a tripod so I think I'll need something with an anti-blur or Image Stabilization. I also wear glasses so I would really prefer using the LCD screen over the viewfinder.
Thank you very much for your input :)