kthartline
08-20-2008, 09:15 AM
Hello everyone. I am a mom of a VERY quick, VERY active, extremely cute (of course I think so, I'm the mom!) little girl. 4-5 years back I bought an Olympus camera (can't for the life of me think of the model... it's the one that they advertise out on a picnic table getting rained on) that is just not cutting it anymore. It's great for outside use and has definitely gotten it's fair use while camping, canoeing and just for general photos. We even dropped it in 6 feet of water once and it was still working 10 minutes later after we got it dried off.
What I need now is a quick camera that takes good pictures. The Olympus is extremely slow at taking a picture and anything but outdoor lighting SUCKS. Most of my pictures of my daughter either turn out blurry or she's done doing whatever it was that I wanted to take a picture of.
I don't know much about cameras or taking pictures, but I do know that what I'm looking for probably requires a DSLR.
Please help me pick one out. A few specific models/lenses/kits would be nice so I can go do some comparison shopping soon.
I'd like it to be able to quickly turn on and quickly shoot a picture. None of this waiting 15 seconds crap! LOL!
Thanks!
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Well, truthfully, I'd be willing to spend a descent amount to get good pictures, but since we're not rich, the lower the better. I'd say $900 would be pushing it.
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Size doesn't matter much. I don't want it to be so big and heavy it's hard to hold, but I don't think they make many entry-level DSLRs that are huge right?
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
Oh, IDK. 8? I will be printing some pictures for wall hangings. Probably 8x10, 5x7 & 4x6s.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Standard would be fine. Ultrazoom would be nice but I don't think I'd use it very often. Not that important to me.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
9. I'm sick of crappy, blurry pictures. I probably delete 8 out of 10 pictures right now.
Do you care for manual controls?
Not yet... I'd like to learn, but I'd also like the camera to have a good auto setting. I won't have a lot of time to adjust before taking pictures of my daughter I wouldn't think.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Taking pictures of my daughter/family. Some scenery pictures when we're camping.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
I'd like to get really nice 8x10s
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yup
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Action. I'll definitely have a moving target!
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
Not really. I love the Canon printers/copiers. I have an old Canon film camera in a box in the basement that I've never got around to having the lenses cleaned (they're all dusty from being so old) that I inherited from my Grandfather. But, any brand will be fine if it does the job good.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Not really. A rebel maybe?
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
IDK?
What I need now is a quick camera that takes good pictures. The Olympus is extremely slow at taking a picture and anything but outdoor lighting SUCKS. Most of my pictures of my daughter either turn out blurry or she's done doing whatever it was that I wanted to take a picture of.
I don't know much about cameras or taking pictures, but I do know that what I'm looking for probably requires a DSLR.
Please help me pick one out. A few specific models/lenses/kits would be nice so I can go do some comparison shopping soon.
I'd like it to be able to quickly turn on and quickly shoot a picture. None of this waiting 15 seconds crap! LOL!
Thanks!
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Well, truthfully, I'd be willing to spend a descent amount to get good pictures, but since we're not rich, the lower the better. I'd say $900 would be pushing it.
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Size doesn't matter much. I don't want it to be so big and heavy it's hard to hold, but I don't think they make many entry-level DSLRs that are huge right?
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
Oh, IDK. 8? I will be printing some pictures for wall hangings. Probably 8x10, 5x7 & 4x6s.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Standard would be fine. Ultrazoom would be nice but I don't think I'd use it very often. Not that important to me.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
9. I'm sick of crappy, blurry pictures. I probably delete 8 out of 10 pictures right now.
Do you care for manual controls?
Not yet... I'd like to learn, but I'd also like the camera to have a good auto setting. I won't have a lot of time to adjust before taking pictures of my daughter I wouldn't think.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Taking pictures of my daughter/family. Some scenery pictures when we're camping.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
I'd like to get really nice 8x10s
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yup
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Action. I'll definitely have a moving target!
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
Not really. I love the Canon printers/copiers. I have an old Canon film camera in a box in the basement that I've never got around to having the lenses cleaned (they're all dusty from being so old) that I inherited from my Grandfather. But, any brand will be fine if it does the job good.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Not really. A rebel maybe?
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
IDK?