cc0813
10-28-2009, 08:24 AM
Hello,
I'm looking to buy a new camera but I'm kind of lost as to which one would work best for me. I'm not a pro but I know I need to learn more in order to get the pictures I want. I do want something that will be easier for someone to learn on. Here's some things I'm looking for:
Price: I can't really spend more than $300
Size: I really don't want a compact camera. My experience with them has been that they just don't take fantastic pictures and I don't really care if I have to carry around a larger camera in order to get the pictures I want.
Picture quality: This is the most important thing to me. I want sharp pictures with excellent color.
Here's what I'll be doing with it: First, I take a lot of pictures for the small business I work for. One aspect of it is taking pictures of the food during our wine dinners. The problem here is that I'm in the kitchen taking pictures during the event and don't have a lot of time to set up a shot. I'm literally taking the pictures as they plate the food so I need the camera to be fast. By fast I mean when I see a good shot I need to be able to capture it as fast as possible because it's not going to stay that way for very long. I'm relying on the lighting in the kitchen which isn't usually too bad but some cameras seem to be better about not washing out the color than others. I photoshop the pictures and crop them usually but the food still needs to look good. The other aspect of my job is taking pictures of produce (we're an organic farm). I take pictures in our farm stand, in the fields, in the packing shed. I take pictures of the field crew and barn crews working, of the people in our farm stand, etc. Lots of lighting conditions. Yes, I do need the ability to zoom in close (to the crew across the field, or a macro shot of a head of romanesco). I print the pictures and post them on our web site.
Second, I have a 9 month old son and this camera is going to be the one I'll be using to capture him! I want to have some great pictures of him. He also isn't still for very long so when I see something good I want to be able to capture it before he moves.
It needs to be a pretty versatile camera. I know I'm expecting a lot from a $300 camera but any suggestions would be a huge help.
I'm looking to buy a new camera but I'm kind of lost as to which one would work best for me. I'm not a pro but I know I need to learn more in order to get the pictures I want. I do want something that will be easier for someone to learn on. Here's some things I'm looking for:
Price: I can't really spend more than $300
Size: I really don't want a compact camera. My experience with them has been that they just don't take fantastic pictures and I don't really care if I have to carry around a larger camera in order to get the pictures I want.
Picture quality: This is the most important thing to me. I want sharp pictures with excellent color.
Here's what I'll be doing with it: First, I take a lot of pictures for the small business I work for. One aspect of it is taking pictures of the food during our wine dinners. The problem here is that I'm in the kitchen taking pictures during the event and don't have a lot of time to set up a shot. I'm literally taking the pictures as they plate the food so I need the camera to be fast. By fast I mean when I see a good shot I need to be able to capture it as fast as possible because it's not going to stay that way for very long. I'm relying on the lighting in the kitchen which isn't usually too bad but some cameras seem to be better about not washing out the color than others. I photoshop the pictures and crop them usually but the food still needs to look good. The other aspect of my job is taking pictures of produce (we're an organic farm). I take pictures in our farm stand, in the fields, in the packing shed. I take pictures of the field crew and barn crews working, of the people in our farm stand, etc. Lots of lighting conditions. Yes, I do need the ability to zoom in close (to the crew across the field, or a macro shot of a head of romanesco). I print the pictures and post them on our web site.
Second, I have a 9 month old son and this camera is going to be the one I'll be using to capture him! I want to have some great pictures of him. He also isn't still for very long so when I see something good I want to be able to capture it before he moves.
It needs to be a pretty versatile camera. I know I'm expecting a lot from a $300 camera but any suggestions would be a huge help.