In search of the best all-round camera

[Novice]

I have gone through several reviews of Digital Cameras, which has confused me. Every other seem to be better in some respect or the other. Help me find the best all round camera. There is no limitation to brand, price or size.
Thanks
Novice

[David Metsky]

There's no such thing.

Everyone has different needs and requirements for a camera, many excel at differrent tasks. It would be the same as asking what is the best car? If you want to race, a Porsche might make sense, for getting to the ski area I'll take a Subaru.

What are your needs? That's the place to start.

-dave-

[gb_in_ga]

I'll second what David said. It all depends on what you are looking for. It used to be said that you could have quality, you could have performance, and you could have cheap prices, any 2 out of 3, take your pick. Now you also have size factor as well. And simplicity of use. A top of the line professional dSLR will take wonderful pictures with mind boggling performance, extreme flexibility and be breathtakingly expensive, but can you put it in your pocket? If you really wanted a pocket camera that dSLR is a lousy choice. Do you already know how to use a top of the line professional model camera, or are you prepared to learn how? Or are you really looking for an easy to use point and shoot model? If you aren't prepared for the extra complexity of the professional models you aren't going to be happy with it.

[EAP]

Novice, here are a few places to start.

1) What size pictures do you want to take? If you want to take mostly 4x6 snapshots or photos to send on the web, you're fine with a 3 megapixel camera. If you want bigger pictures, you'll need more megapixels (which tend to be more expensive).

2) How much zoom do you want? Remember to focus on optical zoom and basically ignore digital zoom when you make this decision. The more zoom you have, the larger and more expensive the cameras tend to be.

3) What sort of photographer are you /do you want to be and how much do you want to spend? The more you spend, the more features your camera will have. However, you can get a good, basic digital camera for between $200-$300. It just won't have a lot of cool features (but maybe you don't care about those anyway). If you're a "point and shoot on automatic" style of photographer, there are several good basic cameras in the $200-$300 range. If you think you may enjoy experimenting with manual controls a bit, there are several good cameras in the $300-$350 range (maybe less).

4) What size do you want the camera to be? Do you want a tiny ultracompact that weighs nothing and will fit in a men's shirt pocket? Do you want a mid-sized compact that is a bit larger and heavier but will still fit in a jacket pocket or purse? Do you not care at all about size?

5) Do you care about what sort of batteries the camera takes? A few cameras take AA batteries, which are much cheaper and more convenient for some people than "proprietary" batteries but are heavier and have a significantly shorter battery life. If you choose AA batteries, will you use rechargeable batteries? Add the batteries and a good charger to your cost of the camera. If you choose a camera with proprietary battery, add a spare battery to the cost of the camera.

This is a simplified start to your decision-making process. If you can post some of your needs on this site, you'll get a lot of suggestions about cameras that would be good for you. Also, read the FAQ portion of this website, as well as the Buyers Guide. Very informative.

[Novice]

Thank you all for your suggestions. My preference goes as follows:

-I would like to go for higher MP, even the top line. Thats very important.
-There is no limitation as to to price. I dont mind spending thousand bucks or more.
-Yes, I cosider zoom very important. The more the merrier.
-I can handle complexity and am ready to use the professional ones. Nonetheless, it should have a point and shoot option with maximum manual controls and a lot of options. Flexibility is important.
-The smaller the better, but dont mind if its a mid-size one.
-Batteries, their size and price is irrelevant. Any thing would go.
-Excellent macro mode pictures
-No red eyes
-Can take high quality pictures in low light.
-High quality results of moving objects.
-Above all immaculate/perfect picture quality. I can compromise speed for quality but quality needs to be 10 out of 10.

I hope you would help. Thanks.

[David Metsky]

Forget getting a small camera, there's no way with your requirements. Depending on how you value your specific requirements I'd say you're looking at a dSLR to meet your needs. Probably one of the Canon or Nikons, but I'm not a dSLR wonk so I'll let others offer specifics.

[Digideb]

Thank you all for your suggestions. My preference goes as follows:

-I would like to go for higher MP, even the top line. Thats very important.
-There is no limitation as to to price. I dont mind spending thousand bucks or more.
-Yes, I cosider zoom very important. The more the merrier.
-I can handle complexity and am ready to use the professional ones. Nonetheless, it should have a point and shoot option with maximum manual controls and a lot of options. Flexibility is important.
-The smaller the better, but dont mind if its a mid-size one.
-Batteries, their size and price is irrelevant. Any thing would go.
-Excellent macro mode pictures
-No red eyes
-Can take high quality pictures in low light.
-High quality results of moving objects.
-Above all immaculate/perfect picture quality. I can compromise speed for quality but quality needs to be 10 out of 10.

I hope you would help. Thanks.
Even though I consider myself still a novice, it looks to me like you need to ask yourself some honest questions & do some more reading.
First of all, why do you feel MPs are "very important"? If zoom is important, do you know what kind of zoom to look for? That's just a start.
Any expert willing to be "up front" & set aside their brand loyalty,etc. should advise you that $ don't buy great photos! The fanciest camera won't guarantee you great pix. I'd suggest going to Ken Rockwell's site & read about how cameras don't make great photographers.
In my brief experience, I've already seen many intelligent people surrender to the complexities of their expensive new digicams & just gave up in frustration. One of them even joked to me about "having more $ than sense". So, when you say "you can handle complexity", be careful, "you might get too much of what you're asking for". ;)

[David Metsky]

I second the notion that there is no point in getting a huge image size unless you have a need for it. Why specifically do you want the biggesst image size possible? Are you planning on producing poster sized prints? For the majority of the world, anything beyond 5MP is probably overkill unless they have a specific need for the extra megapixels.

My dividing line would be your desire for low light fast photography. If you really want to do that well, you need a dSLR and a fast lens.

[ReF]

i agree with all the above posts and would like to add that even in the d-slr catagory there are many choices, which include:


22mp(in that range) digital backs that cost around $20,000
16mp Canon EOS 1Ds mark II for around $8000
12-13mp Kodak and Fuji models for around $3000-$5000 (i think)
and 6-8mp models for around $800-$1600. the models which most people own and are most popular are in this lower range. they include the Nikon D70, Canon 20D, 10D, Digital Rebel, Minolta Maxxum 7D, Olympus E-volt, etc.

also keep in mind that a good set of lenses that can cover a range of 28-300mm for most of these models can cost between $800-$2000 or even $3000. i say that if you have the $$$ and are willing to spend it, go for it - it's your money. just how much are you willing to spend though, and at what point would things become overkill for your purpose? i know someone has already said this, but i want to say it again: you can't get all the features that you are looking for without resorting to a big bulky camera.

[Novice]

Thanks for your suggestions. What I am getting to is a ultra zoom dc with arround 7 to 8 mp, which get me good pictures in low light areas/indoors.

[Novice]

Are there any suggestions? What are some close options available?