Posted: 2/6/2009 5:59:41 PM EDT
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hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good digital camera that will take really good close ups. I see lots of pics on the EE with close ups where you can see riflings, blemishes, overall condition etc. of stuff people have for sales. Hoping to stay around $300. Oh yeah, I suppose it needs to be good for taking pics of the wife and kids on vacation at Mount Rushmore and indoors at home. THanks.
GL. |
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Go for a DSLR , once you get one you'll never be able to touch a point-and-shoot camera ever again.
I have a Nikon d40 (About the cheapest you can buy) and it's absolutely amazing. Go on ebay , get a few cheap lenses and you can shoot shoot just about anything with it :) |
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i'm pretty happy with this canon powershot sx110is
10x optical zoom that will fit in a pocket. |
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I'm very satisfied with my Canon SX10. It's got a hell of a zoom too. B&H is a vender here on the Photo forum and they shipped fast.
Here's a sample. 
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I'm very satisfied with my Canon SX10. It's got a hell of a zoom too. Here's a sample. http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h163/bc5000/1877Quarter-1.jpg I'm REALLY eying that as my next camera. It looks like a pretty good unit for the price. |
| Yeah, same here. Quite impressed to say the least. Not sure about the Nikon D40 at 6.1MP when the SX10 is 10MP. I stopped into a National Camera Exchange today and they had the SX10 .... but they also had a sign on the door that said "National Camera Exchange bans guns on these premises". Guess they won't be getting any of my green-backs! |
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Yeah, same here. Quite impressed to say the least. Not sure about the Nikon D40 at 6.1MP when the SX10 is 10MP. Not all megapixels are created equally. Squeezing that many pixels onto that small of a sensor causes all sorts of distortions and software can only take out so much of it. That said, I would get the D60 over the D40 if I were to go Nikon. Well, actually I'd get the D90 or the D300, but you probably don't want to spend that much. |
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I'm very satisfied with my Canon SX10. It's got a hell of a zoom too. B&H is a vender here on the Photo forum and they shipped fast. Here's a sample. http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h163/bc5000/1877Quarter-1.jpg Nice to see someone linking to good ol' B&H. I have an SX110 IS, and I love the thing. Sure, it's worlds behind my DSLR, but it gets the job done without pulling out $5k in gear. |
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Nice to see someone linking to good ol' B&H. I have an SX110 IS, and I love the thing. Sure, it's worlds behind my DSLR, but it gets the job done without pulling out $5k in gear. So B&H is a reputable place to buy from? It's the only place that I buy from. |
| I've got a Panasonic TZ5 and love it, and it takes HD video as well which is a nice touch., Newegg has them for 279 here |
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I have an American Made Good Ole Kodak Digital. Four other of my Friends have gone out and bought it.
Here 
It a great little camera. |
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Go for a DSLR , once you get one you'll never be able to touch a point-and-shoot camera ever again. I have a Nikon d40 (About the cheapest you can buy) and it's absolutely amazing. Go on ebay , get a few cheap lenses and you can shoot shoot just about anything with it :) Not saying DSLRs aren't great, but they are a bit overkill for us 'typical' users. Especially when you look at the quality of point-and-shoots these days. |
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Whoa, those are some nice pics. Did the taxes yesterday so as soon as uncle sam sends me a check I think I'll be pulling the trigger on one of these.
Follow up question. Since these close up pics looks so good, can I assume that normal distance pics are good too? Meaning, I want a camera that will take closeups, but if it takes poor normal distance pictures the wife will kick my butt :-) Part of the reason for upgrading cameras right now is our current (very old) one takes lousy pictures of the kids/people/etc. |
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Go for a DSLR , once you get one you'll never be able to touch a point-and-shoot camera ever again. I have a Nikon d40 (About the cheapest you can buy) and it's absolutely amazing. Go on ebay , get a few cheap lenses and you can shoot shoot just about anything with it :) Not saying DSLRs aren't great, but they are a bit overkill for us 'typical' users. Especially when you look at the quality of point-and-shoots these days. True, but DSLRs do not suffer from the shutter lag of the point-and-shoots. Spend a little more for the D40 or D60. You won't be disappointed. |
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Go for a DSLR , once you get one you'll never be able to touch a point-and-shoot camera ever again. I have a Nikon d40 (About the cheapest you can buy) and it's absolutely amazing. Go on ebay , get a few cheap lenses and you can shoot shoot just about anything with it :) Not saying DSLRs aren't great, but they are a bit overkill for us 'typical' users. Especially when you look at the quality of point-and-shoots these days. True, but DSLRs do not suffer from the shutter lag of the point-and-shoots. Spend a little more for the D40 or D60. You won't be disappointed. I might. I have a bunch of 'cashback' money with Discover, and Crutchfield offers a 5% 'bonus' to that, so a D40/60 or Rebel is on the list of candidates. Still, me buying one of those is like a casual shooter buying a decked-out Noveske or something. 
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I might. I have a bunch of 'cashback' money with Discover, and Crutchfield offers a 5% 'bonus' to that, so a D40/60 or Rebel is on the list of candidates. Still, me buying one of those is like a casual shooter buying a decked-out Noveske or something. You might be right. And if you leave the camera at home because of its size rather than slipping a small point-and-shoot in your pocket, then you should go that route. The shutter delay of most point-and-shoots was so annoying to me, I consider the cameras to be unusable. Especially taking pictures of live action events (or even people for that matter). +1 for using Crutchfield. Have ordered thing from them several times with no problems. I always get nervous ordering a high dollar item (for me anyway) from an unknown company with little or no reviews. |
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I might. I have a bunch of 'cashback' money with Discover, and Crutchfield offers a 5% 'bonus' to that, so a D40/60 or Rebel is on the list of candidates. Still, me buying one of those is like a casual shooter buying a decked-out Noveske or something. You might be right. And if you leave the camera at home because of its size rather than slipping a small point-and-shoot in your pocket, then you should go that route. The shutter delay of most point-and-shoots was so annoying to me, I consider the cameras to be unusable. Especially taking pictures of live action events (or even people for that matter). +1 for using Crutchfield. Have ordered thing from them several times with no problems. I always get nervous ordering a high dollar item (for me anyway) from an unknown company with little or no reviews. Absolutely this. Whats the point of a badass camera if its so big and bulky you dont take it with you? Thats why its so hard, IMO, to get others opinions. Sure I'd love a nice DSLR but I wouldnt use it half as much as I do my Panny. I'm not a photographer, I dont WANT to haul a big bulky camera around. Sure the P&S might have a bit of shutter lag but I'll accept that to have a camera I'm not afraid to take out and about with me. To each their own. The OP needs to figure out his needs and buy a camera to meet them. Sure a nice big awesome DSLR might take freaking incredible pictures but if he never uses it because of the size........ |
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Yeah, same here. Quite impressed to say the least. Not sure about the Nikon D40 at 6.1MP when the SX10 is 10MP. Not all megapixels are created equally. Squeezing that many pixels onto that small of a sensor causes all sorts of distortions and software can only take out so much of it. That said, I would get the D60 over the D40 if I were to go Nikon. Well, actually I'd get the D90 or the D300, but you probably don't want to spend that much. When I bought my Nikon last year, I started out looking at the D40 and ended up buying a D300 and a few thousand dollars worth of lenses.  No regrets at all either.
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Don't be duped by megapixels. Heck, 1.5megapixels looks great, even when viewed full screen.
If you get a DSLR, you'll need to get a macro lens if you want to take macro pictures. I'd recommend a point and shoot. They're all pretty good these days. My biggest criteria would be 1. how long does it take to turn on and 2. how quickly does it take a picture. |
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Anyone recommend a D40 or 60 (Nikon) over a Canon XS? (both seem to be 10.2 mp) I have a 35mm Rebel G that I am thinking I can swap over the 80mm lens if I get a XS and just get the XS body brand new for like $350 or thereabouts. I'd spring for the XSi myself. |
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I finally bought a camera! Was seriously looking at the Canon SX10 or the A2000 with an eye on having a camera that used AA batteries. My thoughts were I could easily swap in a new pair in an emergency instead of being stuck with only a rechargable battery.
Read a lot of reviews and decided to pass on the SX10. I was concerned with the weakness of the flash when taking indoor pictures that some people indicated. After having a digital camcorder that sucks indoors even with a lot of light, I decided this was an important issue. That left me with A2000. Read plenty of more reviews. Some people had issues with the slow lag for flash recharge and delay before being able to take the next picture. So what did I buy? The SD990 and I like it so far. Seems easy to use and I can select the mode to the picture I want to take..... Indoor, Pets and Kids, Digital Macro. The thing responds fast and seems well build. My only negative is the small dial that can be used to move through options/functions. That was something also noted in reviews that I had read on the SD series but I didn't think it was enough to keep me from buying. Best prices I found were on Amazon or from Dell (which, incidently, I didn't know that they sold cameras). Their prices seemed to be a little better than B&H. 
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I have an American Made Good Ole Kodak Digital. Four other of my Friends have gone out and bought it. Here http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj312/ar15mama/Z1285_FF_250x200.jpg It a great little camera. Pick your camera up and look the bottom and tell us what it says where it is made. I would really be surprised it say "Made in USA". :-( vmax84 |
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I have a canon sx100is and my new canon sx10is. See my most recent examples HERE in this thread.
There are a lot of simple easy to use photo editing programs out there so don't let that intimidate you. It's fun. A dlsr would be nice for me but I take a lot more pics since I don't have to lug all the stuff around. My canon sx100is is smaller and I have found that I continue to use it even though my new one is "better" Also, if you are not going to use all the features in a camera then getting a better one will do you no good. Oh, and there is an update out there that will enable you to take raw files with the sx10is. taken last night 
this is a green strawberry, which is the last I see of them before the birdies get them. Anyone have a suggestion on putting up bird netting in the garden? 
the hair on a tomato plant |