My boss has finally give me the go ahead to replace our aging Panasonic 2MP camera here at the office. The images I’m primarily shooting are of our vacation homes, interior and exterior, for use in print and online publications, and I’m looking for some help in my decision making. Read on if you’re interested …
My requirements:
1) Needs a good wide angle. Some of the homes and rooms I have to take pictures of are in very tight quarters, and I need to be able to step back and get the entire room w/out too much work (and no real obvious fish-eye — a little bending is OK on extreme stuff, as I can correct that in Photoshop a bit).
2) Needs to be good in low-light. Many of these homes are just dark by nature — wood walls, brown carpet, brows furniture, crappy lighting, etc… . I need something that can at least pick up enough color and light detail that I don’t have to spend a long while in Photoshop correcting (and a good flash is, as much as I hate using it, a requirement in some of our homes). So obviously the side of the image sensor is a big deal here.
3) Needs to be easy to use, but powerful. Occasionally this camera will be used by a point-and-shoot kind of person who is just going to need a “point and shoot” type of setting. But for folks like me who actually know what I’m doing, I prefer to have more control over the ISO, f-stop, flash, shutter speed, etc…
4) No cameras that use anything other than SD or CompactFlash for its storage as those are by far the cheapest (I prefer compact flash myself because of its durability). I hate those stupidly expensive xD cards and anything that’s Sony-backed (Memory Stick, etc…).
5) Something that doesn’t over compress images, even on “High Quality” mode. My parents have a FujiFilm camera that even on “High Quality JPEG Mode” introduces a TON of compression artifacts. Obviously, RAW or TIFF modes would be ideal, but JPEG is fine if it is indeed high quality.
Now, the boss didn’t give me a budget. He just said “Find Something good at a few different prices ranges and let me know what you think.” So I’m throwing it there: Based on the above, does anybody have models you recommend I look at at around the $300, $600, or $900 price range (just throwing prices out there, as they’re nice round numbers)? It’s been a while since I’ve looked at this kind of thing (that Panasonic is 4 years old), so I have no idea what’s out there any more. I do know I like Canon’s cameras, as I have a basic EOS film camera at home, as well as a point and shoot Canon A50 Sureshot at home. When I do have time to shoot, I shoot (primarily) with my Canon AE1 manual kit, as I have a few gorgeous lenses for it. But I’m totally open for other options.
If I can get a good SLR kit (which I know can in the $900 range), that would probably be preferred. I don’t really care about something being compact and lightweight, either, as I’d prefer something that works great and is durable.
Any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated, and if you feel there is something I might be missing, feel free to post here or e-mail me directly.
Also of note, I have posted this message over at dpreview.com as well, so you’re welcome to reply there instead, if you prefer.
Comments
Cameras, my main interest! There are only two brands you should be looking at: Canon or Nikon. The rest have major drawbacks that I won’t even bother going into (although I myself own a Olympus DSLR).
I’ve given plenty of advise on this topic before, and what it always comes down to is the price. I can go off naming some fancy models, but you really need to know what your budget is before starting to browse.
The first relatively cheap digital SLRs that come to mind are:
– Canon 300D: Relatively old model, so pretty cheap.
– Canon 350D: Compact, smaller and faster than the 300D, though worse with batteries
– Nikon D50: Major drawback is that a load of the settings are in the menu (ISO, whitebalance, etc.).
– Nikon D70: Expensive, but major improvement in aesthetics.
These are under or around $900. Buy quality stuff, Jake, or it will bug the crap out of you and your colleagues. Don’t just blindly buy it off the internet; go to a store, hold it and try it out! And, very important, exaggerate anything that even remotely bothers you because it will bother you.
For example: I was planning to buy the Canon 350D until I held it for the first time. Its uncomfortable to hold, in my opinion, because its too compact and the grip is too shallow.
You apparantly have already visited dpreview.com. They have wonderfully in-depth reviews, but you can spend hours comparing dozens of models. Go check one out in the store, and check the review on internet afterwards.
Keep in mind that most DSLRs are delivered with a cheap-ass lens. For indoor shots you described, you’ll need a wide-angle with a large lens opening. You might want to check out B&H Photo Video in New York for that, although I have no idea how their prices compare.
I’m kind-of psychologically preparing myself to buy a new SLR. I fancy the Nikon D200, though I’m waiting for the price to drop some more.
Canon A95 if you are looking for a point and shoot.
Also, my wife loves her D-Rebel. Very easy to use in Auto mode, and all the luxury of an SLR. Probably the best D-SLR out there for the price. (Around $900ish)
She has the 350D model, to be exact. She can take around 300-400 pictures easily on one battery, and it recharges in around 2 hours.
The Canon A-series is decent, if you insist on compact zoom. However, the lens is a crummy 38mm equivalent, that’s no wide angle. Buying a wide angle conversion lens is a solution, which will cost you about $300 + $70. Wouldn’t it be smarter to buy a camera with interchangable lenses, i.e. an SLR, in the first place?
Jake, man, I want you to have quality stuff! I won’t settle for this!! 🙂
I should mention that I’ve used both the Canon A75 and A80. I bought the A80 on a very strict budget for my brother a couple of years ago. Like I said: for compact zoom, they’re decent.
I have an A40 at home, and it’s a good little camera, so looking to upgrade it to a A80 or something is fine, but I don’t think it’d be a wide enough image, either.
And just looked at some pricing for Canon SLRs — looks like they’re running some pretty good rebates right now.
As far as the 350D grip, that is a common complaint. Most people are happy though buying the battery grip, which makes it have more of a 20D form factor. I wasnt sure about it at first, but I like how it feels in my hands the more I use it.
Uhmmm …. sure, you could go with a point & shoot, but my guess is it’s limitations will bug the crap out of you in no time. A darkish house with funky lighting will almost certainly trigger the flash on any P&S for the image to be sharp, so you’ll end up with nasty hot spots.
Tripod, release cable and a good wide-angle lens are the way to go. Take a look at the Canon Rebel (aka 300D). It’s got the automatic options the other ppl can use, and the manual options for you, and 6mp is totally gonna cut it for ya, so shop around for the best deal and invest the money you saved into a decent wide-angle lens (preferably 20mm or more).
Don’t forget too – any dSLR on the market today (unless you buy super high-end) will have a conversion factor of 1:1.6 or something around that on the sensor, so your 20mm lens will in effect be a 36mm …
Still good enough for what you need it to be though – plus, if you go with Canon, you’ll be able to use the lenses you already own for a bit of recreational shooting on the weekends… 🙂
Ping me if ya want more feedback than that.
The basic Canon EOS at home is actually my parents, and their lenses they have are minimal — and I know my AE1 lenses ain’t going to work (if there’s a way to make ’em work, I’d love to hear it).
I agree with Simone. Great comment, you got all the important issues in there.
As far as I know, Canon sensors are pretty spot on 1:1.5, though it depends if you buy a ’35mm lens’ or a ‘digital lens’, since you don’t need to convert the focal length of the latter.
Anyway, 300D is the way to go. I have some experience with it, though a good friend of mine owns one and uses it frequently. He got a cheap deal on a 50mm eq. lens, and the quality is actually pretty good. I wouldn’t worry too much about the quality of the lens for now; just make sure you have a body you like. The body + lens won’t be too expensive, maybe you can spend an extra few bucks on some sweet accessories (batteries, cards) that will no doubt make life easier.
(If I recall correctly, the lens delivered with the Rebel is pretty wide but has a crappy lens opening.)
Jake, do you still have that charger for the 350D? 😉
Actually, you know what, Paul, I think I do have that charger still in a box downstairs.
Thanks for all your input everybody, and keep it coming!
Jake,
I LOVE my Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D) — and right now, you can get one WITH the kit lens for $609 after rebate from Dell.
DealNews Link
Jump on it!
or less…
http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7304
(more)
There are many advantages of the 350D over the 300D, but youll have to research and see if they are worth it to you. It was to us…
I agree. The major benefit of the 350D, imho, is the immediate startup. I love that!
But try it out; hold it and take some shots. If you think it will cramp your hand, it probably will, especially if you have extra weight, like a battery grip and some fancy flash attached. This is the only reason I didn’t buy a 350D for myself.
Yeah, I have somewhat smaller hands, so it fits for me, and it is my wife’s camera anyhow, so I dont use it that much.
I have heard that the battery grip weight helps to counter-balance the weight of the lens a bit, and make the camera feel more balanced since the body is so light in the first place. We don’t have one, so I cant say for sure.
The instant startup time is great, as well as the processing time, allowing you to take quite a lot more pictures without slowing down, than the 300D.
I know there were some other selling points, but I can’t recall them off the top of my head.
DANGIT! I got boss’ approval on the 350D purchase, and all those Dell coupons are expired now — dagnabbit…
Any place else that’s cheap and doesn’t suck? They do sell it at Costco for $699 after rebate, so I’ll go to the store tonight and try it out as well, but I think it’ll work the best.
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