best camera

I'm an amateur photographer, and I have never used a digital

camera. My question is what's the best camera for a beginer like

myself?

Nikon

What do you use now? What type of photos do you want to take?

As good advice as the other poster might have thought he was giving suggesting Nikon, I do believe there is no one camera called just "Nikon".<p>

Anyway, we still need more information before being able to recommend anything. What kind of film camera do you prefer using (SLR, compact, rangefinder, TLR, what brand etc)? What camera controls are you used to using (fully automatic, all manual, aperture priority, exposure compensation, etc)? What kind of shooting do you do at present, or intend to do in the future with a digital camera (night, street, landscape, studio, portraits, etc)? Do you use a tripod or do all of your shooting handheld? What is your desired output (size, colour, black & white, or other artistic uses)? Do you have any SLR system lenses that might be used on a digital camera system? What is your budget?<p>

That should narrow down the choices a bit.

"Nikon"

 

Short, irrelevant response is yet another reason we need moderators willing to use the edit function.

 

Want to buy my FE-2?

Sanford is good man so I'll go along with Nikon.

 

But the Fuji S3 has a better sensor and crap body.

 

I'd personally recommend the 'Hassy' H1 with Imacon back and complete set of lenses. Failing that a Leica R9 and DMR. The latter is a little contentious, however.

 

It might help if you gave us some background. Are we talking P&S or Dslr. What gear do you currently have, Nikon mount, Canon EOS, Leica R, Pentax K mount?

 

What is your price range?

 

What sort of stuff do you like photographing?

 

Are you a mega pixel counting/full frame sort of chap, or can you apply a factor of 1.5.

 

Cheers and hope you do actually get a suitable answer, C.

Sorry Shelly

 

chap indeed!

 

Good luck with your quest, hope you find the perfect camera for your needs.

 

regards C.

Shelly,

 

It depends how much money you want to spend. If you want the best camera, then you will be paying for a medium format slr with the latest digital back and the best lenses, that is a VERY expensive option.

 

However, if you have a budget of $200 then things change a little....

 

The best camera for a beginner is not neccessarily the simplest or most complex one. It depends primarily on what you want to shoot, and what you feel comfortable with, and ultimately how much you want to spend. You might be more specific.

 

Cheers.

Handy point and shoot camera that performs well indoors without needing flash (don't want to keep blinding/distracting your kids if you want natural pics) and has fast start up time = Fuji Finepix F10. This is a cost effective and mostly automatic compact camera but could be fun.

 

More ambitious (and bigger) SLR cameras that take interchangeable lenses but still have handy 'convenient' modes and built in flash that you can use in auto mode whilst learning the more tricky stuff and dont cost a great deal = Nikon D50, Nikon D70s and Canon EOS 350D. I use the Nikon D70 but will not insult you by saying Canon or Nikon are best. Take a look at both and buy whichever YOU like. There is no difference in the performance level of either choice. They are both pretty good and can both be used as a large auto point & shoot and will both serve well for more ambitious stuff when you are ready to try it.

The current leading budget DSLRs (these are the cameras with removable lenses that let you look through the lenses) are the Nikon D50, Pentax *ist DS, Konica-Minolta 5D, and the Canon 350XT. The image edge goes to the Canon (it is an 8 megapixel camera with a superb sensor, the other two are 6 megapixels) but it is a very small camera which doesn't suit everyone (you should go to a store and try out all three cameras to see what feels right). Both Nikon and Canon have extensive ranges of lenses and accessories. There are professional photographers working with both.

 

The Konica-Minolta is the only one which stands out on a feature basis since it has image stabilization built into the body. This makes it easier to get blur free photos when handholding. Both Canon and Nikon have image stabilizing lenses (called IS for Canon and VR for Nikon) but they are expensive.

 

There are also some Olympus cameras based around the 4/3 standard which I don't recommend even though they too have some unique features and relatively cheap good lenses.

 

There are also a plethora of smaller sensor digital cameras. Since I have a dSLR the ones that catch my eye do so because they do one thing very well rather than overall achievement. Moreover they are all small since if I want to take a larger camera I take my DSLR. My current picks would be the Fuji F11 (for low light photography), and the Panasonic DMC-LX1 (panoramic format). There are a plethora of very good SLR-like digital cameras with decent zoom lenses and image stabilization. The thing about these camera is that the use small sensors and typically show a lot of noise as you increase the ISO (the equivalent of using faster film). Probably worse than that they have reduced dynamic range.

Shelly, do a little amateur research. You are the only one who can answer your question. Good luck. :-)

Can someone tell me why we have static content if no one reads it?

I'd start out with a simple camera, first figure out what's important for you then quickly (or slowly) move up...<br>

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I think (hope) Sanford was being facetious... in any case, Shelly, you might want to go to dpreview.com. The site has a buying guide that allows you to search by features. If you do not know/understand some of the features, google for a quick tutorial.

 

KL

Well said and nice photos. I like to use camera's more than looking at them, and I spend hours looking at them.

 

It is a matter for you Shelly, what you want to use and why.

 

If you really just someone to tell you absolutely what they would use then ok, I'll try. I am a beginner and I need a point and shoot camera that is small, reliable, cheap, and will suit my needs.

Well, I would just settle for a Panasonic fz30 and call it quits.

 

Another way to do it, assuming you like stores and assistants.

Go and get your paws on loads of cameras and see what you like.

 

Cheers.

Canon A610

For learning photography, there's nothing like an old manual 35mm camera and a couple prime lenses...in my opinion of course. If not really all too interesting in learning, any point-n-shoot above a couple hundred up to whatever you want to spend, and from a reputable company (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, etc.) will do. Depends on what you're shooting with it.

Shelly did not specify anything about digital camera that she wants, so suggesting Nikon should not offend anyone at all. The answer was appropriate to the level of details provided in the question.

 

It could have been Leica, Pentax, Canon and others with the save level of usefullness provided in the answer. There is no need to get upset about Nikon.

 

Based on the old saying: "sooner or later you will get Nikon", if Shelly needs, or can afford ? - we do not know that yet, so the safest bet answer perhaps should be: get the most expensive camera you can afford. My vote goes for Leica.

i would suggest you a camera that can do manual stuff , like a fuji fine pix e

550 but the problem imo with those "fits into pocket" cameras is that they are a

bit little and if you want to ,get into photo seriously you will very soon want

something with a "normal" size so i would suggest you something like a nikon

8400, i also got my first DC a week ago its a sony dsc w15 but i think now i

should have spent a bit more of money and get something more pro not a

pocket camera.

I'm sorry for my one word response, just trying to be a smart--- early in the morning to a basic question. My favorite digital camera is an Olympus 5060 which I highly recomend and has given me many excellent photos over the years.

What I can't figure out is why, given that the poster said almost nothing about what she wants to do, so many people spend so much time offering advice into a barrel on a weekend that seems, save a few places where tornados struck, to be decent. Gosh, I agree with the respondent who likes the 5060 (I have one and think it's a very fine camera, though it is now a bit long in the tooth), but we don't know what we're talking about here.

Since I do not know what level of amateur you are the best answer is to briefly explain the three types of digital.

 

Point And Shoot where the camera does most if not all of the work.

 

Pro-sumer which is the new 'type/class' of camera which digital has given us and in the right hands is capable of doing most work. It can be used like a P&S until you get to know it better and have need of it's manual over-rides.

 

Digital SLR which at entry level cost about the same as the Pro-sumer but without the features of the latter. But if you have the money can equal and surpass the Pro-sumer. It is good for low light work since it has a larger sensor than the pro-sumer which means it has higher ISO speeds with acceptable image quality, absence of noise which is similar to grain with film.

 

Warning :-) ....I am completely biased towards the Pro-sumer, have had three so far, gave one to my Son, and have very little desire to expend the money on a DSLR despite using SLRs with film. They meet all my needs of the past three or so years. But I am not unduely worried about noise, normally shoot at 100ISO under all sorts of lighting from solar eclipse to moonlight .. but rarely use flash.

 

I'd suggest a Panasonic FZ5 or maybe big brother the FZ30, else an older Nikon 5700 like I started with and still enjoy, but in digital terms it is an 'old' camera. With any of them you will have a 'ball'. You will have a 'ball' with digital with almost any digital ... it's fabulous :-)

Shelly, I think the others have given some excellent answers. One thing you may want to consider is what kind of film camera you use now if any. If you have a full on pro film SLR now and love the capabilities that an SLR gives you, you will probably be disapointed with the results of a Point and Shoot.

 

If you have a SLR now for film you may find it beneficial to stick with the brand you have now because you MAY find the lenses you have are either adaptable to digital or a near perfect lens.

 

I also am a proponent of buying the best you can afford. In my other "hobbies" I sometimes tried to go cheap but ended up frustrated with the results and ended up having to spend more money to get the results I wanted effectively increasing my cash output.

 

If you are someone who enjoys having a light weight camera to carry around so that you can "capture" your world there are some phenomenal cameras that bridge the gap between Point and Shoot cameras and DSLRs. I suspect the answer is to go with a digital system comparable to what you have now if you want to maintain the status quo with your capabilities. DSLR if you want to really step up your photography.

Shelly,

 

There is no "best" camera for most of us amateurs. Get something that has "idiot" modes as well as allows you to set controls like aperture and shutter speed manually, and I'd suggest something that allows manual focus as well. Sometimes auto-focus just doesn't work well, particularly in low light or when trying to focus an object that is behind another object. There are a number of P&S cameras that fit the bill, as well as all DSLRs (as far as I know). For maximum versatility in a P&S, I like the ultra-zooms that will give you a 10-12x optical zoom. But some don't like those so much. For a DSLR, you are limited only by the size of your wallet. If you have absolutely no idea what you want, I'd refer to "Consumer Reports" (if you're in the U.S.) for ideas. The November issue rated digital cameras, I believe.

 

Good luck,

 

Bill

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masochism?