best digital camera

[corey_gloster]

i don't know much about taking pictures, but i do know that the camera i use now

really sucks. the pictures come out really crappy and fuzzy. it's a nikon

coolpix, not sure which one. i only bought it last year. it takes some of the

worst pictures i've ever seen, and was the biggest waste of $250 ever.

 

so now that i've said all that, i'm looking for a good digital camera. i don't

want to spend too much money, but i'm willing to save up for something good. i

mean, i just spent 250 on a piece of crap. i want the highest quality digital

camera i can get. i'm not going to spend more than $500 i don't think. it

doesn't need to be a beginners camera, i'm a very fast learner. no preference

with brand names either. and i don't care what it looks like, it doesn't need to

be a small one you can fit in your pocket or anything. my main concern is

getting my pictures to look good for once.

[leopoldstotch]

Its tour technique that needs improving, not the camera. The camera doesn't take good or bad pictures, you do. Pretty much any point and shoot digital will give you the same results as your current coolpix. I suggest getting a book on photography to help you improve.

[Matt Laur]

Corey: does EVERY SINGLE PICTURE come out fuzzy? It would help, here, to know if you've simply got a damaged/defective camera vs. a misunderstanding of how to use it. Are any elements in your images in focus? Are you seeing motion-related blurring, or simply soft focus? You'll have a hard time getting good advice without being more specific about what you're seeing. You might also size one of your shots down to around 700 pixels wide or so, and then post it here on this thread so that it can speak for itself. You'll get much more useful feedback/advice that way.

[claudinho]

Try to post some of the pictures to help more.

Could be a bad camera or your techqnique.

To improve Your technique read the following links in this order.<br>

http://www.photo.net/learn/point-and-shoot-tips<br>

http://www.photo.net/learn/making-photographs/<br>

http://www.photo.net/learn/<br>

I use a small P&S. Click on my name to see my pictures for reference.

<br>

If You cannot get better pictures try a new camera. I would buy Fuji Film F30 or F31.

[mendonphoto]

Learning a bit about photography is going to help you the most - much more than throwing money at the problem. Heck, take a look around the galleries here on photo.net and you find lots of people with expensive cameras taking really crappy photos, and lots of people with cheap cameras taking great photos.

 

But, if you do get a new camera, look for one with good high-ISO performance, a fast lens (f/2.8), and image stabilization. You should be able to find something pretty good for $300 to $400.

[jcuknz]

A bad workman blames his tools.

[fred_c1]

If you're sure it's not your technique or lack of familiarity on the Coolpix, B&H has a promo on the Nikon D40 kit now, the best thing you can get for ~$500.

[sam_thompson2]

Nikon probably makes the worst compact digital cameras. You will be better off with a Sony or a Canon.

[corey_gloster]

i think you guys are right and it is me. i keep reading all these photography books on changing the settings and it really just doesn't match up with my camera. i don't know if i'm not looking in the right place to change these settings or what.. but when i do change anything it just looks like crap. the camera just takes a really long time to actually take the picture. so by the time it finally captures it, it ends up blurry because you either think its taken it already, or just move the tiniest bit. it's got all the settings where you can just focus on one thing.. i don't know. i guess i really just don't know what i'm doing and every time i try to learn i get so confused between aperture and shutter speed and everywhere in between. thanks for all your help though. i'll just keep on reading everything i can and hopefully it will work.

[claudinho]

It seems You are taking Long Time exposures i.e. more than 0.5 secs.

For example My camera has LT mode from 0.7 to 4 secs. In that mode I need to set the camera in a tripod or on a steady place to avoid shake.Even I use the timer to shoot. Try to do that, and try to take pictures in Auto mode also (P&S mode).Read the chapter about Exposure in Photo Net to undertand more.<br>

After that You would have good pictures.

[photobiscuits]

Don't be too quick to blame yourself. It's not all about the technique-sometimes it IS the camera. I had a Pentax point and shoot awhile back and it took great, wonderful still life shots, but try taking pictures of people, in medium to low light, and it would turn out a blurry, fuzzed out mess. The problem was not the photographer (myself) it was the fact that this particular camera was a POS for the situation. Try capturing that special, fleeting smile on a kids face when your shutter lag is almost a second behind. Not likely, and the fault of the tool, not the workman. I understood this camera well and adjusting the setting could not improve the slow speed of the camera.<br>

To top it off it would present me with a preview image (after metering was done and while exposing), of the perfectly captured smile, only to wind up recording a different picture altogether (due to the shutter lag) =/ <br>

But boy, could it capture pictures of bowls of fruit!

[steve_dimond]

Highly recommend Panasonic DMC-FZ8. Has 12x optical zoom (28-432); great image stabilization; very good review at dpreview.com and very good price at Best Buy: $349.00.