My Olympus D-490 is on its last leg, it still works for the most part, for a 6 year old cam that has been thru hell, its in pretty bad shape but still works for the most part.. anywho. it's that time in my cameras life where I need to retire it.

I'm thinking about getting into some amature photography, at what point would it be worth buying a high dollar camera? I figure most of my shots will be of autos and nature, (I like water). Could I get away with a chaeper camera or should I invest in something worth while?

 

You should be able to get by just fine with one of the high end fixed lens cameras. You're only doing landscapes, and the cars probably won't be moving either. Action photography is where you will really find a SLR useful. I suppose low light woud be another argument for it as well.

dpreview.com is a great site for camera reviews and forums where you will find feedback for just about any camera from people who have actually used them.

I have a couple different cameras, but I really like the versatility of my old Canon G2. Full manual control, hot shoe (I have a 420EX flash that is amazing), not too big to carry just about anywhere, and a fast f2.0 lens.

I've thought about buying a 20D, and then a 30D, but I don't know how much I would use it due to the bulk. Additionally, a couple good lenses will cost over $1K. Maybe someday, but I've been very pleased with the pictures I get from my current "cheap" cameras.

 

I think the main thing I want in a cam is manual controls for lighting, shutter speed, and focus.

I do like the idea of having the option to use a wide angle lense but when it comes down to it... would I really use it?

 

With your Olympus, do you always find yourself backing up to frame the shot?

Personally, I find zoom useful more often then I would wide if I had it. I have a Canon S2IS that I use for my nature shots. It's incredible for bugs, birds, or anything at a distance. The G2 rules for indoor or night shots. I take it to car shows as well due to its size and RAW capability.

 

Check out this little guy. Full res pic is better, but you can see that this is a shot you wouldn't get without a decent zoom.

 

What do you think of the Sony DSC-H2? looks like it had a few good reviews.
bestbuy has it on sale for only 360ish

 

lol um well hard to say since I never really had anything to compair it with. I gues I backed up. I cant remember =)



Before tonight I really havnt known jackchit about taking photos. This is me just snapping a random shot off.

I've spent the last few hours reading up on how tos and camera reviews.
Im hoping to buy a camera maybe tomorrow and start taking some hopfully worthwhile pictures. =)

 

The H2 seems like a great camera. Practically the same thing as my S2IS. Just keep in mind that the big zoom cameras don't do great in low light. If you don't have that expectation, you should be fine with one of them.

 

I'm clueless on what to expect lol.

 

I don't claim to know a lot about photography, but others seem really impressed with some of my shots. The secret is to take LOTS of pictures, and pull out the good ones to show others.

I grabbed a book recently to help me improve my shots. It seems like the most important thing to do once you've identified your subject is to spend some time framing it. For example, if you're shooting a landscape, you don't want just a scene in the distance with nothing else. You need something in the foreground to draw your eye into the picture. I'm learning little things like this that are easy, but not necessarily obvious.

 

Not sure what member made this site but,

http://betterphotography.net/index.htm

I read over this site from start to end. I know 10x more now then I did before reading it =) I wish I could remember the member who did the site, I bookmarked his page a good while back and just now got around to reading it.

Welp I think the H2 is on the top of my list. Im going to sleep on it and see if I still have the wanting to spend $360 before tax bug.

 

you need to take at least 500 shots, starting today, before investing on a good one. ISO, FOV, flash, macro and all the settings will get you purty far.

 

buy a canon or nikon slr. I use digital slr all the time and can't imagine going back to point and shoots.

 

I have a Canon 20D with two "L" lenses. They are considered Canon's pro series lenses.

The key is having great optics. Most of the cameras suggested on this thread have ample processing power and options, but not strong optics.

I also have a 550EX Canon flash which is plenty powerful enough to help night shots.

I can bring my camera bag to the next get together if you like.

 

double post

 

#1 Sony DSC-H5 (7/4/2006)
#2 Sony DSC-H2 (6/28/2006)
#3 Canon PowerShot S3 IS (5/19/2006)
#4 Canon EOS 30D (4/4/2006)
#5 Nikon D200 (2/23/2006)

Top five reviewed cameras on dpreview.com

Canon 20D was 25th on the list. however it's an older camera, and cost around $1000.00. kinda out of the range I want to pay for a maybe get into photography camera=) that D30 isnt to shabby either at $1425 (sale price)

For $360.00 I dont think I can go wrong with the H2. If I grow out of it anytime soon (doubt I will) I bet It could fetch at least $200 on ebay(if sold in the next 18 months). That would mean I spent $160.00 on a training cam.

That's a big IF I grow out of it.

I'm still looking over the option of cheaper point and shoot cams just for training but I think the H2 is just looking to darn good.

 

visit www.o'reilly .com

book to read

Digital Photography
expert Techniques
O'Reilly Ken Milburn

 

I would have suggested to get a 350D instead of 20D, that's about $600 plus a couple of lens that comes out to $1000. But if you think you're still in learning phase, then go for the H2. Although the 1.3 seconds shot-to-shot will drive me nuts.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyh2/

 

Ask BobbyRitz how much his L lenses cost! No real point in going SLR if you're going to cheap out on the lenses.

I guess the 2.4 shots per second of the Canon S2 is an advantage over the Sony. The Sony is limited to seven frames at 1.3 fps. Why? The Canon is limited only by storage.

By the way, it's 1.3 frames per second, not 1.3 seconds per frame.

The DigicII processor in the newer Canons is very fast. There is a huge difference in speed between my old G2 and the newer S2.

 

If you're serious about photogrpahy, I'd start with a Canon Rebel XT or Nikon D50. Both are excellent entry-level SLRs and will be able to grow with you. If you just want a decent camera for taking random pics, check out the Canon A620. It is cheap and can take some awesome shots.

Here are some pics I took with my A620 so you get an idea of what it can do: