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Malakite

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Jul 3, 2004
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i'm really really confused now... i'm just starting out with photography... need to buy a good cam but i can't afford the dslr's becoz of the high price... plus the lenses, i have been buring up ,y pc lookin for a good cam reading reviews after reviews... i've come down to this, Nikon 5700 or the 8700.
problem is... i can't decided between 5 mp or 8mp... does the mp here really matter?

most to most my prints will be abt A3 in size becoz i'm doing graphics design... so will the 5mp suffice? or should i take the plunge and go 8mp? the reviews of the 5700 were highly recommended.. while 8700 was only recommended.. so how? anyone with any advice? :confused: :confused: :confused:
 

nikon 8700 also cost 1.9k what. no?
 

ya it is but then addon lenses? good lenses cost more...
that's why i'm not thinking of dslr now...
plus i'm just starting out... dun think i wanna jump in to dslr yet... cost being a heavy factor...
 

Malakite said:
ya it is but then addon lenses? good lenses cost more...
that's why i'm not thinking of dslr now...
plus i'm just starting out... dun think i wanna jump in to dslr yet... cost being a heavy factor...

not considering film?
 

okie.. first thing first, salah place to put ur thread lah, bro. try newbie section. besides, all the answers are there. ;)

anyway, here's my take.

(a) MP matters - it does... depending on wat u want to do with your shots and wat u shoot MOST OFTEN (not wat you hope to shoot). short version: higher MPs, better quality of prints when u develop and enlarge them. however, if u're like me, who burns everything on CDs, a 3.2MP to 4MP cams would be good enuf. a 3.2MP cam (e.g Canon A75) can easily develop A4 sized prints. also, wat u shoot most often matters in selecting the right MP. do u take holiday shots, candid shots etc... (ie. more spur of the moment) more often? or, do u take commerical/project work more often? the reason is self-explanatory.

(b) P&S, prosumers or DSLR - as above, depends on wat u shoot MOST OFTEN (notice i repeat myself... ;) ). recently, i got one colleague who was in the same position as u. she wants to shoot birds (literally, not figuratively). but, she not willing to blow $1K on a cam. ended buying a totally unsuitable cam for the job. so, again, depends on wat u'll shoot most often and buy accordingly. dun get sucked up into the mantra of "only expensive cameras take the best pics"... in short, P&S (point&shoot) cams are great for quick pics during gatherings, holidays... etc. prosumers are somewhere in between P&S and DSLRs. DSLRs are for serious hobbist or pros who loves the flexibility and options of DSLRs.

oh yeah... i can testify that having a DSLR or prosumer (i started with Sony F707) is an expensive proposition, with all the gear u ended up buying. and... u dun necessarily get great pics.... trust me. :bsmilie: ;)

hope this helps?
 

1.9k is still very expensive for a prosumer cam
want to get, get those sub 1k prosumer

1.9k prosumer, just not worth it

for eg, the canon 300d package. with kit lens and 55-200mm lens. erm, around 2.2 to 2.3k?
 

Hmm...personally I feel that fuji s602 is one of the better ones in the prosumer range.Try finding a 2nd hand 1 in CS buy and sell...should be ard 500-600 dollars range. Good Buy!
 

alamak... sorry bros i didn't know wrong place to post.... heheheh as u can tell... i veri the newbie la... so if i'm just starting out... well say i get the 5700 good enuf to cover most things? unless i go pro that is.... :)
 

Malakite said:
alamak... sorry bros i didn't know wrong place to post.... heheheh as u can tell... i veri the newbie la... so if i'm just starting out... well say i get the 5700 good enuf to cover most things? unless i go pro that is.... :)

you mean this cam by nikon? http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp5700/

its good (can't believe a canon user saying this... :bsmilie: ). i believe nikon is having a promotion now. i was down at mscolour the other day and saw the promo brochure. check out nikon.com.sg to see if u can find wat are the promo items.

the alternative and improved version of this cam is the 8MP 8700. but, i think its an overkill, depending on wat u're going to shoot.
 

have u considered the canon 300d kit with 18-55 and the 75-300 lenses? (i saw the poster saying the deal is still on passing by CP today...) It should handle most of your photography... its a 6mp cam and also can print A3's very very easily...
 

5700 is more than enough
no need to get 8700.... dun waste $$

SAVE SAVE SAVE


haha./......

Malakite said:
alamak... sorry bros i didn't know wrong place to post.... heheheh as u can tell... i veri the newbie la... so if i'm just starting out... well say i get the 5700 good enuf to cover most things? unless i go pro that is.... :)
 

Malakite said:
alamak... sorry bros i didn't know wrong place to post.... heheheh as u can tell... i veri the newbie la... so if i'm just starting out... well say i get the 5700 good enuf to cover most things? unless i go pro that is.... :)

As you said you are a newbie, I would suggest you NOT getting Nikon 5700. The learning curve of 5700 is just too deep for a newbie like you. :nono:

Just my 2cents... :D
 

er.... if the learning curve is too deep... then how? get wat cam instead?
wah nightwolf din knoe u were a canon user... hehehe tks though.

die la.... as i go tru the forums... it seems like i keep running into wall after wall after wall... so many ppl have so many good arguements abt systerm to buy and wat model to get... then got so many many darksiders ;) how la like that??

just a qns though... what do u mean by the learning curve is too deep? like the controls are troublesome ? becoz i'm in a course now and my photog lecturer is telling me to get a sony 828... like wah... noce looking cam and all... but the PF or chromatic aberrations are terrible man....

after looking tru reviews and reviews.... seems like the nikon 5700 gives good images.... then again... some will say "it's not the camera, it's the person behind the camera".

but :) i'm glad i stumbled upon this community of photographers... realli interesting bunch ;) ;) ;)
 

You still haven't mentioned what kind of pictures you would like to take! In the five-megapixel range, there are actually some pretty good point-and-shoot cameras, if you don't need manual control... e.g. Casio QVR-51, has impressive reviews online, just search on google.
 

alamak...
sorri...
wat pictures??? hmmm.... as i mentioned.... i'm doin a course now.. so i dunno.. it'll be wat eva he tells us to experiment with i guess... and since it is a photog course... there will be need of manual functions... like aperture, shutter and so on and so forth...

oh yeah plus i'm doin graphics design... so i'm guessing i'll be takin a wide range of photos... mebbe not underwater la... but ... ppl... cars? food? some scenes? i dunno... looking fer a good newbie cam la.. u knoe? can tahan and be learning at the same time be a bit more forgiving... ;)
 

:think: Ahh, a design course... then I would recommend you consider the 300D, or D70... the price (with lens) is rather low considering the usage 'life-span' - i.e. you'll be needing the manual functions that these cameras have when your lecturer runs thru all basic manual functions, and once your course is over and you get lazy from all the manual functions you can always use one of the auto/program modes. (You would not need to keep buying new lenses to use these cameras - the standard lens that comes in the kit should be able to cover most of your courses and everyday needs)

But then again, I am not too updated on Point&Shoot cameras, if you're able to find one that gives you any of these manual functions*, it should be a good buy i.e. if it's cheaper than what a 300D & D70 would cost you.
The last time I did some window shopping, I believe there's a Sony P&S that have a few of theses features...

*aperture priorty, shutter priorty, a good ASA range, manual foucusing, depth of field indicator...

my 2cts worth :sweatsm:
 

Malakite said:
alamak...
sorri...
wat pictures??? hmmm.... as i mentioned.... i'm doin a course now.. so i dunno.. it'll be wat eva he tells us to experiment with i guess... and since it is a photog course... there will be need of manual functions... like aperture, shutter and so on and so forth...

oh yeah plus i'm doin graphics design... so i'm guessing i'll be takin a wide range of photos... mebbe not underwater la... but ... ppl... cars? food? some scenes? i dunno... looking fer a good newbie cam la.. u knoe? can tahan and be learning at the same time be a bit more forgiving... ;)


malakite, dun get too caught up with all the debate abt which is the best system. small suggestion - go thru dpreview or steves-digicams and read thru some of the reviews of various cams. then, go to places like harvey norman to test out the cameras. at the end of the day, it boils down to how comfortable u are with the camera. since u're doing a design course, u need something that allows u to play with settings without too much fiddling of the controls. learn curve is steep for any camera (yes, even some P&S). but, the manual shld explain most functions.

btw, wat design are u going to shoot? outdoors or indoors? sabbatical is right. think D70 or 300D might be a good choice, if u're going to carry on shooting long term for ur design projects, rite through working next time. else, another suggestion is to try the Panasonic Lumix FZ-10. 4MP cam, leica lens and offers most (if not all) features of DSLR without the costs. of course, u can't change lens lah.
 

malakite....get the nikon 8700.

8mp makes all the difference, especially when you crop ur images.

:cool:
 

Malakite said:
er.... if the learning curve is too deep... then how? get wat cam instead?
wah nightwolf din knoe u were a canon user... hehehe tks though.

die la.... as i go tru the forums... it seems like i keep running into wall after wall after wall... so many ppl have so many good arguements abt systerm to buy and wat model to get... then got so many many darksiders ;) how la like that??

just a qns though... what do u mean by the learning curve is too deep? like the controls are troublesome ? becoz i'm in a course now and my photog lecturer is telling me to get a sony 828... like wah... noce looking cam and all... but the PF or chromatic aberrations are terrible man....

after looking tru reviews and reviews.... seems like the nikon 5700 gives good images.... then again... some will say "it's not the camera, it's the person behind the camera".

but :) i'm glad i stumbled upon this community of photographers... realli interesting bunch ;) ;) ;)


My personal opinion is to avoid Nikon 5700 and Sony 828. These two cams IMHO are flawed in design. (5700 -very poor/Slow focusing and 828 -terrible Noise and Unacceptable CA to me.) No offense to the users of these two cams. Just my own opinion.
 

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