Recommendations for camera

[amateur]

Hi all,

just started on photography, and am thinking of getting a dc for myself.

With such a wide range of photographers here, anyone can recommend me a model?

- Budget is S$600
- If printing, will mainly be in 4R size, only occasionally will I blow up to bigger

For batteries-wise, I guess most dc use rechargables right? What is their life-span before they start to give up on you?

Hope to hear from you guys, thanks!

 

[theITguy]

Life span is really hard to say. A80 is quite good but more expensive. I advise getting something that is 70-80% of your budget as the rest of the money will need to go to the rechargeables, charger, memory card and other accessories like UV, macro filters etc. $600 is a bit too little to start on. Maybe you want to save up like $700-800 and get the A70 at about $500, plus a CF card of 128MB (can shoot about 100??) at $50, 2x pack of 4 2300 $32 plus charger at $40, add a UV and +4 macro filter at $10 each, adapter to hold your filter at $30. Total about $672++.

 

[Poon]

Life span is really hard to say. A80 is quite good but more expensive. I advise getting something that is 70-80% of your budget as the rest of the money will need to go to the rechargeables, charger, memory card and other accessories like UV, macro filters etc. $600 is a bit too little to start on. Maybe you want to save up like $700-800 and get the A70 at about $500, plus a CF card of 128MB (can shoot about 100??) at $50, 2x pack of 4 2300 $32 plus charger at $40, add a UV and +4 macro filter at $10 each, adapter to hold your filter at $30. Total about $672++.

tsktsk! :nono: bro, don't scare the poor guy lah. Thou i agree with you the A70 is a good choice. Maybe you can find a 2nd hand at a good price in the buy/sell forum. Another thing is that you can put the 2 filters and adeptor on hold first.

 

[amateur]

hi,

thanks for the quick response and inputs.

was wanted to ask something.

comparing the A70 to sony's DSCP-8, what are the pros and cons for each? :dunno:

paiseh I am damn new at this and the sony site doesn't really go into details about the specifications.

 

[theITguy]

poon ah, you know me always straight to the point

anyway, try reading from www.dpreview.com and www.imaging-resource.com

 

[Jer76]

recommend the canon A70.. cheap and good with manual functions.. CF card dun worry.. hop over to the buy n sell section got ppl selling cheap

 

[ninkus]

Another noob here...

the A70 can have add on lenses? What's the filter for?

 

[Poon]

Another noob here...

the A70 can have add on lenses? What's the filter for?

With an adeptor, you can add on filters to a A70.

 

[ninkus]

Even for a P&S camera?

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

Even for a P&S camera?

only for certain P&S cameras.

 

[zaren]

Amateur, you can get a 2nd hand olympus c-4000z prosumer cam (4 mpix, 3x optical zoom) with camera case for $450, additional 128mb SM card for $60, 2 sets of 4 AA 2100mah NiMH rechargeable batts with fast charger for $60, for a total of $570. The remaining $30 spend it on a cleaning kit and for treating me kopi.

 

[amateur]

lol, when I do decide already will tell you guys lah...

me broke already, how to treat kopi.. ;p

 

[ninkus]

With an adeptor, you can add on filters to a A70.

So does that mean that I can also add on a wide lens(a len to shoot wider thing, not sure if that the term to use... ).

And beside the A70, any other cam can do that? the Casio Z4?

Sorry hor, I noob. HOpe dun mind my stupid question. hehe.. :nono:

 

[daylight]

So does that mean that I can also add on a wide lens(a len to shoot wider thing, not sure if that the term to use... ).

And beside the A70, any other cam can do that? the Casio Z4?

Sorry hor, I noob. HOpe dun mind my stupid question. hehe.. :nono:

i bought the A70 yesterday.
just love it

 

[The_Cheat]

Wats the diff (in functions) between Canon A70 and the other Canon Ixus series? Other than the size.?
:flush:

There's a lot of difference between Canon A series and Canon Ixus series. Firstly, apart from the size, adaptors could be added onto the Canon A series. These adaptors give the camera threads of different diameter, in which filters and lens converter could be added onto it. Filters could act as a protection for the lens of the digital camera, or could give desirable effects to photography. For example, a circular polarising filter, when used properly, could enhance contrast of a picture.

Secondly, Canon A series have numerous manual functions that Ixus series doesn't offer. From my sparse knowledge of Canon A70, it allow the setting of aperture priority and shutter priority. These could prove to be useful in some situation. For example, if you want to take shots indoor, with no intention of using introduced artificial effects of the flash, a longer exposure is possible for A70. Don't think that's possible for Ixus.

Thirdly, Canon A70 uses AA batteries. This is better than Ixus, which uses rechargables, since digital camera are notorious for using large amount of electricity. The popular format of AA batteries enable the Canon A70 user to get the batteries from almost any convenient store, in almost any part of the world.

Overall, Canon A70 allow people to do more than p&s, while Ixus are the typical p&s. Then again, there is nothing wrong with a p&s! I use a p&s digital camera too!!

 

[zaren]

How can i get those pic with the clear front but blur background effect?

try this;
1. set your zoom lens to the longest telephoto setting (to bring distant objects closest to you).
2. compose the photo. fill the frame with the subject if necessary.
3. make sure the background behind the subject is far away.
4. take the photo.

see if it works!

 

[weeguy]

There's a lot of difference between Canon A series and Canon Ixus series. Firstly, apart from the size, adaptors could be added onto the Canon A series. These adaptors give the camera threads of different diameter, in which filters and lens converter could be added onto it. Filters could act as a protection for the lens of the digital camera, or could give desirable effects to photography. For example, a circular polarising filter, when used properly, could enhance contrast of a picture.

hahaz.. let's not write off the IXUS series because of the lens adapters. It IS possible to add lens to your beloved IXUS. Just with a little bit of 3rd party help.

Find out more about it here (and also the dpreview forums):
http://www.ckcpower.com/canonad.htm

 

[The_Cheat]

hahaz.. let's not write off the IXUS series because of the lens adapters. It IS possible to add lens to your beloved IXUS. Just with a little bit of 3rd party help.

Find out more about it here (and also the dpreview forums):
http://www.ckcpower.com/canonad.htm

Hey! This is really really cute! :bsmilie:

Anyway, I'm not writing IXUS off. If I were to buy a pocket-sized camera, I would definitely get IXUS camera! It's the best small-sized camera I'd tried so far!

 

[The_Cheat]

hey thanks for the information.....!

cos i was looking and comparing among some cameras... is A70 a DSLR???
it sounds like it is from the way u described it... and i also noticed it is cheaper than Ixus. Dont know why..

How can i get those pic with the clear front but blur background effect?

Is a camera using AA battery better or one with rechargeable better? can AA battery last longer or the other??? but AA dosent seem to be environmental friendly.

i have an Ixus now but im exploring more options..

A70 is not a DSLR, as the lens are more of less fixed, with a 3x optical zoom (I think). It doesn't produce an image as noise-free as a DSLR, and it's definitely much much cheaper than the DSLR. It's also not as bulky as an DSLR.

Actually a lot of camera allow converter or filter attachment. I'm using a Panasonic FZ1 (a cheap 12x optical zoom, 2mp camera), which have a lens hood/adaptor with a 55mm thread, that enable me to fit either a TCON17 or a filter. For my set, a UV filter is always on the adaptor, as it's cheaper to replace the UV filter than the lens. It's less heart-pain to get the UV filter scratched lor! Must protect our investment mah!

As for battery solution, a popular size battery is better to most of us, since there are plenty of not-so-expensive chargers for those not-so-expensive rechargable AA batteries. As compared to a small-sized manufacturer made rechargable battery, which may cost anything above $60, the rechargable AA are much cheaper. Heck! At $60, probably you could get two sets of AA rechargables with 2 chargers!! Furthermore, with the option to use and throw, why not?

Well, since you are an IXUS user, I bet that you would have come across situation when the battery run out on you... won't want that to happen to you on your new camera right?

 

[clizeer]

Anyone got any comments about the minolta G400? It allows manual controls and is quite compact when compare to A70. Cost about $630 at CP. Thinking of getting one.