I'm trying to figure out which digital camera to get for Christmas. I want a canon EOS but I don't know anything about digital cameras. I will mostly be doing macro shots. I only have a $500-$600. I know a lot of people on this forum are excellent photographers, so please help!
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Too many camera choices!
- Thread starter poolboy101
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if you are going to be doing macro lenses your going to want to wait a little while longer after you buy this camera. A good macro lens costs as much as the camera or more!
AFIAK there is only one macro lens on the market with greater than lifesize (1x) magnification the Canon MP-E65. It's manual focus and you will need macro focusing rails and a tripod to use it at magnification > 1x. List price is $1399 US.
Minolta used to be the leader in macro lenses and bellows in the 35mm SLR world. Time for Sony Alpha to step up to the plate regain this position in the digital world.
Minolta used to be the leader in macro lenses and bellows in the 35mm SLR world. Time for Sony Alpha to step up to the plate regain this position in the digital world.
Or you could just grow neps and forget about macro. Eventually they all get big enough to photograph any part of them anyway. Do you REALLY need to see the nectar glands inside the pitchers, etc? For $1400, I think I'll pass 
elgecko
I've got a magic window!
When shopping for a new camera, this site is always very helpful.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
Ah! However there are a number of lenses out there that go down to 1:1. When taking the crop factor in to account you can actually get slightly greater than 1:1 (1.6:1 range.) Still pricey, but not as bad. Since we're not talking a several thousand dollar budget here, I assume that we're not talking full-frame SLRs here so the crop factor applies.
Poolboy, if you "don't know anything about digital cameras," don't waste your money on an expensive one to start with. You can get a pretty good camera for $200 or even less. It takes years to become a good photographer, and beginners can't take any better photos with a $600 camera than with a $200 one. Take elgecko's advice and look on the Steve's Digicams website, especially cameras in the "Entry-level" and "Compact" cagetories. Actual photos taken by the cameras are on the website. (You'll notice there's not much difference between photos taken by $600 cameras and $200 cameras, by the way.) After you get a camera and work with it for a couple of years, you'll have a lot better idea of what you want. And by that time those $600 cameras will have come down a lot in price.
BTW there is a way of getting some of the digital SLR's a tad cheaper....search for factory refurbished ones :grin: have done that before and got a heck of a deal, even came with a 1 year warrenty from the manufacturer.....can occationally knock $100 plus off a camera your looking for so long as you dont have to have the newest thing :grin: alot of ppl DO insist on having the latest thing so they trade in their cameras.....camera shops will send them back to the factory, have them refurbished and sell the refurbished camera, which IS good as new for a heck of a discount......however when doing this only buy such from well known camera sellers and look for the ones with the factory warrenty.....
Thanks for all the responses. I forgot I even made this thread.
Tropics, I have a 5 MP Casio EX-750 (which was $200, I think, or close) but the resolution isn't what I'd like. I'm going to take a photography class and I will be trying to hone my lighting skills, which at the moment I have none.
The reason I wanted a D SLR was because I liked using my film SLR, but the film and development of said film was way to expensive.
Rattler_mt, I if I decide to get a D SLR I, be looking for a refurbished camera. Thanks
I have decided not to get a Digital SLR. I am probable going to get the Canon PowerShot A650 IS. Its within my budget and it has the resolution I'm looking for, and I don't need to spend several hundred dollars for lenses.
Tropics, I have a 5 MP Casio EX-750 (which was $200, I think, or close) but the resolution isn't what I'd like. I'm going to take a photography class and I will be trying to hone my lighting skills, which at the moment I have none.
The reason I wanted a D SLR was because I liked using my film SLR, but the film and development of said film was way to expensive.Rattler_mt, I if I decide to get a D SLR I, be looking for a refurbished camera. Thanks
I have decided not to get a Digital SLR. I am probable going to get the Canon PowerShot A650 IS. Its within my budget and it has the resolution I'm looking for, and I don't need to spend several hundred dollars for lenses.
How many hundreds of rolls of film could you develop for the price of a new DSLR? lol
There's some good advice in this thread.
Ah, so you're option for one of those sub-slrs (so I guess by the name)? Pretty neat group, and if you don't necessarily care about interchangeable lenses, then this can be a good way of saving some dough.
Well, Est, I was just starting out in photography when I got my 35mm pentax P3N, so I was shooting a lot more film than I would now. although I still think it is a bit of a hassle to take on vacation, or just walk around looking for photo opportunities. I always got excellent photos with that camera, but stopping every so often to change rolls of film was inconvenient.
Also, I want to improve my lighting skills without spending a lot of money. just some sort of easy CFL setup or something. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Also, I want to improve my lighting skills without spending a lot of money. just some sort of easy CFL setup or something. Does anyone have any suggestions?
You might want to try a Panasonic FZ7 with a Raynox DCR 250 macro lens. I have personally used this setup and it is affordable and very effective. Here are a few pictures I have taken with this lense.
Great pics, Dewy! Thanks for the suggestion, but my mom already bought the canon A650.
Can anyone explain IOS to me? I have read the reviews on the A650 and one talks a lot about IOS. I cant find anything about it on the internet.
Can anyone explain IOS to me? I have read the reviews on the A650 and one talks a lot about IOS. I cant find anything about it on the internet.
it depends upon
it depends upon
(1) whether you will be printing your photos and how large (you need 6 and better 8 megapixel ) and above for 8 by 10.
(2) whether you need lens to do far away closeups or use macro lenses ( close in like Cps).
(3) also consideration is type of battery batteries (I like the big large battery for my conanon xt instead kodak 290 AA rechargebles.
(4) also the complexity of the camera settings (the canon xt, xti and other cameras have a lot of ways to set exposure, f stop and other options). Will take a little while to get used to
(5) if you need point and click?
it depends upon
(1) whether you will be printing your photos and how large (you need 6 and better 8 megapixel ) and above for 8 by 10.
(2) whether you need lens to do far away closeups or use macro lenses ( close in like Cps).
(3) also consideration is type of battery batteries (I like the big large battery for my conanon xt instead kodak 290 AA rechargebles.
(4) also the complexity of the camera settings (the canon xt, xti and other cameras have a lot of ways to set exposure, f stop and other options). Will take a little while to get used to
(5) if you need point and click?