whats a good camera to start with?

[soundbeltfarm]

im wanting to get a digital camera and dont know shit about them.
i dont want to spend more than 900 bucks if i can.
will i get a good one for that or less?
and anyone here that knows anything about them what ones do you reccomend?
or what should i look for?
how much memory do i need.
etc,
ive used my old mans one and somtimes it takes a good picture and somtimes it takes a fractionly blurry one so not sure if that a camera issue or me being a green horn with cameras.
cheers SBF

[Gremlin]

You should easily get a camera for less than that.

It all depends how much you enjoy photography, and what it has to do. Some want small cameras to store in the leathers, I prefer to sacrifice size and weight to play a bit.

I have a sony cybershot dsc f717... not really recommended as its a bridge between consumer and professional, and older technology. Memory sticks also tend to cost more. But, it has point and shoot, movie, and then I can play with shutter speed, and also slowly increase control over the shot.

[korowetere]

Well I just got one for my parents - they aren't too clued up on things digital. I went for the Sony Cybershot W5. Great little camera, uses AA batteries and takes great pics on auto mode.

Buying a digital there is heaps of choice but when you think about what you want to use it for you can narrow it down a LOT.

Questions to consider:

- Do you want / need manual controls?
- Do you need to be able to put it in your pocket?
- Do you want to print full page (A4) photos?
- Do you want to use an internal rechargeable battery or normal AA size (rechargeable or standard)
- Do you care what type of memory card it takes?

These will help you nail it down a lot.

Good luck!

[nadroj]

Go have a look at the Sony Cybershot DSCH1. Good zoom, large display & currently $635 (Pricespy.co.nz)

[SimJen]

A good cheap camera with a big 12x optical zoom (equates to 400mm @ 35mm film size) is the Panasonic DMC-FZ5GN. 5 Megapixel and image stabilisation. Burst rate of 3 Fps and good fast autofocus. Real light and look like an SLR although a lot slower. Can be had for $560+gst ish. They have just bought an 8 meg version out too.
You might also be able to get a decent 6 meg Canon Eos 300d cheap on trademe. They are $1299 new so possibly $900 or less in an auction.
Its all about how you take the pics not what you take em with......but a decent camera sure helps. The more you pay the better the quality of the metering system, and the better the metering system the better the pics in difficult situations.

[N4CR]

http://www.dpreview.com/

Great site! Me dad has a EOS300D from which he jumped from an outdated Canon film slr. Great cameras but probably not the money you want to spend. Second hand would be do-able though. Quality is amazing and you can start off not knowing what you are doing and work your way up as it is quite user friendly.

[Lou Girardin]

Do you want a compact camera that you can carry everywhere or something bulkier that gives you a longer zoom, more features etc.
I've got a Fuji S5000, which works fine but is a little too big to carry all the time. The new model is the S5600.
My wife just bought a Fuji Z1, which fills the carry everywhere requirement, has a 2.5" LCD screen and is pocket size. Takes a 1Gig xD card too.

[Damon]

I bought a Panasonic FZ20 about a year ago and it's been really great, i paid about $1400 for it but i hear their down to about $850,

only problem i've found is their not to good for high speed shots, when you change the shutter speed above 1/1000th it sets the apiture (sp?) it's self which is often too dark but then again you probibly wont need it unless your taking photo's of things doing more than 200k's towards you,

here's a few shots i've taken with it

[Beemer]

I tested an Olympus AZ1 last year and was very impressed. They retail for about $500 and it performed better than my $3000 (when I bought it, now $1400!) Nikon 5700. Great picture quality, good battery life, very easy to use - if you want me to email you the test report of it, send me a PM with your email address and I'll forward it to you. I've recommended them to friends and one who bought one has raved over it since. It has about 22 different picture modes so it covers all the bases!

[TraD_MaN]

Go have a look at the Sony Cybershot DSCH1. Good zoom, large display & currently $635 (Pricespy.co.nz)

yup awesome camera, i got one my self and ive taken some good photos for my skill level. it also has got number 4 place n the consumer mag

[FEINT]

I just got myself a Canon Powershot S80. I have seen them for $799 at Parallel Imported.

THere aren't many point and shoot cameras that have manual functions.

Other options are

-Canon A620
-Panasonic Lumix LX1

Nikon P1 is a good little camera. I think they are about $500-600NZD. No manual functions though.

As memory cards go, I suggest getting 2x512mb instead of 1x1024mb. Backing up on CD is easier and if 1 fails, you still have another.

[Deviant Esq]

A good cheap camera with a big 12x optical zoom (equates to 400mm @ 35mm film size) is the Panasonic DMC-FZ5GN. 5 Megapixel and image stabilisation. Burst rate of 3 Fps and good fast autofocus. Real light and look like an SLR although a lot slower. Can be had for $560+gst ish. They have just bought an 8 meg version out too.

I've got an FZ5 - fantastic camera, especially for a beginner. Large zoom (432mm optical equivilence, if we're being picky ), optical stabilization, very simple to use and one of the best shutter response times on the market, under 0.01 seconds. It won't make a photographer out of everyone, but it makes a farking good attempt. Definitely worth a look, unless you're more interested in something that'll fit into your pocket.

[smokeyging]

i dont want to spend more than 900 bucks if i can.
will i get a good one for that or less?
and anyone here that knows anything about them what ones do you reccomend?
or what should i look for?
how much memory do i need.
etc,
ive used my old mans one and somtimes it takes a good picture and somtimes it takes a fractionly blurry one so not sure if that a camera issue or me being

$900 should get you a darned good camera. With the blurry photos chances are you might have been too close to your subject.
Everyone has different ideas about what a good camera is. You don’t say what you are going to use this camera for? And they are all set-up differently. Usually if you get a camera that fits in your pocket with a 10-12x zoom plus a macro for your close-ups, that should get you by. These so called 5-8 megapixel cameras aren’t necessary a great advantage unless you want a photo the size of a barn door, for a 3 megapixel will still make a reasonable A4 sized print. Stick to a good brand, your canon, Nikon, Panasonic etc and get a spare battery for it for they usually hog them like nothing else. The other guys etc have covered most things here.

[erik]

I bought a canon A40 powershot a couple of years ago. it's been great having a digital camera. By todays standards it's pretty outdated though - it's bulky so isn't really possible to carry it in a pocket, but also it only has a 3x optical zoom so it isn't great for trackdays.

When I was looking for a camera, the things I looked out for were an optical zoom (digital zoom is worthless, it just crops the image) and the ability to record short videos with sound.

If you're planning on taking photos at trackdays, try to get something with a decent optical zoom. 3x isn't enough in my experience, I'd guess a 10x or 12x would be good.
Also for taking photos of fast moving objects it pays to have some manual controls like the ability to set the exposure and focus so that the camera doesn't have to do this while you are tracking the moving object.

For a camera to just use for general shots or to take with you all over the place, you might be better off to sacrifice the powerful zoom for a smaller camera that is more easily carried in a pocket.

When I bought my camera a couple of years ago I got it from http://www.expressgroup.co.nz
their price was considerably less than the prices in shops. It pays to shop around and compare prices.

[Motu]

I got a cheap camera Xmas 4 yrs ago,about $270 I think and 1.3 pixies,and it's been very good to learn with.I've had to reload the driver CD so many times on various computers with their problems that it doesn't seem to want to load now....and when I do finaly get something happening it won't take the pictures off the camera.I'm wondering if the new technology is such a good idea now.My wife's Kodak could load into my computer when the camera software was working,but I can't load into her Kodak program...so a camera that can be recognised by the computer is something to look out for.

I used to have a manual SLR set up - 2 bodies,half a doz lenses,enlager,developing gear,the whole kit and kobootle,so know my way around a camera and how to set it up.But I can't be bothered farting around with a digital,I need to put my $10 reading glasses on to read the screen...bleep,bleep,bleep as you scroll through the options - oh,forget it,I just want point and shoot.