Decent Camera?

[Brawler]

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6326&prod=36838&SKU=000000000000124667|EA
Looking for something decent, not too pricey R3000 Max. Not going to be used for anything professional although would lilke decent quality pictures when i go oversea's later this year.

Don't know too much about camera's besides to stay away from the cheapy's, this any good? other alternatives? Please do not reccomend a R8k SLR camera..

[Napalm]

Thats a pretty good cam yeah.

U looking for at least a 7.2megapixel or 8megapixel. with 10x or 12x Optical Image Stabalizer. (not normal Image Stabalizer)

Some camera's can take pictures in RAW format (wich is best quality / non-compressed, hence editable)

[bwana]

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6326&prod=36838&SKU=000000000000124667|EA
Looking for something decent, not too pricey R3000 Max. Not going to be used for anything professional although would lilke decent quality pictures when i go oversea's later this year.

Don't know too much about camera's besides to stay away from the cheapy's, this any good? other alternatives? Please do not reccomend a R8k SLR camera..Here's the spec sheet for it - http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082102sonyh3.asp

Where are you going? It could be cheaper.

Some camera's can take pictures in RAW format (wich is best quality / non-compressed, hence editable)Only one point and shoot that I know of does RAW and that's Canon's G9.

RAW means [mostly] unprocessed but not necessarily uncompressed.

[Messugga]

Meh. That camera's not too bad, but kinda old by now. We didn't manage to sell a lot of them when I was still working for Sony. Instead of telling you to go for a specific model, I'll tell you what to look for. 1. You want a big lens. The lens captures all your information and if its too small, it might not deliver enough data for the CCD to work at full chat. 2. Don't worry about megapixel rating too much. 7.2 is fine, as is 5.1. You don't really want to go much lower than that and I doubt if you can even still find cameras with 4.1mp and 3.2mp ratings, etc. 3. Look at how much storage media costs and how readily available it is. There are few things as annoying as wanting to take tons of pictures but not having enough storage and not being able to find some. 4. Stick to the big brands like Nikon, Canon and Sony. 5. Ignore "digital zoom" and make sure you have some optical zoom on there which you really should have for around R3k. 6. Probably most importantly, USE the camera before you buy it. If the shop doesn't want to allow you, take your business elsewhere. Take some pictures both inside and outside. Get a sales assistant to go outside with you. See how the camera copes on auto settings. Setting everything manually is awesome, but you don't always have time for that so having the camera's "point and click" setting work well is very important. When you have enough pics, a dozen or so, ask to view them on a pc. The camera's screen's absolutely useless for judging picture quality. If you tend to find a bit of blurriness, you're looking at a camera with a crappy lens. That is, of course, if you didn't zoom in tons and/or shook while taking the photo. A tripod might be useful for this. Also, get yourself a mini tripod. They fit easily in your pocket and shouldn't be expensive. It's good for taking those long shots where stability is absolutely necessary. On a 7.2mp camera, you should get over 100 pictures on 1gb of storage, at full quality (get a couple of gig). No, not RAW because RAW's overkill for non-pro camera's anyway. JPEG is fine or BMP if you're really fussy. Remember to get a bag for the camera as they rarely come with one. You could look at lenses, but they tend to be quite costly and a higher end camera would be better suited for that sort of use.

[arf9999]

Meh. That camera's not too bad, but kinda old by now. We didn't manage to sell a lot of them when I was still working for Sony. Instead of telling you to go for a specific model, I'll tell you what to look for.

??? H3 is only about 6 months old... only announced in august 2007... thus pro'ly available in October.

For under R3K it's not bad. You could look at the Canon SX100 as well (a bit more expensive).

[tyerone]

??? H3 is only about 6 months old... only announced in august 2007... thus pro'ly available in October.

For under R3K it's not bad. You could look at the Canon SX100 as well (a bit more expensive).

i hav a canon sx100is its a very good camera worth the extra money! nice optical lense plus it has image stabilizer.

here its on sale for under 3K http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6326&prod=38526&SKU=000000000000127954|EA

[lexor]

If you can manage an extra R1000 you should go for the CaNON S5 IS.
SEE : http://www.pricecheck.co.za/offers/159587/Canon+PowerShot+S5+IS/

or
https://www.sicorp.co.za/catalog/product_reviews_info.php/products_id/3003/reviews_id/56?osCsid=6e89b0dde7ca2b05feb0a161437dc0e0

and for a good review : http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2007/09/25/Canon-PowerShot-S5-IS/p1

[bwana]

No, not RAW because RAW's overkill for non-pro camera's anyway. JPEG is fine or BMP if you're really fussy.There are cameras that output to bmp?

I'm not buying that RAW is overkill simply because it is a point and shoot - you should be able to bypass the built in conversion to JPG. IMO the biggest consideration is file size but memory cards are cheap so why not offer it?

[Brawler]

omw price just went from R2999 to R2799.. Thnks for advice, will take a look at the sx100.

[Brawler]

Where are you going?


UK, but in a good 10 months time so will probably buy earlier.

[Messugga]

Bwana, yeah some output to .bmp. Tiff's another lossless format that can be found on some camera's. My bad on the H3 being old. Confused it with the V3 and its successor, which were excellent camera's btw.
To me, the slow shoot times and the 30+mb files just don't make RAW worth it. Then again, I'm only a normal user.

[bwana]

Bwana, yeah some output to .bmp. Tiff's another lossless format that can be found on some camera's. I only shoot canon these days and none of mine output to anything other than jpg and raw so I'll take your word for it.

To me, the slow shoot times and the 30+mb files just don't make RAW worth it. Then again, I'm only a normal user.30mb? My 10mp dSLR rarely outputs anything larger than 10mb so that must be one heck of a camera - I've heard some of the Hasselblad output 20mb+ files :eek:

RAW is slower but how many fps are you going to get out of a point and shoot anyway? Personally I think RAW is worth it just for being able to fix white balance with no penalty. :D

[Messugga]

Point taken. The last descent camera I played with was the gf's dad's D40 which isn't bad but a D50 would've been better. I'll buy a descent dSLR once I have a proper job some day ;)

[adsl3g]

i hav a canon sx100is its a very good camera worth the extra money! nice optical lense plus it has image stabilizer.

Agreed on the SX100 - nice camera - have one for a few months now.

[tyerone]

the only thing i dont like is that it doesnt hav a view finder but im sure il get over it :)

[Nod]

For R3k, I would go for the Canon A710 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona710is/). Might be slightly cheaper, or over the R3k.

[Brawler]

See I can get teh SX100 for free with my ebucks, probably will go for it.
https://www.ebucks.com/rewards/shop/productSelected.do;jsessionid=DE0C85AB0D0FDB6836E3 0026F5E2F4EB.rewards_tk1?prodId=79265557&catId=2002

[sdd]

I have the H3 and it is a great camera. I am a point-and-shooter.

Couple things that irk me though is the lack of lens cap (auto) and the fact that it does not have a viewfinder.

pm me ... I might sell you mine for R2300 - 4 months old also bought from Makro.

I realised that the viewfinder to me is a must despite what everyone says.

[bwana]

I have the H3 and it is a great camera. I am a point-and-shooter.

Couple things that irk me though is the lack of lens cap (auto) and the fact that it does not have a viewfinder.

pm me ... I might sell you mine for R2300 - 4 months old also bought from Makro.

I realised that the viewfinder to me is a must despite what everyone says.I agree - I also thought about recommending the SX100 to my MiL but she says she needs a viewfinder too.

[Sapphiron]

i hav a canon sx100is its a very good camera worth the extra money! nice optical lense plus it has image stabilizer.

here its on sale for under 3K http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6326&prod=38526&SKU=000000000000127954|EA

+1 for it. My sister has one. so much better that all the sony rubbish

[Brawler]

Sorry for Revive :D

I endend up getting a Xbox360 instead of the Camera :)

I have just moved to Cape Town and have a lot of things to take photo's of so need to look at getting one again, preferably tomorrow. Same budget, around R3k. Any reccomendations?

[SubliminalThought]

If you can manage an extra R1000 you should go for the CaNON S5 IS.
SEE : http://www.pricecheck.co.za/offers/159587/Canon+PowerShot+S5+IS/

or
https://www.sicorp.co.za/catalog/product_reviews_info.php/products_id/3003/reviews_id/56?osCsid=6e89b0dde7ca2b05feb0a161437dc0e0

and for a good review : http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2007/09/25/Canon-PowerShot-S5-IS/p1

I'd be cautious about the S5 and SX for travelling purposes unless you're very careful with your gear. I had a slight knock with my S5 and it cracked the LCD and caused whirring noises from the lens. (probably the IS, but it was there with IS off as well). It could have been a freak knock. But I wasn't too happy

[PostmanPot]

Second-hand DSLR? :D

[Vincent_Thorn]

Sony is for Sony only. Incompatible, ugly products for stupid consumers. I would recommend Nikon D40 kit - full control and ability to extend your camera when you grow.

[SubliminalThought]

Sony is for Sony only. Incompatible, ugly products for stupid consumers. I would recommend Nikon D40 kit - full control and ability to extend your camera when you grow.

And as you grow it will completely shrink your wallet ;)

[bwana]

Might be out of your price range (unless youre still going abroad and will get it there) but I'm got a Nikon P6000 that's en route to me from the US.

Maybe I'll do a mini review of it when it arrives but as a dSLR shooter I've got high hopes for this P&S. :)

[Brawler]

What about this:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082309olysp560uz.asp

On specail at Makro, R1000 off.

[Vincent_Thorn]

And as you grow it will completely shrink your wallet ;)

Of course! But it will be reasonable expenses, since you know exactly what limits you.

Before I shot with my (film) Olympus μ-II and every time I develop rubbish I hate "all-automatic soapbox". Any cheap SLR much more powerful in expression.

[BigAl-sa]

Sony is for Sony only. Incompatible, ugly products for stupid consumers. I would recommend Nikon D40 kit - full control and ability to extend your camera when you grow.:confused:

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665214_aLNPY-S.jpg (http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665214_aLNPY-O.jpg)

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665220_mQ9Ff-S.jpg (http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665220_mQ9Ff-O.jpg)

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/166469143_z5Ujz-S.jpg (http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/166469143_z5Ujz-O.jpg)

Taken by a stupid consumer with an ugly Sony F707

[Frankie]

:confused:

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665214_aLNPY-S.jpg (http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665214_aLNPY-O.jpg)

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665220_mQ9Ff-S.jpg (http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/23665220_mQ9Ff-O.jpg)

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/166469143_z5Ujz-S.jpg (http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/166469143_z5Ujz-O.jpg)

Taken by a stupid consumer with an ugly Sony F707

Or a very wise consumer that just bit the RAS bait !

Possibly a lead up to this http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=168821