Cameras & Camcorders

[Sparkylulu89]

I'm buying my first digital camera for myself. My parents have one, but it's rather old. I think I've made up my mind for the Sony - Cyber-shot 10.1MP Digital Camera - Black Model: DSC-T300/B. I'm fond of Nikon cameras but from the reviews here, I'm hearing they aren't as great as they sound.

If anyone could lend even a little bit of advice, that would be incredibly helpful.

Thank you.

[Bestbuysucks187]

THE NIKON D90 IS THE "BEST" DIGITAL (MID-LEVEL) CAMERA OUT THERE! CHECK OUT HERE:http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D90/D90A.HTM

AND

THE D80 IS NOT BAD EITHER, EXCEPT IT DOES NOT TAKE "CAMCORDER" TYPE FLIXS.

YOU PAY MORE FOR A NIKON, BUT THE EXTRA 3-400 DOLLARS WILL PAY FOR ITSELF.

THE NIKON D90 HAS A HDMI SLOT (SAY WHAT?) YOU MEAN I CAN CONNECT THE CAMERA TO MY

HD-TV?  YES!  ALSO THE ALL IMPORTANT "ISO" RATING OF THE D90 AND D80 ARE COMPARABLE TO

THE $1800 DOLLAR D300.  ALTHOUGH "BEST BUY" SUCKS.  I FOUND THE D90 (WITH A NIKKOR LENSE)

FOR $849 DOLLARS!  WHERE AS BEST BUY, WITH THEIR "LOW PRICE" GUARANTEE (WHICH IS FOR THEIR

STORES ONLY) WHO EVER HEARD OF A CHAIN THAT COMPETES AGAINST ITSELF FOR LOWER PRICES?

IT DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE...GOOD LUCK!

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi Sparkylulu89,
 
It is true that Nikon is a more respected brand than Sony, but after Sony purchased Minolta their digital cameras have come a long way and in some ways outperform Nikon. I agree that the Nikon D90 is one of the best mid-level DSLR's on the market, and if you're in the market for a DSLR this would be a great choice. I also agree that you get what you pay for when it comes to digital cameras, and the main difference between a cheap camera and an expensive on is the quality of the construction. If you can afford a DSLR, and you don't need a compact camera, I always suggest purchasing a DSLR because they are built to last a lifetime if properly taken care of. If you want to purchase a point and shoot camera you could consider the Nikon P6000, or the Canon G10, which are both great cameras! I hope this helps!
 
Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate

[Rrrrrrr]

Sparky, which type of cameras are you looking for? Point and shoots or a dslr (removable lenses)? I cant say anything for Nikon P&S's but Nikon dslrs are quite top notch. For a dslr stick with Canon or NIkon. Cant go wrong either way. Dont get caught up in the megapixel wars. An 8X10 from my 4.1MP D2h is indistinguishable from an 8X10 from my 12MP D3. With dslr's, lenses are the most important thing.

Own 6 Nikons myself (D70, D2h, D2x, 2 D300's and a D3, but photography is my career). My d70 had around 40K shots on it. Still works fine after 5 yrs (keep it for sentimental reasons) The D300's and D3 are my main bodies)

[macblob]

I did allot of reviewing on line before making my decision to narrow my choices to 2 maybe 3 choices. Well one due to budget.

For DSLR:

1. Canon Rebel XSi.

     a. It had the best reviews in all the websites I visited.  It was less than $1000. A major store other than here has it sale on it for $749

          ( with 2 lens)

2. Nikon D40. it is an older model with less features than the new models. But alot of profesionals use it. And it is less than $700. Alot of parts thatyou would think would be standard options are not. you have to pay extra...LIKE A DETACHABLE  FLASH......

For Point and Shoot:

1. Kodak Z1015is. (with firmware 1.03) Kodak Z series point and shoots have the most bang for the buck.  I have owned a Z612 and have had no problem with it. I gave it to my daughterlast week while she was her visiting from Virginia. She has a camera but it was a compact 7Mp camera and took pretty grainy picturesat night. The Z612 only has a 400ISO max. The Z1015is has it up to 3200ISO.

I decided to buy the Z1015is this morning.(Budget) It was on sale. Also bought a 4Gb Sandisck SDHC memory card for it. On sale.

ANYWAY GOOD LUCK ON YOUR SEARCH.

For DSLR buying guide go to:

 http://www.neocamera.com/guide_dslr_basics.html

This helped me take a good look at DSLRs.

[FAIRINFO]

Hi,

Both Nikon and Sony make great digital cameras.The model you are looking at is basically an advanced point and shoot camera. Lots of features including HD output so you can watch your pics on your HD TV( you'll need an optional HAD cable for about a hundred bucks) My use of both Sony and Nikons of this variety are that the Sony are way easier to use,have more picture taking and showing options, but the quality of the images is generally better with the Nikons.If your mainly going to share your pics on the internet or view them on a computer screen go with the SONY. If your interests lie in making large prints( 5x7 or 8x 10) stick with the Nikon. If you want to expand your picture taking horizons you might consider a Nikon D40 entry level digital SLR. The big thing this class offers is interchangeable lenses,composing your pictures by viewing throught the taking lens and ability to print large photos with great quality.

The camera you're looking at is about 399.00 the Nikon D40 is about 549.00 with 18-55 mm zoom lens. The downside of DSLR's is that they are bulky,heavier and a bit harder to use. But once you have one it can grow with your capabilities.

[Entropy]

It looks like the original poster was looking for a point-and-shoot camera.  For a P&S camera I would strongly suggest looking at Canon - their P&S lineup is extremely strong.  I was very happy with my PowerShot S100 (the original Digital Elph) and only left Canon because they didn't offer anything that shot in a RAW format that was as compact as the Panasonic model I eventually bought.  Things have changed since then - If I had to choose between the Canon G10 and Panasonic LX3 I'd go for the G10.  These are probably above your price range though.  I know a few people with Canon SD1100IS units and they seem happy with them and that's probably closer to your price range.

I can't speak about Nikon's P&S lineup, I haven't really looked at them for idealistic reasons (I'm a Linux/open-source-software user and won't touch Nikon after their mishandling of the D2X NEF encryption fiasco.  This doesn't matter to most consumers though.).

I avoid Sony products on principle because of their NIH (Not Invented Here) policy.  Flash memory that can be used in a Sony camera (Memory Stick variants) cannot be used in any device from any other manufacturer.  I strongly reccommend getting a camera that uses SD/SDHC memory.  Avoid Olympus and xD memory for this same reason.

DSLRs are excellent for image quality and versatility, but not soo good for portability, and can quickly turn into a black hole quickly drawing money out of your wallet.  Get a P&S and you won't have to worry about the temptation of adding a $1000 Bigma to your collection.