Camera help for Lawchick
 

It's a bit off the Europe topic and I know there are lots of camera threads, but I'm in need of expert urgent help as I have to buy me a new camera for christmas to take pictures of my fairy princess baby. Old camera has kind of given up the ghost.

Have narrowed the selection down to 3
Canon EOS 400D / Digital Rebel XTi
Leica V-LUX 1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Looking for best price quality ratio....any helpers out there?

Although this camera isn't on your list, it's listed on many other lists. This is the Nikon D40 and it's listed as being the "Editor's Choice" on the Laptop magazine. Price: ca $549. The Canon Rebel costs for about $599 and it came under (in comparison) the Nikon.

I didn't find anything in the mag about the Leica neither the Panasonic.

Blackduff

The Panasonic and the Leica are basically the same camera.
dpreview opinions:
http://tinyurl.com/yhhyo4
http://tinyurl.com/ta4y8

The Eos 400 is an dSLR so you will need lenses with it, whereas the other two are "compact"cameras with 12x zoom (35-420mm), they are also able to shoot short films, which the Canon can't. The wide angle on them is not very wide, but for baby photos that isn't a problem. They offer nearly as many features as a dSLR without needing to buy lots of lenses.

If you want to get into dSLRs then look also at what Olympus,Pentax etc offer. (Pentax for instance offers in built shake reduction rather than in lens.) The main problem with the Nikon D40 is that it will not accept all Nikon lenses.

Hope that helps!

You might want to try out this site:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews

and then spend hours agonizing over which camera. I am in the same predicament, trying to transfer from slides to digital, and can't decide because the one thing reviews do not discuss is the quality of projection on a screen. I am trying to decide between the XTi and the Lumix FZ18.

Hi L,

> a new camera for christmas to take pictures of my fairy princess baby.

The Canon EOS 400D is a DSLR.
The Lumix is a "prosumer" camera.

Neither are cheap. Neither are snap shot cameras.

What did you have before?

((I))

I enjoy my XTi a lot, but the standard lens it comes with kind of stinks.

Thanks for your help - I'm not looking for a snap shot camera per se - I'm used to slrs but have not had a dslr before, i've just been coping with the compact digital.

I haven't really time to agonise, what with the nappychanging, breastfeeding and the inlaws coming for christmas- I just need to throw about 600 euros at a man in a shop pdq and get something that works - not solely for the princess snapshots but for travel photos etc.

I have both the Canon Rebel xTi and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8. I know I am in the minority here but I like the Panasonic much better. It's a far cheaper camera, and not an SLR, but it takes awesome photos and is so incredibly easy to use and light weight. I got the Canon becasue I felt I "should" have an SLR (I have Nikon SLRs from back in the film days but had not had a digital SLR). Well I'm thinking of selling it because if you can get the quality that I'm seeing from my Panasonic why bother with the weight and expense of the Canon SLR. To be honest, the main reason I got the Panasonic was becasue of the weight of the Canon. When I travel I have my cameras with me all day long and I walk miles and miles.

The Panasonic you are looking at is a 10mp while the one I have is a 7mp (and about half the price) but other than that I don't see too many differences. (Although the FZ50 is larger). Both are 12x zoom and have similiar other features. Have you gone to dpreview.com to check them out? If not it's a great site for camera reviews.

If you want to compare quality I have photos I took last March with the Canon and last July with the Panasonic. My site is www.pbase.com/annforcier. The seville-cordoba-granada ones are with the Canon, the Madrid, Segoiva and Edinburgh galleries are with the Panasonic. In both cases some of the photos were also taken with my "back-up" a Canon SD700

Thanks Isabel - in fact all your photos look terrific. I'd favour your Canaon photos - but I hear what you are saying about the weight......hmmmm

Lawchick, I have an FZ30 - and I love it. Bought it for Africa for the zoom a few years ago now, and have been really happy wih it.


The following is a link to some of the photos I 've taken with the camera this year.

http://tinyurl.com/276jha

Cyn

Well, I'll add in another prosumer option -- the Canon PowerShot G9. 12 megapixels. I've been using the G6 with great results and am thinking about upgrading to the G9. Can switch to manual operation; can add lenses (although I don't); shoots raw images. Check out dpreview for their comments on this one.

I did a lot of research and wanted a low cost high quality digital SLR cam with image stabilization...I ended buying Canon Rebel xTi because of its light weight .It has 10 mp ....but bought just the body (not the kit) with a telephoto 17-85 with image stabilization......didnt want to change out lenses......Now if I can just figure out how to do manual settings...I took some awesome photos of Hong Kong with manual from Victoria Peak at night

I use this site www.steves-digicams.com for the excellent reviews. Go to the link on the left "The best cameras" and look at the category you are interested in. I read the first page and then jump to "Steve's conclusion" to start. Then you can read more if you are interested. He reviews more cameras on other pages but I try to stick to his "best cameras" suggestions.

hypatia why didn't you choose a camera with in-body stabilisation? You only pay for the mechanism once then, not every time you buy a new lens.

I am not a pro just a tourist that likes good pictures.
I too used Steves site and there is no perfect camera...just as there is no perfect place...
I guess if I wanted to spend a thousand more I could have bought a pro camera with almost everything.Of course knowing me, I would either have dropped it or lost it.Or with my luck it wouald have been stolen.

But you know what? I never did change lens......I was traveling for the experience not the shots....do you know what I mean? I didn't even have time to do the settings sometimes(on a tour)I like having a credit card camera and I have a Sony but it takes lousy inside shots...

I know myself and my limitations and that's the way to pick a camera...so I wanted a low cost ,high quality,best all round lens for a person that jiggles the camera......and the biggest help to pick one for you is to call B and H Photo in NY and talk to the man....he will tell you

Also forgot to say a professional phototog who I traveled with to Califoria on a business trip recommended it....

sorry to post again but here is a link for some pics

www.sharewithfodorites.shutterfly.com

wrong address sorry
sharewithfodorites.shutterfly.com/action/?a=9Tas27RiIw

I have the Panasonic Lumix and love it. Great features and photo quality. My friend has one also and loves the features for when she's photgraphing her children.

I'm currently in the same boat, in need of a good camera, since my current camera is about to give up the ghost. And I've been contemplating getting one of these cameras.

To those with these larger sized cameras, how do you feel about carrying it around the cities? I'm assuming it's easy to carry around? Did you find it cumbersome to take photos on a whim? Clearly, all your photos are to be envied. It's been a while since I've taken a photo that said wow to me. They've only said "wow, it's blurry" thus far, and at higher ISOs, most pictures are grainy. Not something I want in a picture I hope to keep for eternity.

mcnyc - definition of "heavy" and "easy to carry around" depends on alot of things. First, how big are you? - I am a 5'2" female and a camera that feels heavy to me does not feel heavy to my 6' husband. Second, how long at a time are you going to be carrying it. When I travel I literally have it on my shoulder (or in my bag which is then on my shoulder) about 15 hours a day or more. I walk 10 miles or more some days. Before I got my Canon Rebel I borrowed a friends Nikon D50 but I was only carrying it around for 2-3 hours at a time. It didn't bother me. It's the day after day of a trip that makes it feel heavy.

I've had several "prosumer" digital cameras (Nikon 5700, Minolta Dimage) and they are lighter than the SLRs but when you add on the converter lenses, which I do, they are getting up there in weight. The Panansonic is by far the lightest. But I would never use a camera just because it is light. Otherwise I'd just use a pocket sized point and shoot (which I also always carry as my back up - and in some cases it takes fantastic shots). But the Panasonic is the best of the prosumer cameras I've used (except the Olympus UZ2100 which was incredible, but only a 2mp and Olympus has not been able to make a higher mp camera anywhere near as good).

Even the SLRs fit in a large sized pocketbook, you don't need a special camera bag, and they are lighter than the film SLRs which many of us carried around for years. But for me at least, it's too heavy to be comfortable and since there is an alternative it's just not worth it to me.

Hi Isabel,

Thanks for your helpful, detailed response. I'm looking for something that feels just right in my hands. I used to be a pro with film SLR cameras (Minolta), but when I went digital, I went for the everyday kind of camera. Nice & lightweight in the pocket, but not so great in the picture department.

Was thinking about the Nikon D40x, but am hesitant to get a camera with VS in the lens and not the camera itself. Probably will just go with a prosumer camera in the meantime, but still look for a digital SLR in the meantime. I'd love to get a Nikon D80, but it's just way too much for my budget. And by the time I save up for the camera, it'll be old news and I'll have a new camera to aim for (which will end up with me using the camera money for travel, which isn't a bad thing).