Upgrading dgital cameras

markstu

I'm thinking of upgrading digital cameras. I only just recently got a simple cannon A70. It's a good camera and good to carry around for small events and stuff. However, I want something with more megapixels and a much stronger zoom. I'm going to use the new one for some of my outdoor trips and such. I got my canon from staples.com and I've looked at some of the models and reviews on their site and there are a few I'm considering, a couple of canons and one nikon. Two questions: 1. Does anyone have a digital SLR they would recommend 2. Does anyone have a digital camera, non SLR of sufficient strength that they would recommend.

Paul Watson

1. The best entry-level DSLR out there is the Nikon D70 and it is at a great price (Meg has one and I got to play with it awhile back, very nice.) Next up from that, if you have a bit of extra cash to spend, is the Canon EOS 20D or save yourself a bit of money and get 90% of the 20D by getting the Canon EOS 10D (I have one, fantastic camera). There are probably plenty of Canon EOS 10D owners selling well looked after 10Ds at good prices as they try and upgrade to the 20D (I won't be upgrading for a while). 2. Not really sure. I played with a Fuji FinePix S7000 and was suitably impressed. Nice zoom, good enough image quality and a fine price. It is a bit "old" though so there is probably something better out. regards, Paul Watson South Africa Michael Dunn wrote: "except the sod who voted this a 1, NO SOUP FOR YOU" Crikey! ain't life grand?

Brian Olej

Ive got a Kodak DX6490, its not quite a dSLR but its quality is amazing and it has 10x optical zoom. http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2/3/9/19/131/1336&pq-locale=en_US[^] Recently they released a new version with more features and megapixels, the DX7590 http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2/3/9/19/131/2797&pq-locale=en_US[^] You can find some pictures I took with my DX6490 at http://malcontentvoid.deviantart.com/gallery/[^]. I Agree with Paul on dSLRs though, the Nikon D70 is the best for the money. Signature under construction.

Gary Thom

Nikon make great cameras, if you don't want to go the whole way of the D70, try the Nikon Coolpix 5700, I love it. Gary While you're waiting, read the free novel we sent you. It's a Spanish story about a guy named 'Manual.' - Dilbert

jerry0davis

I have a Pentax *istD[^]. Don't be put off by the name! I had three lenses from my standard SLR that I didn't want to get rid of, so this was the obvious choice for me. It's supposed to be the smallest digital SLR out there. I'm using it with an 80x speed 1GB compact flash, which makes the camera far more responsive. I've found that playing with the ISO settings, and white balance, you can get some great indoor photos without a flash. Also you can download the pentax digital remote assistant to enable you to control the camera from your PC, which is good for learning what changing different settings does.

I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe Jerry Davis http://www.astad.org
http://www.jvf.co.uk

Bassam Abdul Baki

Instead of a digital camera, I bought Sony's digital DVD. Records both images and videos on a single mini-DVD. "For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you would never have considered. That is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebula, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence." - Q (Star Trek: The Next Generation) ^ Blog

markstu

A friend of mine got one of the Sony DVD recorders. I haven't seen it yet, but he seems to like it. I figured I'd wait a little time and see how the reviews turned out. How do you like yours? The Nikon D70 and the coolpix 5700 are actually cameras I had looked at. I was leaning more towards the D70, but right now I think I'm still up in the air. Can't I use my Nikon lenses on the 5700? Seems I can save a few hundred bucks going with the 5700 and sacrificing 1.1 megapixels. Where would you guys suggest I take a look for the best buy on these cameras. I don't necessarily want to go used, but I thought about seeing what ebay has. When I got my canon, I was able to get some other imaging accesories and stuff right on the Staples site, which was kinda nice. I've gotten some random camera accesories off ebay...with and without some good luck.

Bassam Abdul Baki

It's great. You can record both videos and images and you can delete the last video/image before saving it (in standard format). In another format, I do believe you can rewrite over videos created, but I haven't tried that yet. The nice thing about it is you no longer have to burn a DVD from a memory card. But with a USB connection, you can use the editting software to copy files to your computer to e-mail to family and friends. "For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you would never have considered. That is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebula, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence." - Q (Star Trek: The Next Generation) ^ Blog

El Corazon

markstu wrote: The Nikon D70 and the coolpix 5700 are actually cameras I had looked at. I was leaning more towards the D70, but right now I think I'm still up in the air. Can't I use my Nikon lenses on the 5700? Seems I can save a few hundred bucks going with the 5700 and sacrificing 1.1 megapixels. The 5700 is a fixed lens unit, so 35mm lenses won't work. I have one of its predicessors, the 5400. I am debating on finally making the jump to SLR with the D70 come tax season. I believe the 5700 does have mounts for lens addons, but they are not the same as 35mm SLR lenses. I am certainly not a camera expert, though this is the advice I usually give people: A) what do you want the images for? (memories? prints? web?) B) what kind of scenes are you intending to photograph? (indoor? landscape? portraits? low-light? high dynamic range?) C) how much are you willing to spend, how much would you prefer to spend? if you really truly understand your answers to those, then you can start comparing cameras. I usually use www.dpreview.com for comparing cameras. I am most interested in sensor noise and filter artifacts and color response since I am trying for prints. The scenes I tend to favor are high dynamic range, so a good area matrix for exposure is required, though I wish we had 2nd generation HDR cameras already. :sigh: _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

markstu

Thanks for the advice. Certainly glad to know that my SLR Nikon lenses won't fit the 5700. The more I think about it and put some answers to your question, the more I realize I might want to just go with the D70. That's a camera I can really keep for a while and one with which I can be very versatile. I am very interested in prints as well, more so than simply emailing and posting the images on the web, so it sounds like I have some of the same concerns as you. I could probably stand to wait until tax season too, but we'll see...