Camera Suggestions

[Dustin Wilcox]

Ok, as much as I want a canon Rebel, a camera of that caliber may have to hold off until college is through. But my gateway camera isnt cutting it anymore I need something that can take better pictures from a longer distance. I am looking for suggestions of what type of camera if there is one, that will be good for storm structure photography. I would like to stay around the $500 dollar range but also keep the camera digital. Any recommendations?

[Andrew Khan]

Are you actually trying to find a DSLR for that price? I don't know if you can, but theere are some other good cameras out there, Like a Canon A85, Tony Laubach uses that.

[Lisa Wadlow]

When I was looking at new cameras a few months ago the DSLR prices I saw started at $800. For $500 you would either have to go with a film SLR or see if you can find a used DSLR.

[Andrew Khan]

Yes or even a 'high-end' point and shoot camera.

[Lisa Wadlow]

Originally posted by Andrew Khan
Yes or even a 'high-end' point and shoot camera.

But for storm photography you need to be able to adjust for low-light situations and lightning. Can point and shoots do that?

[Scott Taylor]

I don't have any personal experience with these, but I've heard a quite a few good things about Canon's Powershot cameras.

Check them out, along with other MFRs, at B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...arch&Q=&ci=8612 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=8612)

[Andrew Khan]

Originally posted by Lisa Wadlow+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lisa Wadlow)</div><!--QuoteBegin-Andrew Khan
Yes or even a 'high-end' point and shoot camera.

But for storm photography you need to be able to adjust for low-light situations and lightning. Can point and shoots do that?[/b]

Lisa, it really all depends on the camera. Very few 'Point and Shoot' cameras have that option, but some do. Just looks at Tony Laubach's photography, even lightning. He is using a Canon Powershot A85, which looks like a very good camera. He has to be able to adjust for lightning and low light settings. Really for the 'low-light' stuff, just keep it on automatic. But I would say if you have the money shoot for the DSLR.

[Lisa Wadlow]

Dustin, you will also need to figure on costs for tripod, camera bag, etc. Those can run your overall price up considerably.

[Andrew Khan]

Originally posted by Lisa Wadlow
Dustin, you will also need to figure on costs for tripod, camera bag, etc. Those can run your overall price up considerably.

Yes, that's very true. Also consider a camera strap, real life savers they are. Tripods can be quite expensive to.

[Dustin Wilcox]

Yeah I have a small tripod and a bag I could use I might just look into a high end point and shoot, or maybe I will just buy a couple lottery tickets for next week and then buy the new cannon E5 :D

[Andrew Khan]

Good idea, might go do that myself, lol!

[Derek Lee]

I use a Canon Powershot A520, some of my pictures can be found at:
http://www.hemimopar.deviantart.com

Its a great camera, in my opinion. :)

[Andrew Khan]

Yeah Derek, that is a good camera, one of my friends has one.

[Michael P. Morris]

Dustin - you have a couple good options in my mind for the price you are looking for. If you are willing to make the jump to DSLR, I would suggest the Nikon D50 as it is relatively inexpensive (kit for <700 depending on where you get it) and uses SD cards instead of CF, eliminating the need to buy another accessory. The lens that comes with it has been rated higher than the kit lens for the Canon D-Rebel/Rebel XT as well.

If you are not comfortable with the SLR format just yet, I would suggest a Canon Powershot S2 IS. You can find it for probably $500 at the most. The quality of the lens approaches that of the Canon L glass from what I have heard and it offers a long zoom range (12X optical 4X digital) and it has built-in image stabliziation which will allow you to shoot longer exposures in lower light without the blurriness. It uses SD cards as well, so assuming the camera you already have uses SD you will not have to buy more memory.

[Andrew Khan]

If your going to get a Canon Digital Rebel, I suggest buying an external lense, rather than using the Kit Lense. The kit lense is cheap, where as the Nikon D50/D70 Lense is very high/good quality. The Canon Powershot S2 IS is actually quite a good camera.

[fplowman]

I went most of the winter one year wihtout a coat and saved for that leather jacket I really wanted.. silly me .. lol

Save for the Rebel at a minuimum.. Point and shoots just dont cut it for professional pics IMO I know there are a few here that have nice ppics from their camera.. I have some.. I have a lil sony point and shoot 5 megapixel.. It just dotn cut it in my opinion.. I need a digital SLR with a wide angle lense to do things right.

[John Diel]

With todays digital cameras, the imaging ccd is simply getting better and better. This helps in producing smaller and better ccd's. This, in turn, produces smaller and better cameras. The one area that the P&S cameras lack is the lens. There are some out there that are VERY good though. You will pay a higher price for them. Panasonic has a very nice P&S with a very nice lens. Unfortunately, you will simply be limited by being forced to use the lens on the camera. Yes, there are the attachments, but they don't come close to having a lens designed to take the particular photo you want.

The DSLR's, though more pricey than P&S cameras, offer the ability to expand beyond the kit lens. With the DSLR of today, the imaging ccd's are better than they were a few short years ago and have surpassed 35mm film in their resolution. This makes the body of the camera more of a transport as we saw with the 35mm film camera bodies. You will have to make a choice though as the camera body still has a lots of image processing to do. Much more than film bodies ever did.

The Lens is key to the photo. The quality and style of the lens simply makes or breaks a perfectly good photo. A lot depends on how anal you are about your photos as to the quality of lens you will buy. Buy the BEST you can afford. SAVE for better later.

Whether you choose Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, Sigma, or Pentax is really a personal choice. Every last one of them will produce excellent photos in capable hands. Learn everything you can about photography. There are several excellent web sites dedicated to Landscape and Nature photography and the wealth of information is overwhelming at times. Learn to use your equipment, then Use your equipment to learn photography.