Looking for a good, yet inexpensive digital camera

wprager wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:You probably will get better deals on boxing day but do you really want to be shopping in the zoo that is boxing day? You need to factor in the value of your time as well as the savings.

Umm, you *do* realize that most Boxing Day sales start at the stroke of midnight at your friendly, local laptop?

Actually, to add just a bit more, I've found that, other than the "Door Crasher" deals, you are often not getting significant drops in prices on Boxing Day. With the Door Crashers you have to physically be there, often very early, and still run the risk of missing out because of limited quantities.

Future Sh!t usually has good cyber xmas deals on the 24th into the 26th.

I just bought the Canon T2i and can recommend it, but in Canada, I'm sure it's more expensive.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:Future Sh!t usually has good cyber xmas deals on the 24th into the 26th.

I just bought the Canon T2i and can recommend it, but in Canada, I'm sure it's more expensive.

Comparing to Amazon.com prices, there are actually some better deals in Canada. Of course online shopping in the US often saves you the taxes, or you can get some additional discounts like the Bing.com cash back. But that's all going away when you guys get "free" medicare, right?

wprager wrote:

wprager wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:You probably will get better deals on boxing day but do you really want to be shopping in the zoo that is boxing day? You need to factor in the value of your time as well as the savings.

Umm, you *do* realize that most Boxing Day sales start at the stroke of midnight at your friendly, local laptop?

Actually, to add just a bit more, I've found that, other than the "Door Crasher" deals, you are often not getting significant drops in prices on Boxing Day. With the Door Crashers you have to physically be there, often very early, and still run the risk of missing out because of limited quantities.

So did you just prove my point then?

The thing about Door Crashers is that the selection is non-existent. With other Boxing Day sales you generally have multiple selections in each category.

They also sometimes have door crasher-type deals online. Limited availability, but at leas you can keep warm while "in line".

wprager wrote:My current 3 MP Canon has been a disappointment since the day I bought it. Really surprised at that as I thought Canon's were good cameras. Figured it's time to get a new one, and the wife has hinted that, since my b/d was missed (she was out of town) to combine b/d, anniversary and Christmas presents together, sprinkle in some "family memories" rationalizations, and bite down and upgrade to something half-way decent.

I'm not looking for a lot of megapixels -- the detail in the 3 MP one was not the issue. The issues were (off the top of my head):
- washed out colors (probably from a bad flash; and poor auto-focus without the flash -- not sure why, since the auto-focus adjusts before the flash)
- horrible battery performance
- horrible shot-to-shot times

I'm not necessarily looking for a DSLR, although the entry level ones have come down into my price range (under $500). What I want is good point-and-shoot pictures, some flexibility with manual adjustments, decent burst-mode and 720p video.

Advise away.

I bought my camera the old fashion way. i did research, just like you are doing and went to local camera shop one day(not a weekend) when they were not busy and talked to some one there. I gave all my parameters, expected use, budget, my experience, previous problems(battery drain) etc and listened for recommendation.

The clerk/manager gave me a couple of recommendations and walked me through them. I have been very happy with the recommended camera.



I have been very

I recommend you make a trip to a Henry's or a Vistek to get some ideas from them on what would be a good fit for your needs. Also, it would be a good opportunity to hold the camera in your hands, get a feel of it. They have them all out there and you can try a bunch to get a feel. It's gotta feel right in your hands and that's something you can't do when ordering via dell or amazon. You don't need to buy from them, but they can be quite helpful in making your decision.

Henry's: http://www.henrys.ca/
Vistek: http://www.vistek.ca/

Word of warning: a DSLR can be a money pit... as you'll soon want to add different lenses, hoods, extra batteries, grips, external flashes, tripods etc... as it can be quite addictive. Also, just because it's a DSLR, does not mean the photos will come out better than a point-and-shoot. Point-and-shoot cameras can be very forgiving.

I also do a bit of shopping here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ as they tend to have a lot of the "hard to find" items.

I think I've "researched" myself away from an entry-level dSLR. The reasons are as follows:
- most (in my price range) have a 3X lens; not that I need 30x zoom, but 3x is what I've got now and I wouldn't mind a small upgrade
- as Shabbs pointed out, a dSLR can be a money pit -- like getting a zoom lens
- the ones in my price range typically didn't offer video (yes, yes, I know, if you want to shoot video, get a cam corder -- one thing at a time)
- the ones in my price range did not have a tilting LCD -- something I've really, really wanted for a long time (my current camera, obviously, does not have it)

Right now I'm looking at the Fuji HS10:
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/fujifilm_finepix_hs10_review/

The reviewer is quite favorable. The reviewer really liked the lens:

At the heart of the HS10 is the frankly incredible non-interchangeable 30x zoom lens, complete with manual zoom and focus rings, just like on a DSLR lens. This incredibly versatile lens offers a focal range starting at an ultra-wide 24mm and finishing at an ultra-telephoto 720mm, which, as Fujifilm cannily point out, would take at least two super-zoom DSLR lenses to offer similar reach. Throw in the 1cm Super Macro Mode and impressive maximum apertures of a bright f/2.8 at 24mm wide-angle to f5.8 at 720mm telephoto, and it's clear that the HS10 is perfectly suited for any subject that you can think of, near or far.

It's got mechanical and digital image stabilizers, you can use the zoom while shooting video (1080P!), high-speed video (up to 1000 fps), continuous shooting at up to 10 fps, etc.

It's a little slow in RAW format (2 seconds) but pretty fast in JPEG (as the 10 fps continuous shooting indicates). It's also not great at ISO above 800, but I don't think that's much of an issue for me.

Now, the only thing I find that's a negative is the batteries. It takes 4 AAs and not a rechargeable battery pack. Aargh, why?

In the review they list the main competitors, including the Canon Powershot SX20 IS, the Nikon Coolpix P90, the Olympus SP-800UZ and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38.

For some of these I cannot find the exact model number to compare, but did fine the next one up (e.g. Coolpix P100, Powershot SX30). The Fuji is rated slightly higher (FutureShop.ca customer ratings) but also costs more.

Ah, more decisions.

Oh, forgot to add, that review has a video clip shot at the highest quality (1080p) by the camera. It was fantastic.

When I lived in the Great White North I used to use:
http://www.mcbaincamera.com/

or

https://www.thecamerastore.com/

only GST

That Fuji looks promising. The issue with RAW should be a non-issue as you'll most likely be shooting in JPG, unless you plan on doing post-processing on your RAW files. I don't shoot in RAW at all.

The noise above ISO800 may be an issue if you are shooting indoors in poor light or at night.

I think it can use NiMh rechargeable batteries. The press release makes mention of it:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10020206fujifinepixhs10series.asp

shabbs wrote:That Fuji looks promising. The issue with RAW should be a non-issue as you'll most likely be shooting in JPG, unless you plan on doing post-processing on your RAW files. I don't shoot in RAW at all.

The noise above ISO800 may be an issue if you are shooting indoors in poor light or at night.

I think it can use NiMh rechargeable batteries. The press release makes mention of it:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10020206fujifinepixhs10series.asp

Yes, it can use rechargeable batteries, but in the AA form factor. I don't know if they can recharge while sitting int he camera, though. Really doubt that. Which means I have to dust off my old recharger. It's a minor inconvenience; on the other hand rechargeable battery packs are only great until you have to replace them ($$$). I'm just concerned that the AAs (rechargeable or otherwise) don't store as much as the battery packs.

Good point. May want to look at the Eneloop batteries by Sanyo. They are very good for storing and maintaining their charge over a long period of time. I use them in my external flash for my Canon 30D as it uses 4 "AA" batteries as well.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:When I lived in the Great White North I used to use:
http://www.mcbaincamera.com/

or

https://www.thecamerastore.com/

only GST

What's GST?

shabbs wrote:Good point. May want to look at the Eneloop batteries by Sanyo. They are very good for storing and maintaining their charge over a long period of time. I use them in my external flash for my Canon 30D as it uses 4 "AA" batteries as well.

Speaking of flashes, the Fuji is the only one of the comparables that I checked that has a hotshoe. Now, I just have to justify spending almost $100 more on it than, say, the Coolpix P100.

Me: But it has a hot shoe attachment ...
Spouse: ...
Me: ... and it will store in RAW format ...
Spouse: ???

Money pit!

Here's my money pit:
- Canon EOS 30D DSLR w/BG-E2 battery grip and extra batteries
- Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens with Hoya UV0 filter and lens hood
- Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens with Hoya UV0 filter and lens hood
- Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens with Hoya UV0 filter and lens hood
- Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash
- Manfrotto 676B Digi Monopod
- Manfrotto 728B Digi Tripod with Manfrotto 234RC Quick Release Head
- Huge Ass Bag to carry all this crap

More to come for sure...

wprager wrote:Anyone have any thoughts about the Canon EOS Rebel XS? It's on sale at Dell.ca for $480 ($70 off -- that's an even better deal than Amazon.com).

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Digital_SLR/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&cs=cadhs1&sku=A2419956&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=2&~ck=dellSearch

Anyone think there will be better deals on Boxing Day? Maybe I could convince my wife to wrap up a little "Go shopping Now" card instead of a box, and place that under the tree for me.

This one has 3 fps continuous shooting. Is that good for this price range?

I tested that camera at my old job. The picture quality was quite good. It's the baseline model for the XS series. I don't remember testing video though.

Yeah, I was discussing this with a buddy and he mentioned that the XS (and another entry-level dSLR I was looking at) did not have video. Having gone back to check in more detail, that's somewhat common.