A question for all you camera nuts!!

[Iffrat]

i have been thinking about getting a good camera that i would use to take all kinds of photos but mostly of my fish.

i know the D3000 and such camera are the best .. but i dont have $3,000 for a camera .. i am looking for something around the $300-$500 range and when i asked the question on AP and they said i needed to get a Nikon D90 plus flashes and lenses .. which is more like $1,500 which i dont understand why you would suggest a $1500 camera to someone who knows just about nothing about photography .. and who is looking for a $500 max ...

im looking for a set up that will work without a PHD in nikon ... something i can learn quickly to take quality shots .. im not looking for something to go into business with .. just something that will work well..

help me out guys ..

ps .. i have no problem with something other then nikon .. its just the popular name ..

 

[---XR---]

Nikon D3000 is an entry level SLR, price is around your aloted range,

a simple entry level SLR from canon or nikon plus a kit lens should cost around $350-500, there are plenty to choose from, the majority of people here who only want to shoot fish, don't need a $3000 SLR camera, they are currently made and price at that for features that are not used in aquatic photography- such as super high ISO. shop around for a basic setup, they will give you more control but there is a learning curve, just because you have a fancy camera doesn't make you a pro photographer.

 

[Iffrat]

Nikon D300 is an entry level SLR, price is around your aloted range,

a simple entry level SLR from canon or nikon plus a kit lens should cost around $350-500, there are plenty to choose from, the majority of people here who only want to shoot fish, don't need a $3000 SLR camera, they are currently made and price at that for features that are not used in aquatic photography- such as super high ISO. shop around for a basic setup, they will give you more control but there is a learning curve, just because you have a fancy camera doesn't make you a pro photographer.

i was looking at D40 or something like that .. but still the body cost so much i would not have much left for a flash or lens ..

i guess im just torn .. i want something fairly simple to use but capable of taking some good pics ..

 

[---XR---]

i was looking at D40 or something like that .. but still the body cost so much i would not have much left for a flash or lens ..

i guess im just torn .. i want something fairly simple to use but capable of taking some good pics ..

there is no reason a nice point and shoot won't take nice pictures, some of the current camera's in your price range will give you great shots, and you won't have to here people like myself writing an article on how to use it, some people just don't think P&S's can give good shots, but they would be wrong. a D40 + 18-70 DX + sb-400-600 all used should cost about $650-670, this would give you a fine setup, but honestly if your not going to use a camera outside of your aquarium room, it would be pointless to spend that much, my setups cost me over $5000, but my largest hobby/passion is photography, majority nature/wildlife/landscape, fish is just something else i have in my house to shoot.

 

[Iffrat]

there is no reason a nice point and shoot won't take nice pictures, some of the current camera's in your price range will give you great shots, and you won't have to here people like myself writing an article on how to use it, some people just don't think P&S's can give good shots, but they would be wrong. a D40 + 18-70 DX + sb-400-600 all used should cost about $650-670, this would give you a fine setup, but honestly if your not going to use a camera outside of your aquarium room, it would be pointless to spend that much, my setups cost me over $5000, but my largest hobby/passion is photography, majority nature/wildlife/landscape, fish is just something else i have in my house to shoot.

oh i will use it outside of my fish room .. just not a whole lot .. so a good point and shoot would be ok with me . as long as i knew what kind of stuff i needed to get with it to get better close up shots of the fish ..

have anything in mind .. something more then just a little pocket size that im going to have to really learn a lot to get good pics ..

i figure that if i get something better then a mid range p&s that it would have the hardware to make up for my lack of photography skills . but i also dont want to go broke

the problem is asking really knowledgeable photographers these questions and they instantly go to the amazing cameras that they use ..

 

[---XR---]

oh i will use it outside of my fish room .. just not a whole lot .. so a good point and shoot would be ok with me . as long as i knew what kind of stuff i needed to get with it to get better close up shots of the fish ..

have anything in mind .. something more then just a little pocket size that im going to have to really learn a lot to get good pics ..

i figure that if i get something better then a mid range p&s that it would have the hardware to make up for my lack of photography skills . but i also dont want to go broke

the problem is asking really knowledgeable photographers these questions and they instantly go to the amazing cameras that they use ..

A Canon G9 is a high level P&S, i have heard it's a quality camera. for some people i believe owning a DSLR is also somewhat of a status symbol, it's simply a tool for myself, if a P&S got done everything i need and i could control what i needed, i would take one in a second, i personally feel embarressed walking through a park with an obnoxiously sized slr and telephoto mounted on a tripod/monopod.

 

[Iffrat]

A Canon G9 is a high level P&S, i have heard it's a quality camera. for some people i believe owning a DSLR is also somewhat of a status symbol, it's simply a tool for myself, if a P&S got done everything i need and i could control what i needed, i would take one in a second, i personally feel embarressed walking through a park with an obnoxiously sized slr and telephoto mounted on a tripod/monopod.

amazon has that for $1,400 .. is that not right?

what would you say to someone like me .. for my first good quality cam .. that could be used to take the type of pics i want ..

 

[---XR---]

amazon has that for $1,400 .. is that not right?

what would you say to someone like me .. for my first good quality cam .. that could be used to take the type of pics i want ..

camera is about $400-425, so yeah that's wrong, it'll do basically everything a user such as yourself would want.

 

[Iffrat]

you know i did some research on the Canon G9 and found that people have been having a lot of problems with it .. both with dust in the lens as well with the camera getting stuck and canon charging people up to $150 to fix it as well as canon saying there was nothing they could do .. and this was only after one month of use.

 

[poly-nomial]

I'm on the hunt got a good camera too