[Sticky] Digital Camera FAQ

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Skitch05
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5:14p, 1/23/08
I have a Canon SD550 that I love. I got it a couple years ago, I think this is the newer version of it. Its $240 at Costco.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11217614&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|79|83&N=4001477&Mo=10&No=6&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=3264&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

That one comes with a 2 gig SD card, so you would be good to go to start taking pictures.

Picture quality is generally pretty good for a point and shoot, and I have blown up many pictures with it, framed them, and have them hanging in my house.

I'm sure there are good ones from Nikon and other brands too. I would get some other recommendations on here from others to see if anyone knows of one down in your price range.

Edit : fixed link

[This message has been edited by Skitch05 (edited 1/23/2008 5:17p).]
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johnnynapalm
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10:36a, 1/24/08
Canon A720 IS
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tlepoC
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1:00p, 1/24/08
My plastic fantastic just came in...

To my untrained eye, the image quality appears to be superior to my kit 17-85 IS 4-5.6 lens. If anyone is on the fence about spending the 70 bucks...do it.

My kit lens was selling on ebay for ~500 and this $70 prime seems to give better images.
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Guitarsoup
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2:31p, 1/24/08
There is no doubt in my mind you should get sharper pics from the 50 1.8 than the kit lens.
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chopperdave06
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3:03p, 1/25/08
bmb4516: check out the canon sd1000. great camera, about 160-170.
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92Ag95
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4:15p, 1/26/08
quote:
You know those booger getters for babies? It has a round bulb at one end and a stem, and you can suck boogers out of the noses of babies?



Or, if you're my fatherhood-inexperienced brother-in-law you can stick it up your kids nose and THEN squeeze it.

Poor 4 month old....eyes got as big as saucers.
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Skitch05
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9:22a, 1/29/08
Well, I changed my mind again. After a couple more trips up to Circuit City, I decided on the 30D over the XTi, liked the feel of it in my hand better the more I played around with it. I ordered a refurb 30D last weekend with the plastic fantastic, and I'm going to order the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 soon. That should more than keep me occupied for awhile.

Thanks again for the help!
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agstudent
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2:16p, 1/29/08
I was shooting a ladybug with my wife's XTi and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens and was having some dof issues. The body of the ladybug was perfect, but the head was blurred. I've never had this issue with anything so small before. Any guesses as to what I was doing wrong? I was about 8 inches away.
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johnnynapalm
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3:07p, 1/29/08
AF or MF?
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agstudent
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3:58p, 1/29/08
Both with same result.
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johnnynapalm
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4:08p, 1/29/08
maybe it's backfocusing a little bit.
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agstudent
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4:40p, 1/29/08
But on something as small as a ladybug? If it is, what do you suggest I do to fix it?
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johnnynapalm
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4:41p, 1/29/08
if you scrounge around, you can find printable focusing charts with which to test your lens. if you find that it's chronically backfocusing, you can send it in for calibration.
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Stymied
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6:05p, 1/29/08
Here are a few things to think about that may be causing the problems.

1) Photographer movement - Many shoot macros on a tripod since the DOF is so thin. You may have moved slightly after focusing and caused the DOF to move off of the bug.

2) The bug may have moved if it was on a leaf, etc.

3) Macro lenses can have extremely think DOF (smaller than a lady bug) if set to a very large aperture.
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Guitarsoup
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6:41p, 1/29/08
quote:

I was shooting a ladybug with my wife's XTi and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens and was having some dof issues. The body of the ladybug was perfect, but the head was blurred. I've never had this issue with anything so small before. Any guesses as to what I was doing wrong? I was about 8 inches away.

Depth of Field on that lens is razor thin. Stop down on the aperture (try 5.6 or 8) and you will have a deeper depth of field.

You can't have back focusing problems on a lens that you are manually focusing. Backfocusing is an autofocus problem.

Your depth of field is too thin and you need to close the aperture (bigger number) to get a deeper DOF and then the whole thing will be in view.

You can see this effect in this pic:

The right eye is in focus, but I was at an angel and the kid was at an angle and the outside on the left is OOF simply because I insist on using as thin a DOF as possible in most pics.


Same thing on here. Look at the detail on the fingers and the glass, but the nipples are completely OOF. A thin DOF. On a macro lens wide open, your DOF will be MUCH thinner and you have to adjust accordingly.
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Oh Four Five
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8:42a, 1/30/08
I just bought that lens a couple weeks ago and the DOF is absolutely razor thin. It's my first attempt with a macro lens and focusing properly has be frustrating at times.

Have you tried adjusting the focus of your viewfinder?
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Guitarsoup
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2:30p, 1/30/08
All Macros should be razor thin at the largest (smallest number) aperture.


What do you mean by viewfinder?
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johnnynapalm
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2:57p, 1/30/08
I think he's referring to the diopter adjustment wheel.
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Oh Four Five
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8:25a, 1/31/08
^
Correct. Sometimes I forget that I'm talking to technically knowledgeable people.
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96ch53
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7:03p, 2/4/08
I have read through most of this thread a couple of times, along with some of the others, but I would still appreciate some input.

I am currently trying to decide between a D40 and an xti.

I like that the D40 is priced less. I can get it for $450 at Ritz Camera ($530 at amazon seems to be one of the better prices I have found for the xti), but it seems like reviews have mentioned that there is not as wide of a range of lenses available because of something to do with autofocus?

My photography needs are: Want a better camera for taking pictures inside and for sunsets, birds, helicopters and, hopefully this year, a safari. I currently have a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ1 which I bought at the time because it seemed to have a good zoom and, while it has taken some wonderful pictures for me, it doesn't really meet the needs I have listed.

I would definitely consider the Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 that GS recommended. Would this lens work on the Nikon, or is there an alternative? Are there other lenses that y'all would recommend based on my interests?

TIA for any advice

Mrs.

And, yes, I know I still need to go see them in the box stores.




[This message has been edited by 96CH53 (edited 2/4/2008 7:04p).]
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labmansid
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10:37p, 2/4/08
I shoot with a Nikon system, so I am somewhat biased in that direction. You mentioned the autofocus issue with the D40. What it boils down to is the D40 does not have it's own motor to focus a lens like most other cameras. So for autofocus on that camera, the lens itself must have it's own focus motor. On Nikon lenses that means only lenses designated as AFS. That may or may not mean much to you, since most newer and future lenses from Nikon have or will likely have the AFS feature. You mentioned the Sigma 50-500, or "Bigma" as it is affectionately known. That lens carries Sigmas HSM designation, which is their version of Nikon's AFS. Therefore, the Bigma should work fine on a D40. The downside is that most third party lens companies (Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, etc.) do not have the AFS equivalent on most of their lenses. So if that is a concern for you, you might consider a different body such as a D70 or D80, or the D60 coming out later.
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Guitarsoup
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11:41p, 2/4/08
Lab pretty much took care of the autofocus issue. Most new lenses have it, so it wouldn't be too big of an issue.

The XTi also has a sensor cleaner, which helps keep dust off your sensor - which is probably very much worth it for you. Dust spots are a PITA. I love that feature on my 40D.

The BIGMA is a great lens for outdoors. It give you a great zoom range. The only problem is that it wont be a great lens in low light situations. But most people don't need it for something like that.
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johnnynapalm
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11:52p, 2/4/08
To give you an idea of the XTi's sensor cleaning, I've had mine for over a year, and just got my first dust spot that required manual sensor cleaning. That's over the course of ~2000 pictures.
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agracer
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7:29a, 2/5/08
I've had my camera for over a year and blown out he sensor once, just to say I did, and yet to have any issues with dirt. I've probably taken close to 2000-images in the last year as well. Lots of on/off with my lenses inside and out. (My D50 has no sensor clean feature).

Sensor cleaning is a lot of hype to get average users to go with a certain camera.

While pros like GS to take 1000's of pictures a month will probably use it, average joes like me who only take 100's of images/mo will hardly use it.

What I'm saying is, don't let it be the over riding factor in your decision.

That being said it looks like all the DLSR makers are making in a standard feature and in a few years all the cameras will have them.

Regarding the D40, time and time again I've seen it rated as one of the top entry level DSLR's out there, esp. at that price. The biggest drawback, IMO, is that you HAVE to buy it as a kit with the stock 18-55 lens.

[This message has been edited by agracer (edited 2/5/2008 7:32a).]
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Dr. Devil Dog
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8:13a, 2/5/08
From what I've read, the Bigma is really heavy for general use. That being said, I was thinking of buying just one other lens at the beginning, something that I could carry around on travels and not have to worry about changing the lens very often. I am thinking around the $500 range for it.

Suggestions?
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Dr. Devil Dog
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8:13a, 2/5/08
Also, is sensory cleaning something you can do yourself or do you have to take it somewhere?
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johnnynapalm
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8:28a, 2/5/08
You can clean it yourself, and you'll need to learn how if you're going on safari.
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Guitarsoup
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9:33a, 2/5/08
That's the thing. If you are taking pics of your kids in your house, you wont need to clean the sensor much. If you spend all day outside at a safari, doing animal shots, etc, you probably will want it, unless you never change your lens.

I got my 40D in Octoberish. I think I have ~15,000 pics on it since then. Maybe 20,000.

The Bigma is really heavy for general use. But it is about is good as it gets for a nature lens because of its great zoom.

Other lenses depend on what you are going to use it for and what Zoom range you need.
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96ch53
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9:41a, 2/5/08
If I go with the xti, do you think the price will drop in the coming months, especially in April when the xsi comes out?
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johnnynapalm
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10:01a, 2/5/08
I'm sure the prices will go down a little, just like the XT's went down when the XTi came out.
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Guitarsoup
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10:49a, 2/5/08
Prices will drop. Used prices will drop a lot.
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96ch53
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10:58a, 2/5/08
AeroAg2003,

What lens did you use to take your pelican pictures?
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Stymied
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2:45p, 2/5/08
It was taken with a Canon 100-400 f/4.5 - f/5.6 IS. Most of the hard core Canon guys will argue that its a better buy than the Bigma, but it is a bit more expensive. Used ones go for about $1250. The extra money is more than worth it to me though because of the extra sharpness (it is noticeably sharper on the far end) and the IS. Shooting a 400 to 500 mm lens handheld without IS is rather difficult.

Nikon makes a lens that competes with the Canon and Sigma but it doesn't have AF-S (a autofocus motor in the lens). It does have Vibration Reduction though like the Canon.

BTW, if you think the Bigma is big, just look at its big brother, the Sigmonster.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/sigma-300-800.shtml
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96ch53
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3:15p, 2/5/08
A lot of the bigma reviews also mention that it is ideal in sunny conditions but otherwise not so much.

I finally got my hands on some cameras today. After reading about how small the xti was on the internet, I was surprised to find I thought it felt fine, but I am also used to a much smaller camera. Also picked up a D80 and thought that seemed pretty big.

I am leaning toward the XTI (body only) and two lenses off the bat:
1. The nifty fifty or whatever you call it (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens)
2. Tamron Autofocus 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon SLR Cameras. Would this serve me well as a general walk-around lens? It seems to have a lot of fans around here, that is if I listed the correct version.

In a couple of months I can get something with longer range.

The question is whether to get the XTI for about $520 at adorama or amazon right now or wait. I am leaning toward instant gratification.

[This message has been edited by 96CH53 (edited 2/5/2008 3:18p).]
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johnnynapalm
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3:32p, 2/5/08
might want to look into getting a battery grip for it as well...makes it easier to hold, and extends the life of the camera.

i'll make you a deal on a 28-105mm if you're interested.
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