Digi Cam question

[YokotaS13]

Ok, i know a bunch of you guys are into photography, and i need your help

I wnat to surprise my Fiancee with a camera. She wants to get into photography and id rather her start with digital then 35mm for cost reasons. So my question is, for around 3 to 400 dollars, what digital camera can you reccomend that has the features like manual moe, white balance, shutter speed adjustment for dark conditions, adn stuff like that. Id greatly appreciate your help adn all comments are welcome. I only ask that you please state a reason why you suggest something instead of just...Get Xbrand cause its the Shit y0!

thanks guys and gals

[uproot]

hey man check this page out... http://www.epinions.com/Digital_Cameras

epinions is awesome, they got it separated into price ranges, brands, resolutions, etc.

plus they have the specs for all the cameras and tons of user reviews, check it out!

hope that helps...

[YokotaS13]

checking it out now!

[Danny]

dpreview.com There are some decent point shoots for that price with a good number of adjustments. Just dont plan on jumping into the DSLR world with only 300-400 dollars. The cannon S1 i belive is the name, thats something that has my respect and it cost like 325.

[YokotaS13]

yeah im not lookin for SLR> Im just looking for a digid cam that has the adjustments of a 35mm so she can understand what the differnet adjustments can do without wasting 25.00 in film

[SniperJoe]

dpreview.com There are some decent point shoots for that price with a good number of adjustments. Just dont plan on jumping into the DSLR world with only 300-400 dollars. The cannon S1 i belive is the name, thats something that has my respect and it cost like 325.

That is actually the camera that I have. I think that it is a great camera to learn on, as you can really control how in depth you want to get with it. If you just want to point and shoot and let the camera handle the rest, you can do that, but if you want to get in there and make adjustments, it will let you do that too. There is a new version called the S2IS coming out in a few months, so if you want to find an S1, they should be pretty reasonable. Here are a few samples of the pics that I've taken with my S1:

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte818z/images/EM/Car%20Show/
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte818z/images/EM/Formula%20D/
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte818z/images/colorado/

Good luck, and if you have any questions, send me a PM.

[YokotaS13]

so you actually have the adjustmnets a 35mm would have? Thats all im worried about, and if yall say the s1 is a good camera, ill trust yall. I have a 2.1 mp camera lol and its a POS. i hate sony

[Danny]

The s1 is 3mp i belive, i am sure it has apeture and shutter setting, i also belive it has ISO adjustments also. But curves, processing adjustments, custom WB, detailed flash settings, ect I am not sure which, if any of those it has. research up, see if it will work for you. I remember the lense isnt threaded, so you have to buy an adaptor to but a UV filter on it. But I could be wronge, maybe SniperJoe can verify?

[SniperJoe]

Danny, it does have ISO adjustments, custom WB, processing adjustments and very detailed flash settings. But yes, the lens isn't threaded, but that is easily remedied.

[Danny]

Ahhh, well there you go... sounds like a decent camera...

[Jaimecbr900]

A camera that I started out with was an Olympus Camedia C720. It's 3 megapix, 10x OPTICAL zoom (which used to be the longest OPTICAL zoom available), with full adjustability of everything from shutter speed to WB to apperture to flash intensity to different effects. The camera shoots great pics, and outdoors it shoots incredible pics. You can pick up simple bolt on accessories like 2x lens and wide angle lens and filters. It is an extremely dependable camera. Very user friendly. I would highly recommend the camera to anyone. I like mine so much that even after getting a digi SLR recently (also Olympus), I can't bear to part with it and I'm keeping it as a spare. BTW, you can also shoot video with sound no prob.

I also have a Canon S500. It is much more compact and easy to carry. It shoots good pics too. It's not as user friendly as my Olympus, but I have friends that don't agree because they've always used Canons. Maybe it's just me. It's an excellent little camera that also has a lot of adjustability, not as much as the cheaper and older Olympus though.

Personally, head-to-head and dollar-for-dollar......between both of those I'd shoot with the Olympus everyday. Hands down. The Canon is easier to carry and has higher resolution, but I can shoot better pics with my Olympus 99.9% of the time. This is why I opted to go with Olympus when I got my new SLR one.

You can pick one up, brand new thru ebay for almost nothing now-a-days. It's a cool cam to start with. She'll get her confidence up because she will be shooting good pics right out of the gate. She'll shoot awesome pics when she gets proficient at adjusting certain things based on the situation.

Good luck.

[4dmin]

dpreivew like danny said, its a great site

[YokotaS13]

i got an S1 and am completely happy. I found one under hte cabinet at best buy. i was gonna get a fuji somethign or other, but i like the s1 alot!

[Danny]

good.... if ur at HIN this weekend i would love to give it a whirle.

[disco]

I would look into the Canon S45 S50 S60 S70. I have a S45 and it's great. You have complete manual control if you wish, exposure compensation, manual focus, white balance, aperature, you can set everything. It even saves images in RAW format if you like. No compression like jpegs, you get exactly what the CCD records. Allows you to adjust white balance, exposure and other things after the fact. It's still small enough to carry around. Best and most features in a camera of that size period. Check out http://www.steves-digicams.com/ for some reviews. If you got specific questions about cameras pm me.

[YokotaS13]

i ended up wit teh s1

as far as HIN, im tryign to get my car finished by next weekend so i can go back to georgiua, i in myrtle beach, my sponsor is doin y fiberglass stuff for my stereo.