Hi, Guest
05-05-2007, 12:16 PM
Canon/Nikon DSLRs are the way to go. Tons and tons and tons of lenses and you can buy old used equipment and it'll still fit on to most modern cameras (though with a 1.6x or 1.5x crop, and sometimes with a loss of advanced or automatic features).
If it's for a vacation though, as previously mentioned, get the best smallest camera you can. You're not gonna wanna pull out (or carry) a big honkin' DSLR all the time. I have this same problem, the only camera I own is a Nikon D100 with a few lenses. Yes, camera is great, I love using, it I get some great pictures. But when it's just for a snap shot or two, it's the biggest pain in the ass, no one wants to wait for you to put it all together and set it up. And it's harder to capture 'moments' with a DSLR, because I swear everyone stops what they're doing when you pull it out (probably because it takes you so long)
The good thing about vacation photos and photos of family and friends. Even if they aren't perfectly exposed pictures, they're still great because of the memories from when you were actually there.
I used a P&S throw away camera in Florida in 1998 (I was also 14), worst pictures ever, but I can remember taking each and every one of them, and to me that's all that matters, in a vacation picture anyway.
Other advantages include
- not looking like a tourist
- not having something huge and visible that someone would want to steal and constantly having to worry about where you left it and will it be ok
- P&S cameras tend to have a pretty good zoom range vs kit lenses on DSLRs (big zoom costs big dollars on DSLRs)
- P&S cameras are simpler to learn meaning more consistency in pictures if you're a beginner
- Quite a few P&S cameras have manually adjustable options that allow some control over the exposure of a picture, similar to that of an SLR (Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO etc..)
But if you really do want to learn, go for it. Despite all of the negative comments about DSLRs I made above, I love my camera, and love going out and trying new things. It's an expensive hobby, as all worth while hobbies are. But I would definitely go with Canon or Nikon. Once you buy a camera, you're locked in really, because they don't share lenses. So if you invest a few thousand dollars in equipment, you're stuck with that company, unless you want to spend a few thousand dollars more to switch later on.
If it's for a vacation though, as previously mentioned, get the best smallest camera you can. You're not gonna wanna pull out (or carry) a big honkin' DSLR all the time. I have this same problem, the only camera I own is a Nikon D100 with a few lenses. Yes, camera is great, I love using, it I get some great pictures. But when it's just for a snap shot or two, it's the biggest pain in the ass, no one wants to wait for you to put it all together and set it up. And it's harder to capture 'moments' with a DSLR, because I swear everyone stops what they're doing when you pull it out (probably because it takes you so long)
The good thing about vacation photos and photos of family and friends. Even if they aren't perfectly exposed pictures, they're still great because of the memories from when you were actually there.
I used a P&S throw away camera in Florida in 1998 (I was also 14), worst pictures ever, but I can remember taking each and every one of them, and to me that's all that matters, in a vacation picture anyway.
Other advantages include
- not looking like a tourist
- not having something huge and visible that someone would want to steal and constantly having to worry about where you left it and will it be ok
- P&S cameras tend to have a pretty good zoom range vs kit lenses on DSLRs (big zoom costs big dollars on DSLRs)
- P&S cameras are simpler to learn meaning more consistency in pictures if you're a beginner
- Quite a few P&S cameras have manually adjustable options that allow some control over the exposure of a picture, similar to that of an SLR (Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO etc..)
But if you really do want to learn, go for it. Despite all of the negative comments about DSLRs I made above, I love my camera, and love going out and trying new things. It's an expensive hobby, as all worth while hobbies are. But I would definitely go with Canon or Nikon. Once you buy a camera, you're locked in really, because they don't share lenses. So if you invest a few thousand dollars in equipment, you're stuck with that company, unless you want to spend a few thousand dollars more to switch later on.
Silver '05 Saabaru 9-2X Aero