omg this is tough camera help

[TX26257]

Okay my wife has given me the green light to get a decent camera for a our alaska trip this year and later on this year our trip to Scotland. I also well take allot of aquarium pictures reef and planted tank. I want a camera with great resolutions with up to 8x10 pics. I also want to rapid shoot pics for wildlife. The only problem I got just 400 to spend on this. I am thinking of a

Canon PowerShot S5 IS what do you guys think

[Phyl]

D300 with a 80-400 lens. And a 17-55. Sorry, but with the trip to Alaska and Scotland coming up I'd want to be armed for bear!

[TX26257]

too pricey me poor

[Phyl]

Hmm. Poor you. A trip to Alaska... a trip to Scotland...

Suddenly I wish I was poor like that! :D

[davidk]

Canon G9. a little higher than $400 ($450 on Amazon). Bigger than most PS cameras that fit in the shirt pocket. great image quality and shoots raw. Just understand that if you're on a cruise boat, any point and shoot camera will be way short on the focal length to effectively reach the wildlife.

[BlueCorn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12589235#post12589235 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davidk
Canon G9. a little higher than $400 ($450 on Amazon). Bigger than most PS cameras that fit in the shirt pocket. great image quality and shoots raw. Just understand that if you're on a cruise boat, any point and shoot camera will be way short on the focal length to effectively reach the wildlife.


Ditto. That's a great point and shoot.

[TX26257]

on shooting wildlife I was thinking of doing more on those during trips of the boat.

I am really new to photography and have real hard time telling some times what makes one camera better then the other. between the two we are talking about here there is close to 150.00 dollar diffrence. I understand the 8m to 12m but would a 12 really do me that much diffrence in the picture sizes I am planning. I read up a little on raw since this was a new concept for me and not sure if some one of such little knowledge would benefit from it. what do you guys think

[TX26257]

oh and the two trip the alaskan cruise is a trip I had won through work and the scotland trip is to see my wife's family all we really paid on that was plane tickets which were bad enough

[davidk]

Don't get caught up on megapixels; 8 meg will get you a very nice 8x10 print. The size of the pixel is actually more important than how many; bigger pixels handle noise (low light situations) better.

"also want to rapid shoot pics for wildlife"
Keep in mind that none of the point and shoots will give the same kind of rapid-fire that you will get from DSLR cameras. The specs on the S5 are 1.5 frames per seconds, not very fast. In other words - time your shots and don't rely on the camera's capturing speed to "motor through" many pictures and hope you got the one.

I'm not a Canon shooter (but I do have a G9 and am very happy with it) but I did a quick look at the S5 and it should fit your needs.

Good luck.
David

[TitusvileSurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12590836#post12590836 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TX26257
on shooting wildlife I was thinking of doing more on those during trips of the boat.

I am really new to photography and have real hard time telling some times what makes one camera better then the other. between the two we are talking about here there is close to 150.00 dollar diffrence. I understand the 8m to 12m but would a 12 really do me that much diffrence in the picture sizes I am planning. I read up a little on raw since this was a new concept for me and not sure if some one of such little knowledge would benefit from it. what do you guys think
Do you really understand the difference between 8 and 12 mega pixels? I'm not so sure. Anyway, I would want at least 7 so 8 is pretty decent. 8 and 12 is a large gap and I would bet money you can see a difference. Far more important for image quality (and very much related to MP) is the sensor size. Your looking at tiny sensor cameras (cheap) so in that case, I wouldn't even sweat it. I recommend a G9 though. Its by no means a great wildlife camera, but its better than any of your other options imo.

[TX26257]

surfer do you have a better suggestion maybe even up to 500-550

[TX26257]

just remember im a novice

I just keep thinking im just as bad at golf with high-end clubs as im with cheap ones

[TitusvileSurfer]

Yeah this is nothing like golf. If you want a decant camera, get a G9. If you don't want a good camera, why spend $500 anyway? Id spend it on Scottish Scotch...

[TX26257]

one last suggestion

Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP

what do you guys think of this camera

[RevHtree]

Great camera, but you need glass to go with it. :)

[TX26257]

glass are you talking about a lense the one on amason I saw was with lense

[djc1026]

Most likely it's the stock lens and won't be long enough or fast enough for your needs. I think the S5 and G9 are very good recommendations, but I'll throw another in the mix and that is the Panasonic FZ50. It's in your price range (maybe even lower than the G9), great image quality, and very versatile.

Dave

[wmilas]

When you start getting into SLR cameras like the CanonRebel XT you are entering a whole other realm. They aren't point and shoot. They aren't light (Ok the rebel is REALLY light for a SLR). They come stock with a lens that competes with a P&S but the camera can be oh, so much more, with other lenses.

SLR's can shoot in RAW which frees you of jpegs. they can be put in manual mode so you can play with any focal length, apperature, iso setting you like. They can be put into manual focus. They give you complete freedom but it comes at a price. they are expensive, large (on purpose, large cameras bodies balance long lenses and are actually easier to hold for extended shoots), and have a learning curve.

If you feel like you want to learn photography, real photography such as composition, technique, ect a low end SLR such as a Rebel is a great place to start. If you just want a light camera to take shots of vacations with once or twice a year, stick with a fully automatic P&S.

[TitusvileSurfer]

The Canon G9 shoots RAW, and manual mode has little to do with focal length, I think shutter speed is what you were going for. Anyway, the G9 also has full Manual mode, allowing you to manipulate the key areas of exposure. It has a much smaller sensor however, and cannot change lenses.