recommendations for buying a new CAMERA

[ArkiStan]

Hi everybody. I know there are some photographers in the forums here so I'm asking for some help. I used to have a decent manual camera and I always liked to just shoot around with my camera. But for the first time I decided to take an actual formal school course to learn properly. The thing is I can't find my camera... So I thought it was a good chance to buy a new one. I'm not gonna be doing any serious picture taking. It's gonna be for pure pleasure (but hope to make it a serious hobby sooner or later) and later for making my grad school portfolio. So I don't need anything amazing, but I want something that I could keep and use for a long time. I'm not sure what the price range is out there for a decent camera. I'm guessing and hoping I'll spend about $400 max. Can anybody recommend some machines??

my instructor recommended the Canon Rebel, but I've also heard of the Nimon N70. I heard Nikon's are generally better cameras, but for an amateur like me, I'm sure anything would be good enough...

key point here: I don't wanna spend a fortune. but I want a machine that won't get outdated for a long time.

thanks

[ArkiStan]

anybody? I know there are photographers here....

[apmiller]

We have a digital Sony camera at home that was only $400 bucks. It works great. I love it. Takes some really nice clear pictures even when you subject start moving on you. I'll see if I can find a link for it but we picked it up at Target.

[ArkiStan]

Originally posted by apmiller
We have a digital Sony camera at home that was only $400 bucks. It works great. I love it. Takes some really nice clear pictures even when you subject start moving on you. I'll see if I can find a link for it but we picked it up at Target.

digital cameras are nice, but I'll be using this camera for a school photography class, and part of the curiculum is to learn the techniques of hand developing with all the chemicals and stuff, so I think I'll probably be needing a manual camera for now. Thanks for the recommendation though.

[Markel]

I was going to mention the Canon Rebel as a good possible choice. I went through college photography using a Pentax. Nikon's tend to be a bit more costly (targetted toward higher end users). One thing to check (perhaps with the instructor) is what kind of lens is recommended. When I was in photography, the emphasis was to stick with a standard fixed lens (50 or 55 mm). Many of the Rebels come with a zoom lens.

[poiselle]

The camera itself won't be too expensive. It is the lenses that get you. I have a Canon Elan IIE. I really like it, although the guy in my office has a Nikon N70 which he loves. I don't think there is a difference between the two. Some features are nifty, but the most important thing is that you like the feel in your hand. The argument between Nikon and Canon is like Intel vs AMD magnified 100 times. People become really stuck on one type. I hear that Nikon has slightly better lenses. If you are going to buy a camera online try B&H photo video or something like that. They are not the cheapest, but they have one of the better reputations. I also recommend you visit www.photo.net. You can pick up all manner of things. If deciding between the Rebel and N70 I would probably go for the N70 since it is just an older model of a higher end camera whereas the Rebel is more of a starter model although pretty nice.

[Leon]

Something nice and cheap is the Canon Rebel 2000. Great beginner camera that shouldn't go out of date. My cousin had one. Very light and reliable.

[Loki]

Hey speaking of which. I'm about to buy a digital camera myself for an upcoming trip. I wanted to buy that Cannon Digital Elph S110. However, I was wondering will photo development places take the pictures and develop them for you? Or do you have to just print them out your self? Has anyone heard of places doing that? I figure that they can probably print out nicer images than I can with a home printer.

[poiselle]

I know that ritz camera will do it. I don't have a digital camera, but the one near me does very nice work with regular film.

[Loki]

No...I'm talking about from digital cameras.

[poiselle]

Originally posted by Loki
No...I'm talking about from digital cameras.
Yeah, sorry about that. Keyboard was acting up and I did not explain myself well. Ritz camera will print out digital pictures for you.

[Loki]

Originally posted by poiselle

Yeah, sorry about that. Keyboard was acting up and I did not explain myself well. Ritz camera will print out digital pictures for you.

Really? Do you just give the pictures to them on a disk or what?

[Loki]

Oh nm...I just called them. Ya they take the memory card and print out the pictures for you. However, it's $.69 per print!!! Dayyumm....that means if I come back with 400 photos from my trip that's gonna be $276.00!!! just to print them....hmmm maybe I better just do it myself.

[poiselle]

I know you can get epson color inkjet printers that make near photo quality prints for not alot of money. The photo paper is expensive, but you could probably do something like that which would be cheaper than having them do it. They are not cheap (for a consumer developer) for regular film, but I have liked their prints. I think it can vary though from store to store. If you are going to take many pictures you may want to try the printer thing.