Best Camera Brands?

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Zoobaby14

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I'm looking to buy a new camera soonish

But I'm having trouble picking a brand, I own a cannon one at the moment, and I'm not ot happy with it (It could just be the model tho.)

I've been looking at a few Sony ones and have read mixed reviews.

does any one know any other decent brands?

I'm looking for one that isnt to costly, and with at least 5x optical zoom and a decent amount of Megapixels
 
Well are you looking for a regular point and shoot? Something you can keep in your purse or pocket? There is Nikon, canon still has great models and you also have olympus and Kodak. All brands have good small point and shoot and bad ones too. Do some research before going out and buying one that you like. Look at all those brands.
 
Nikon or Canon. Kodaks annoy me and I tell everyone I know not to get them.

I am currently deciding between the Canon S5 or a Nikon Dx (DSLR).....
 
Liesje said:

I am currently deciding between the Canon S5 or a Nikon Dx (DSLR).....

My parents are actually deciding between those two. My Dad likes the Nikon (all the Namibia pics were taken with a Nikon DSLR and he likes the crispness of them), but my Mom is reluctant because unless you're willing to spend another $500-1000 on the really good lenses, you're not going to get the full benefit of owning it.

I just think they're old and not that savvy and should go with the Canon.
 
I have the Canon Digital Rebel XT and love it. True I don't like Kodak cameras either, but I thought I would suggest it. You can get better quality with Canon or Nikon.
 
anitram said:


My parents are actually deciding between those two. My Dad likes the Nikon (all the Namibia pics were taken with a Nikon DSLR and he likes the crispness of them), but my Mom is reluctant because unless you're willing to spend another $500-1000 on the really good lenses, you're not going to get the full benefit of owning it.


That's my dilemma as well. I will most likely go for the Canon S5 because I've been using the S1 and I still love it, but I'm limited by the size of the pictures and I want the better macro modes the newer Canons have. I've taken pics with the S1 that are comparable to pics my friends are taking with DSLRs. I also do a ton of editing on the computer and I can do that regardless of what camera took the picture. Any picture can be made more saturated, more crisp, more clear, etc. It's taken me three years to get really comfortable with the S1 and I hate the though of completely starting over with a DSLR. The S5 will be familiar, just better :D. My sis-in-law and I decided if we both lose 15lbs before her wedding we will both get one for ourselves.
 
You take gorgeous pics with your new camera so I think you'd really enjoy the newer model. You have an eye for it, that's a lot more important than a camera (I say that as someone who has no eye for anything, heh).
 
Thanks for the input :)

I have done a bit of research, over the past few days and have decided to buy either a cannon or Nikon, like alot of you have said.

I think im going to wait till new year to buy one, and see what they bring out in the next few months before i pick a model.
 
Liesje said:


That's my dilemma as well. I will most likely go for the Canon S5 because I've been using the S1 and I still love it, but I'm limited by the size of the pictures and I want the better macro modes the newer Canons have. I've taken pics with the S1 that are comparable to pics my friends are taking with DSLRs. I also do a ton of editing on the computer and I can do that regardless of what camera took the picture. Any picture can be made more saturated, more crisp, more clear, etc. It's taken me three years to get really comfortable with the S1 and I hate the though of completely starting over with a DSLR. The S5 will be familiar, just better :D. My sis-in-law and I decided if we both lose 15lbs before her wedding we will both get one for ourselves.

You're me... just about a good week ago. I used to use the S1 until I finally bit the bullet and bought the S5. If you want a good deal, just about last week, it was going for 300-319$ on Amazon.com. I gotta tell you, the S5 is amazing. What I really like about its 'newer' features is that it can take pictures in a 'wide screen' resolution. The screen is so so much bigger and clearer, it's like looking at the screen on a digital camcorder. Really nice. It's got other features as well, but I haven't really touched on it much.

All in all, the S5 is a significant jump from the S1. :drool:
Oh yeah, 8.0 mps from 3.2... makes a GREAT deal of difference in picture quality.
 
The Canon S5 has high noise at higher ISOs (e.g. low light, no flash).

The Pop Photo review says:
"At ISO 80, image quality is Extremely High, bordering on Excellent, but it goes downhill pretty quickly, as resolution drops and noise increases as the ISOs climb.

Noise is Low (1.9) at ISO 80, Moderate at ISO 100 (2.4) and 200 (2.5), but High/Unacceptable at ISO 400 (3.2), 800 (4.1) and 1600 (6.3).
"

I personally wouldn't buy the Canon S5 (I've had a Rebel xt for a few years) because I do some low light shooting.
 
^ I've had that problem as well. Luckily, I rarely shoot in low-light. The only really low-light conditions I've tried to shoot in have been U2 shows, post-snow storm after dark, and this house fire that happened after dark and in all cases my pics turned out pretty OK to me. Lately, I've been using the P mode so I can adjust the white balance, exposure, and flash but I leave the ISO on Auto and it's been working great (this is on the S1, I'm assuming the S5 can't be any worse).

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However, if I went to a lot of concerts I would maybe not consider the S5. I go to more dog shows which have to be well-lit or are outdoors in the sunlight.
 
Liesje said:
(this is on the S1, I'm assuming the S5 can't be any worse).

A higher ISO might also be needed to shoot action scenes.
I'm not familiar with the S1 noise level, but several camera models (of various companies) experienced increased noise levels when they increased the number of megapixels onto the same (or roughly same) size image sensor. Based on the below article, I assume the S1 actually has less noise than the S5 because the pixels aren't as crowded on the sensor.

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_noise.html
states:

More megapixels on the same sized image sensor means the pixels are closer together -- thus more noise. Of course, better in-camera noise reduction algorithms in the newer digital cameras can counter this tendency toward more noise to a certain extent. Photographers must balance the advantage of higher megapixels versus more noise (albeit reduced with the in-camera noise reduction algorithms), although camera manufacturers leave us with few choices as they all move to the higher megapixels image sensor to compete with one another.

For $300-400, Canon should have better noise control on the S5 - some other brands and models handily beat it at the same price level.
 
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