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Janszen

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For graduation my parents are getting me a camera, I want to find one that can take good night shots and try to stay around $200-$300. I know those SLR and XLR and every other LR stuff is really good but they also go for thousands of bucks. Any ideas...
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if you're looking for a camera for clubbing or taking to bars, etc....and taking low light / low contrast shots go Fuji F20, F30, F31. The F20 can be had for like $150 or better.....it's a steal. I like available light photography and these are the best low-noise camera in a P&S and you can get great prints from them.

 

ISO 800: http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79434406

ISO 1600 http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79973107

ISO 2000 even: http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/74622867

Macro Mode is good:

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79445250

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79778395

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79778396

Great Detail: http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/74677135/original

 

Panasonic makes great cams too....and yes I can get you a deal on any of them :D

 

any Q's on cameras of photography, just shoot me a PM. happy to help.

 

 

For graduation my parents are getting me a camera, I want to find one that can take good night shots and try to stay around $200-$300. I know those SLR and XLR and every other LR stuff is really good but they also go for thousands of bucks. Any ideas...
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If you go digital get one that uses a lithium ion cell. No double A's. stay away. I like Cannon. Never had anyone unhappy with one I sold em back in the day either. Course the Fuji's do well usually. I just never liked their design. Thats me though.
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I suggest the Cannon S3. It is a bit higher than your price range, but this is the best point and shoot digital camera I have ever seen. It takes beautiful pictures and is a great camera. But honestly anything Cannon will treat you good.
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decent camera, but that Sony will never give you an image above ISO 400 that you can use. Their ISO 400+ will look like TV Snow. Image Stabilization (IS) is nice and works great. Keep in mind it won't stop motion nor is it a substitute for higher ISO's that are usable and will get you faster shutter speeds...which will stop motion or blur of moving people.

 

outside Fuji, consider the Panasonic TZ-3. It has the best quality lens (true Leica lens design) and the best Image Stabilization on a P&S camera. You also get awide angle 28mm lens which is rare in a P&S. Also at full tele, the lens won't give you the Purple fringe/flare or distortion that Canon and Sony will. Remember, the lens is key.

 

Up to ISO 400 if perfectly fine. Very nice images right from the camera. Great price and durable as all hell. I'm not saying this or being Biased since I work for Panny...I don't work in the camera division. I do have 12 digital cameras of all makes from small P&S though DSLR's and am giving you my two cents.

 

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonictz3/Images/TZ3_3q-001.jpg

 

yea i found this sony one at best buy and it has a 3600 iso which is pretty good what do you guys think

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8266725&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat99100050024&id=1170290186198

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so the 3600 iso what exactly does that do, does it have to do with the shutter speed. Well from what i told you guys about wanting to be able to take pics in the dark and/ or with motion the best bet would be a Panasonic or fuji.
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Tim, do you have any links to prices on some of these cameras? I need to find an inexpensive one as well that takes good pictures and is easy to use... my fuji is cheap and as so, only takes mediocre pictures at best... as well as the woman can't seem to grasp the concept of hold the button half way until it beeps for auto-focus.

 

Thanks!

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Call me if you wish or....read the cliffs here: :rolleyes:

 

Panny will do extremely well outside. Best pics out of camera color and sharpness wise. Hardly any Post Processing at all needed. It's all in the lens. I give it a 8/10 outside, 6/10 inside.

 

Fuji will do best in low light or dark scenes. Tends to blow the highlights a bit outside, but still better than most. 7/10 outside, 9/10 inside

 

Trying to keep it brief :o ...ISO will bump your shutter speed up to stop motion. However, just note that ISO on P&S cams like this are very limited and don't respond the same as SLR's.

 

ISO also allows you to capture more of the available light so when you use a flash, the subject is exposed properly but the background won't look really dark..you've seen shots like that.....not great. Key with flash photography is you don't want the viewer to know you even used a flash. This is more important than stopping time.

 

Here's an example from the Small Fuji:

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79020684

 

Here's a few from a DSRL: (notice you can't tell a flash was used)

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/72711044

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/69052364

 

Taking photos in the dark...depending on the darkness level is going to be dependant on the camera having a focus assist light. Those I mentioned do. It's a small light that projects out so the camera can see and focus, then its shuts off. There are several types, but you'll have them here. I can take a pic in complete darkness.

 

Here's an example...stuck a camera in a dark room under a bed and snapped a shot of my cat: http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/8076880

 

Back to motion and ISO....tell me more about where you are looking to take pics. In the mean time, here are some samples from various P&S Cameras for you to see...these are my 'real world candids' nothing staged nor glamour shots.

 

Fuji F20

ISO 400

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79445249

 

ISO 800 at kids play

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/77893192

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79434406

 

ISO 1600 (you wont' see another P&S Come close, especially in prints)

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79434383

 

ISO 2000 (nothing other than my DSLR will come close)

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/74622867

 

 

Details from Fuji: (large size pic)

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/74677135/original

 

Panny LZ5

Bike in Motion:

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79835267

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/63163372

 

$150 Panny:

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79850215

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79637165

Details at ISO 200 http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/79637164

 

Don't stress too much about things. You'll have fun and begin post processing things and you'll push the photos to their limits. You can push ISO's up or down with great success.

 

You'll do shots like this one with the Panny easily, especially with stabilization.

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/36005110

 

Here's a few for heck of it.

 

ISO 100 way underexposed then fixed in Photoshop:

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/9846645

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/9846646

 

ISO 3200

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/72051141

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/35525210

http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/image/36442163

 

Full size images for Pixel Peeping available, just PM me.

 

I'll take some bar shots with both the fuji and a panny when I'm in Chicago tonight and post them for you. Bar Scene candids are always fun :cool:

 

 

 

so the 3600 iso what exactly does that do, does it have to do with the shutter speed. Well from what i told you guys about wanting to be able to take pics in the dark and/ or with motion the best bet would be a Panasonic or fuji.
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You have PM. Email me at the address I gave you and I'll send you the pdf. Cell number is there too for any questions.

 

Tim, do you have any links to prices on some of these cameras? I need to find an inexpensive one as well that takes good pictures and is easy to use... my fuji is cheap and as so, only takes mediocre pictures at best... as well as the woman can't seem to grasp the concept of hold the button half way until it beeps for auto-focus.

 

Thanks!

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As an avid casual photographer the most important thing I can recommend to consider is one thing people overlook all the time, the physical size of the camera! Larger/heavier/fragile-er cameras will become a nuisance as they hang around your neck all day, especially if you don't take a LOT of pictures to make it worth your trouble.

 

So ask yourself, what kind of picture taker are you? If you take a lot of pictures for the sake of experimenting and finding unique shots, get a larger body camera such as the Canon S3, it will offer image quality that small profile cameras can't touch, but won't fit in your pocket by any stretch. If you want something that will slip in and out of your pocket and you prefer taking 'opportunity' shots, get a slim camera like the fuji f20.

 

I can't afford much, but I keep and use two cameras all the time. Currently one is a Canon S330 that's small and indestructible, and the other is a Canon S2 IS which has a full body and takes outstanding pics but is still easy to use and affordable.

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I use a Canon S2 for astrophotography and general use pictures. I really like its low light capability, AA batteries (I use rechargeables and if I need more any store will have them,) and SD card media format (I like them because there very common though I think CF flash cards might have a higher write speed so they'd be better suited for high res videos.)

 

Here are some examples from my Blackwater falls trip last weekend.

 

little froggy

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/Picture106.jpg

 

the water fall

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/Picture119.jpg

 

seneca caverns (shot no flash, shutter speed around 1/8 second in a lit up area of the cave

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/Picture076.jpg

 

caverns (shot in a much darker area at more like 1/2 second at F2.7

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/Picture062.jpg

 

These were just me wandering around in the cave playing with settings. I usually snap the shots then take them home and the file has the shot details in it so I can learn what works and what doesn't.

 

Photobucket compresses them so if anyone wants to see more detail the 2592x1944 original file really brings out much more detail.

 

Evan

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Hey Tim, I noticed your first pic has one of the problems alot of indoor pics of mine end up with unless I"m careful. The REDs and the stained wood parts of the picture ended up with to much red in them. What do you usually do to correct for this? I find it happens most when I leave the camera on auto and let it do the thinking. I fix it by going to one of the manual settings and thinking for myself. I did just notice my S2 has an indoor setting on it. I'm going to try it out next time I'm around alot of old wood work.

 

Evan

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Hey Tim, I noticed your first pic has one of the problems alot of indoor pics of mine end up with unless I"m careful. The REDs and the stained wood parts of the picture ended up with to much red in them. What do you usually do to correct for this? I find it happens most when I leave the camera on auto and let it do the thinking. I fix it by going to one of the manual settings and thinking for myself. I did just notice my S2 has an indoor setting on it. I'm going to try it out next time I'm around alot of old wood work.

 

Evan

 

The S2 has an adjustable white balance which can take care of annoying color highlighting, try playing with the different settings for indoor light like incandescent and fluorescent, or go all out and get a gray white-balance card and set it manually when you shoot indoors or in any sort of artificial light.

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