[Xehaust]

Sorry to post again but cant edit the previous post.

Details are : Cam-Phones are K810i and N73. Any others, please specify.
Budget - Approx. Rs.10,000/- Like i said before, a little here and there is acceptable.

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Sorry to post again but cant edit the previous post.

Details are : Cam-Phones are K810i and N73. Any others, please specify.
Budget - Approx. Rs.10,000/- Like i said before, a little here and there is acceptable.

Dude, seriously these queries are for mobile phone thread. It just dosnt belong here at all.

[Xehaust]

gkrishn, the question that im asking here is exactly that...
Should i go in for a basic camera or a cam phone?
Read my previous posts to see why i prefer a cam-phone.
But if you still feel i should go in for a basic camera, then which?
Or if a cam-phone, then which?
Regards, Xehaust.

[nitroxx]

heres the question.
T 20 cybershot
W 80 cybershot
L 73 Samsung
and any others that are in the same range.

Which is the best bet?

[moralfibre]

Guys I have finally decided on picking up the Canon Powershot S5-IS. Just wanted to know whether I should pick up the additional lenses that are on offer like the wide angle etc:

[navin]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Or if a cam-phone, then which?
Regards, Xehaust.

if you need a phone or a camera that will always be available then get the cam-phone.

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Guys I have finally decided on picking up the Canon Powershot S5-IS.

depends on what you shoot. for most purposes I think the wide ngle will be more useful. keep in mind you will loose a stop or 2 with the extra glass.

[sids911]

OK. I am planning to get a decent camera now. I have been a P&S guy till now, and want to move up to either a Bridge or a entry level DSLR.

Primarily I will be shooting Landscapes, cars!, humans and some macros.

The bridge camera I have finalized is S5-IS (With Wide Converter) and DSLR that I am thinking about is EOS 400D with 18-55mm kit lens.

My budget is about 20k INR and will be getting a camera from US.

The question is; does it makes sense to go for a Bridge Camera? 400D is a bit long in tooth but thats the one which fits in my budget, so is it still worth it, or should I collect some more money and go for 450D? Would LiveView really help for a P&S guy like me?
I am just looking at best results I can get from a 20k camera.
So, any other newer options from other companies are welcome.
Thanks

[navin]

Originally Posted by sids911

Primarily I will be shooting Landscapes, cars!, humans and some macros.
The bridge camera I have finalized is S5-IS (With Wide Converter) and DSLR that I am thinking about is EOS 400D with 18-55mm kit lens.
My budget is about 20k INR and will be getting a camera from US.

The question is; does it makes sense to go for a Bridge Camera? 400D is a bit long in tooth but thats the one which fits in my budget, so is it still worth it, or should I collect some more money and go for 450D? Would LiveView really help for a P&S guy like me?
I am just looking at best results I can get from a 20k camera.
So, any other newer options from other companies are welcome.
Thanks

what i am saying below might make it look like I am some camera snob but really I am not. I am just trying to ensure that what you buy does not devlaue to nothing in 2 years.

1. digicam prices drop very fast. lens prices not so fast.
2. IS can buy you upto 4 stops (often atleast 2) so stick to IS zooms and primes.
3. For prints up to 4x6" or even 6x8" your S5 is very usaable.
4. liveview is very useful but rememebr in a DSLR it really chews battery and in some cases there have been reports of it overheating the sensor although I wonder why that would happen.
5. the D450 (liveview and self cleaning sensor) is not going to be available before June 2008 besides to protect it's 40D market Canon has overpried the 450D for now. Expect prices to slide fast.

given the above the best time to invest in a DSLR is when you can afford good glass. On the Canon system (since you are considering Canon) this would mean glass like the (in order of price) 17-85/3.5-4.5 IS, 70-300/4-5.6 IS, 17-55/2.8 IS, 24-105/4 IS, 24-70/2.8 IS, 70-200/4 IS, 70-200/2.8 IS etc...

Light is an essential comodity to talking good photos. For this reason I would stick to zoom glass larger than 62mm, faster than f/4, and reputed to be sharp (see photo.net, dpreview,com, etc) or primes...and dont forget to get a good flash gun like the 430EX or 580EX as well.

Pentax, Sony, Olympus and Nikon also offer DSLR systems. In either case determine the application, then determine which glass suits the application and work from there. Also note that Canon has more service centers in India than Olympus, Pentax, Sony and Nikon combined; why, I guess that Nikon too has more service centers than Sony, Pentx and Oly combined.

[sids911]

Hi Navin,
I will sound like a complete noob in my replies. I actually had to re-read your post a couple times before I could even reply;

Originally Posted by navin

2. IS can buy you upto 4 stops (often atleast 2) so stick to IS zooms and primes.

What exactly are the stops? What are primes?

Originally Posted by navin

5. the D450 (liveview and self cleaning sensor) is not going to be available before June 2008 besides to protect it's 40D market Canon has overpried the 450D for now. Expect prices to slide fast.

I will most likely go for a D400. It seems like a decent body. The D450 has three features (LiveView, SD cards, Spot metering) that are enticing me, but i think I will settle for less. Dont want to go into analysis paralysis since I am just a newbie and dont know whats wrong or right for me yet.

Originally Posted by navin

given the above the best time to invest in a DSLR is when you can afford good glass. On the Canon system (since you are considering Canon) this would mean glass like the (in order of price) 17-85/3.5-4.5 IS, 70-300/4-5.6 IS, 17-55/2.8 IS, 24-105/4 IS, 24-70/2.8 IS, 70-200/4 IS, 70-200/2.8 IS etc...

Does that mean, I should just buy the D400 body, and purchase a lens like 17-85 IS separately?

Originally Posted by navin

Light is an essential comodity to talking good photos. For this reason I would stick to zoom glass larger than 62mm, faster than f/4, and reputed to be sharp (see photo.net, dpreview,com, etc) or primes...and dont forget to get a good flash gun like the 430EX or 580EX as well.

I do hope to invest more in as I am learning, but for the starters, the budget wont allow for more adventure. I really want to learn, and I am drifting towards D400 as it will allow me to probably learn from its shortcomings and my mistakes.
Lowest Prices I am getting for D400 with kit lens is around 510 USD, while D400 with 17-85mm lens is coming around 1,125 USD, now thats about double the price.
Simply, I cant afford that right now, knowing I have just started. Am i thinking in the right direction or should I just stick to a decent P&S like S5 IS?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sids911

What exactly are the stops? What are primes?

Clearly you are not ready for dSLR. You should know these stuff like the back of your hand while contemplating a dSLR.

Originally Posted by sids911

Simply, I cant afford that right now, knowing I have just started. Am i thinking in the right direction or should I just stick to a decent P&S like S5 IS?

Until you learn photography, you should stick with P&S. If not you won't produce better photographs with dSLR. These days you can get great results with P&S too.

Recently I switched to a professional dSLR. However, unless I really raise my level, I won't be able to produce any better shots than I did with my older dSLR.

[kaushik_s]

@sids911, Just a small correction, it's not D400 but 400D and same for 450D.
Secondly, if you are serious about learning photography go for the DSLR with the kit lens itself.Yeah good glass will give you better contrast/color etc but that won't be visible to your newly trained eyes.
Why I'm saying DSLR, cause I know if you are interested in Photography then very soon you'd like to upgrade and that urge will be too much to handle and you'll end up selling the P&S.So better invest in the DSLR itself if you are "INTERESTED and SERIOUS" about pursuing the hobby.I would like to re-iterate, if only you are serious about photography, which seems like the case.
Secondly, the DSLR will give you more options to be creative,yes the S5 IS also do provide Ap control/Tv control/Manual control etc. but to a certain extent.DSLR will provide more options.
Another point is that for low-light photography the noise will more with the S5 IS sensor.
Last but not the least is the word called "RAW" files.They are uncompressed files which are like digital negatives.Give you all the control to do the processing yourself.But ofcourse it'll come into picture when you've learned the first steps..
Once you learn the tricks and trade then you can decide on the next upgrade(no I'm not talking about the Camera but the Lenses) Go for the lenses depending on what you like to shoot more.That knowledge will come to you automatically after you no longer the beginner.
Regards,
Kaushik

[vintagepoint5]

Fujifilm F40 digital camera is also very good camera and have very attractive features.

It is has 8.3 mega pixels, 19 modes of photo, 2.5 view finder screen,
Multi face detection feature, red eye suppressio, macro, all the standard features. SD memory card of 2 GB, holds about 1000 snaps, video recording, etc. I am using it and it gives me high quality photos.
Can be connected to TV also to snaps or slides, etc.

[sids911]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Clearly you are not ready for dSLR. You should know these stuff like the back of your hand while contemplating a dSLR.

Until you learn photography, you should stick with P&S. If not you won't produce better photographs with dSLR. These days you can get great results with P&S too.

Yes. I agree that I am not ready for dSLR yet. Thats why I asked the question in the first place. IF I grow my interest in Photography (of which there is a large possibility) and seriously end up taking to it, then the camera should give me enough headroom for expansion.

Between S5 IS and 400D there is a difference of about 200 USD. And I seriously dont think its a huge difference. The question for a DSLR came from this factor only. Why not a DSLR? I know i have a knack for photographs and I know I can read and learn.
But saying that I aint ready and still not answering queries wouldnt help a fellow T-Bhpian would it?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sids911

But saying that I aint ready and still not answering queries wouldnt help a fellow T-Bhpian would it?

Actually, I have answered this question many times in this very same thread.

[kaushik_s]

@sids911
Hmmm, Ok, let me answer a few questions, although it's not a photography forum,I hope it's ok to answer,
stops:well you can say it's kind of measurement of light falling into your sensor/film and which will determine your exposure of the shots.Depending on your metering you want to change your exposure, say metering from a snow will give you a grey muddy snow scene as the meter was fooled,now you need to compensate by giving more light(say 1 stop) to make the scene appear white instead of grey.So you increase the exposure time by 1 stop,say initially the meter suggested you shutterspeed of 1/125 @ f8 but after 1.5 stop exposure compensation you need to dial in 1/60 @ f8 .That means you've given 1 stop more light.It's just an example not a actual scenario.[f or f number means what's the aperture of the lens at that given exposure.smaller the number bigger the aperture,f5.6 is double of f8,f4 is double of f5.6 etc. so f5.6 will give 1 stop more light then f8 and so on]
Primes: Fixed focal length lenses e.g.a 50mm or a 300mm etc. not a zoom.
Go for 400D(or even 350D) . it's a decent camera.And for the lenses as I've suggested go for the kit lens itself as of now.Forget about pro/semi pro lenses as of now.Learn and then upgrade.Everyone has to start from scratch,so being a newbie doesn't mean that you shouldn't go for a DSLR. As I've said before go for it if you are interested.
Oh yeah, along with learn digital post-processing,very very important to make your photos pop.
Regards,
Kaushik