[reignofchaos]

Among the superzooms, I'd get the Panasonic FZ8/FZ18. Compared to the canons and sonys, the lens is significantly better. All the sensors suck equally.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Among the superzooms, I'd get the Panasonic FZ8/FZ18. Compared to the canons and sonys, the lens is significantly better. All the sensors suck equally.

Me too have heard about the quality of Panasonic FZ series,seem to be very good lenses. But issue is that they are quite costly compared to similar Canon or Sony.That was the case when I was looking for a camera for a friend and ultimately he decided to go for canon as the price difference was quite high.How is the situation now ? and how about after sales of Panasonic ? I doubt if they can beat canon on that.

[reignofchaos]

After sales is supposed to be okay. A friend got the FZ8 recently from abroad and I was really amazed as to what the little camera can do. It was cheap as well... around 200 odd.

[smsrini]

Harjeev,

Also consider Nikon P80.

[hrag]

Is there no good entry level digital camera for less than 10K? I see ads almost everyday by Vivek's with the deal of the day - digital cameras for 6-7K. Can someone be kind enough to tell me what features are minimum?

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by hrag

I am planning to buy an entry level digital camera. Can you please help me by telling me what features to look out for? I would like to learn how to take better photographs than what I do right now.

Edit: I think I can safely spend upto 10K

If you want learn and use some manual controls then look for cameras which will have manual control features (M,Av,Tv modes). I think Canon A590IS/580 etc Sony W series(only M mode) and few other cameras will have those features and will fit into your budget also.

Hey RoC, just checked Panasonic FZ18 and that damn camera looks quite impressive, I must say. Also I was bit out of date regarding recent P&S development. The best thing is that it's almost wide-angle with 28mm as the starting focal length and goes upto staggering 504mm which is kinda super tele.Any idea how much it would cost in India ? no I'm not planning to buy one ;-) , just want to know.
Regards,
Kaushik

[reignofchaos]

In Grey, its under 15 grand. With warranty expect it to be around 20 grand.

[jaibir]

Does anyone have any views on how the Canon 30D stacks up against the 400D and 450D? I'm not too bothered by bells and whistles like live view and am not a megapixel chaser (been perfectly happy with the resolution on my D40). Specifically, I'm looking for a good walk around camera that can be used for candid shots. Need a good focus speed for that and preferrably, good high ISO performance. All three bodies are within budget. Just confused which one to get. Considered and dropped the Nikon D80 - for the same money body only ($800), the 30D seems a better camera. Plus I have my eye on some of Canon's cheaper primes - they seem to have a better range than Nikon of those, although the Nikon zooms are a bit cheaper.

One additional thing, does anyone have any idea about the refurbished cameras available on reputed online stores? I saw a Canon EOS 30D refurbished by Canon along with the 18-55 kit lens available for $699 on Adorama. The same kit is $899 for the standard version. The refurb one comes with a 90 day warranty from Adorama whilst the standard one has a one year Canon USA warranty on the body. Just wondering what I would be losing for the $200 saved.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by harjeev

Thanks tsk, aburagohain and kaushik
I think that I would stick with the prosumer range of cameras.

which would be better the Canon S5IS or the Sony DSC-H10

there are certian points that the canon scores over the sony i.e. has a higher zoom 12x (432mm) compared to 10x (380mm), for external flash the Canon it has a hot shoe option, canon has a electronic Viewfinder. the LCD screen is a flip and twist on the Canon. this comes in handy when taking pics as weird angles or your own pics. Also the Canon as a manual focus.

On the other hand the SONY is about 200 grams lighter, has an ISO rating upto 3200 compared to 1600 on the Canon, has a bigger LCD Screen 3.0" compared to 2.5 on the Canon and is a much latest model was launched in Jan 2008 compared to May 2007 for the Canon.

The things that are the same are Mega pixels, Sensor Size, Image Stabilizer etc

I have compared the cams on Digital Cameras Side-by-Side, 2 cameras: Digital Photography Review

Please advise

On any of these prosumer cameras(except for some Fuji's) you will not be able to use more than ISO 200 due to high noise.
H10 has a very bad noise performance if you look at the review.
ISO 3200 is totally useless in such cams.
Heck, anything more than ISO400 is useless.

Originally Posted by jaibir

Does anyone have any views on how the Canon 30D stacks up against the 400D and 450D? I'm not too bothered by bells and whistles like live view and am not a megapixel chaser (been perfectly happy with the resolution on my D40). Specifically, I'm looking for a good walk around camera that can be used for candid shots. Need a good focus speed for that and preferrably, good high ISO performance. All three bodies are within budget. Just confused which one to get. Considered and dropped the Nikon D80 - for the same money body only ($800), the 30D seems a better camera. Plus I have my eye on some of Canon's cheaper primes - they seem to have a better range than Nikon of those, although the Nikon zooms are a bit cheaper.

One additional thing, does anyone have any idea about the refurbished cameras available on reputed online stores? I saw a Canon EOS 30D refurbished by Canon along with the 18-55 kit lens available for $699 on Adorama. The same kit is $899 for the standard version. The refurb one comes with a 90 day warranty from Adorama whilst the standard one has a one year Canon USA warranty on the body. Just wondering what I would be losing for the $200 saved.

30D has better focusing and viewfinder than the 400D. Not so sure how would 450D stack up, since that uses an improved focusing mechanism.
For candid, I suggest 450D, because its a lighter and smaller camera, and with the 50mm1.8 attached the Rebel series is a light weight setup perfect for street photography.

[navin]

Originally Posted by jaibir

Does anyone have any views on how the Canon 30D stacks up against the 400D and 450D?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

For candid, I suggest 450D, because its a lighter and smaller camera, and with the 50mm1.8 attached the Rebel series is a light weight setup perfect for street photography.

I agree. the real difference between the 400D and 40D is build quality. For a light walkabout the 400/450D with a 18-55 IS II (day light) or 28/1.8+EW63(evening) is your best bet.

[Akshay1234]

hey guys, my dad wants to pick up a dslr. hes looking at the nikon d300 and the d3. which of these is better and are there any other options? will buy it from singapore.

[navin]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

hey guys, my dad wants to pick up a dslr. hes looking at the nikon d300 and the d3. which of these is better and are there any other options? will buy it from singapore.

In Singapore I'd go to the shops in Pennisula plaza.

The D3 ($5000) and D300 ($1800) are very different beasts. The D3 is a Pro camera the D300 semi-Pro. The D3 is FF adn D300 is APS-C. Compred to P&S cameras, the D300 is built like a tank, the D3 is built like a tank on steroids.

If you dad has a large collection of very good Nikon glass (14-24/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 70-200/2.8, 300/2.8, 400/2.8, 85/1.4 etc) the D3 makes more sense if not get the D300 and spend the savings ($3200) on good glass.

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by navin

I agree. the real difference between the 400D and 40D is build quality. For a light walkabout the 400/450D with a 18-55 IS II (day light) or 28/1.8+EW63(evening) is your best bet.

What is EW63?

[reignofchaos]

More than anything, the ergonomics of the 30D would help taking better pictures. The nicer viewfinder helps as well. 5fps is not bad either for sports. Compared to the rebels, I'd take the 30D any day of the week. Its a far better camera and at that price, its a virtual steal.

[jaibir]

thanks for the inputs guys. i guess the best way to gauge the ergonomics (weight v comfort v accessibility of controls) would be to check them out in a shop

Originally Posted by Torqy

What is EW63?

its a lens hood