| Author | Message | ||
     Henrik  |
Ohh, if I hadn't lost the illusion that I was going to be a better photographer ... http://www.dpreview.com/articles/canoneos350d/ Pretty sweet, with lots of tweaks and fixes to the original model. Henrik | ||
| 99buellx1  |
Sweet! I knew there was a reason that I waited to buy. (not that I can afford to buy that one either, haha) | ||
| Henrik |
Waiting to buy can get you too .... I just bought a Canon Powershot SD300 as a present. I've been keeping an eye on them since the main requirement from the B'day girl was small size (go figure  ), cute (yep  ), and decent 4x6" prints. Literally, the day I received the camera in the mail, Canon announced the replacements: SD400 and SD500  Henrik | ||
| Lake_bueller  |
Sounds great with starting price the $999.00 range or lower. That should really help drop the price of the 6 meg SLR. I've been drooling over the 6 meg for some time. But I still have a hard time getting away from good old B&W film I bought an Olympus Stylus 400 about 1 1/2 years ago. A great little camera for tossing into the tank bag. (Message edited by lake_bueller on February 18, 2005) | ||
| 99buellx1 |
$899 Body only. $999 Kit Yeah, now the price should drop fast on the 300D Rebel, and I doubt the 350 will take better pictures with this user running it. | ||
| Reepicheep  |
I will wait patiently until I can get a used but solid digital rebel with good wide angle lens for $500, then buy one. Thats what I did with the Coolpix 950. This newer better cheaper announcement is good news, it will happen sooner. Meanwhile, my coolpix 950 just keeps soldering on.... | ||
| Wyckedflesh  |
Reep its the good wideangle lens that is going to kill you to find. Standard lenses don't operate at wide angle on a digital camera so you have to use a digital specific and the best EBAY price for a used digital wide angle of more the 18-22mm has been $300. Since the lenses themselves will remain usable with the new models they won't change in price much, except maybe to go up. | ||
| Court |
Great article in last week's Wall Street Journal about the current, and coming, pall drop in high in SLR digitals. I've been using a "spare" D100 for a recent project and they are nothing short of amazing. | ||
| Reepicheep |
A 28m to 70mm would be fine (or whatever would translate to what a 28-70 zoom would have been on a 35mm SLR). 35mm is not enough for me, but I can live with 28. I got a screw on adapter for my coolpix for $75, the lens is good but it's a kludge (big, heavy, blocks the flash). I would love one of those rebels! There are plenty of Nikons that are nice as well, but I want that 1600 ASA. Can't believe Nikon did not address that yet. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
This is a nice improvement. "The EOS 350D takes a shot within about 0.2 seconds of switching on, the EOS 300D took around 3.0 seconds." | ||
| Ebear |
Good numbers on that 350...And Mirror lockup!!! Think I'll need one to augment my 10D and 7E!! Anyone out there have an IS 600mm Canon for sale? Also intrested in the non-IS 600. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
And Mirror lockup!!! I have installed the firmware hack on a seperate CF card (one CF has the hack, one has the "Official" ) that does MLU on the 300D. The hack has given me all of the SOFTWARE items that 10D has without the added HARDWARE upgrades of the 10D. It doesn't write as fast as the 10D and it won't take 6 shots in a burst before it has to write to the card. (Message edited by wyckedflesh on February 19, 2005) | ||
| Thunderbolt_dad |
Bought the wifey the digital rebel last summer, she's shot over 2000 pix already, that thing rox. | ||
| Fullpower |
the Nikon D70 will shoot at ISO 1600, and has zero shutter lag. also zero turn on delay, but that is irrelevant really because the standby power draw is very nearly nil, even with the power switched ON and ready to shoot, the battery will last for several DAYS. yes really, you do not have to turn your D70 off. ever. and they are now less than 1 grand for the body. | ||
| Ebear |
Thats cool Wycked!So it will lockup?Does it give you the custom functions too?maybe when the 350 is out I'll look for a 300 someone is trading up from....Its nice to dedicate one body to the monopod and one set for crashes.uses the 511/512 battery,right?thats one of the few pissoffs with 350.Hauling around different batteries can get tiresome.How many burst will the 300 do at say an average shutter speed?  | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Hacked Firmware | ||
| Lornce |
Was looking at D70 Nikon the other day and wondering if now's the time to go digital SLR. Talking with the nice salesperson and asked about "drop in the lake survivability" and she just laughed at me. Where have I been? Well, I guess I've been successfully dropping SLR's in lakes streams and rivers for the last 30 years, that's where. Hmmmmn, maybe I should take some digital baby steps with a rangefinder first.  Any recommends from the learned re. a good digital rangefinder to drag a fussy and experienced SLR Luddite into the 21st century? Thanks, Lornce | ||
| Two_buells |
Canon is coming out with some cool stuff. My 2 yr old Canon D60 DSLR is fun to use and made me a better photographer. Also you can't beat Canon's Glass I have 3 lenses. 70-200mm f4 17-40mm f4 50mm f1.4 here is a link to over 1000 BattleTrax shots taken with my D60. http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=TwoBuells  | ||
| Two_buells |
 | ||
| Court |
I've been using the borrowed D100 and was on the verge of going D70 until a Badweb ProPhotog (we have several) clued me into the new Canon coming out. There is a Nikon factory school here in town. My first step will be to adjust the "nut behind the lens". All cool techie stuff... Court | ||
| Reepicheep |
Lornce.... Absolutely! go on ebay and get yourself a used Coolpix 950 for about $150, and then flash it with the latest Nikon firmware. Add the wide angle adapter WC-E63 for another $65 or so if you wish. Use the heck out of it for a year or two, then get the camera you really want, and leave the Nikon in the tank bag. That Nikon is a *far* better camera then the specs would indicate. | ||
| Court |
>>>>That Nikon is a *far* better camera then the specs would indicate. Agreed. That is a highly accurate statement.   | ||
| Hodakaguy |
I've had great luck with the canon S30 camera as a carry along. Its small and also takes super sharp pics. I'd like to have the new Canon S70 for an upgraded carry along. Hodakaguy | ||
| Dino |
Lornce - While I agree with Reep and Court that the Nikon 950 (2 megapixel) is an excellent digicam with great build quality, I question the wisdom of buying one used for approx. $150, when you can buy a new Nikon 5400 (5 megapixel) prosumer digicam for around $200, after rebate. "Posted on Sunday, January 16, 2005 - 12:40 pm: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're looking for a very nice camera that's still small enough to take along in the tank bag, check out the Nikon 5400. Recently discontinued, this camera is a 5 megapixel, 4x optical zoom "pro-sumer" model...in other words, high-end, feature laden. It was discontinued following the release of the 8 MP model 8400. The MSRP on the 5400 was $699, but it's currently available at Costco for $299 after a $200 instant rebate. Or, if you can wait a few days for the camera and considerably longer to get the rebate, you can order it from Butterfly Photo for $219! AND, if you happen to need a printer, you can currently get a $100 dollar rebate on an Epsom printer if you buy both a Nikon camera of 4MP or higher along with certain model Epson printers (choice of 5) in the same transaction. Download that rebate offer from www.epson.com . Don't be fooled into thinking you need to order one certain model printer that the retailer is pushing or that you have to order a "package". Just order a qualifying Nikon and a qualifying Epson together and send in the rebate forms...and wait. If, for instance, you were to order the Nikon 5400 and an Epson C86 or R200, you would get both items from Butterfly for about $250, including shipping and after rebates. I would definitely call that a screamin' deal! The Nikon 5400 is not an ultra small pocketable model, but it is quite compact for feature laden pro-sumer camera. Check it out: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=481 " I don't know about the Epson rebate (check their site), but the Nikon rebate is still good. Here's a pic from my Nikon's initial outing. Tonight I'll post a close-up taken with it yesterday. Pixel count doesn't matter at all for posting to the web (you just have to downsize'em anyway), but if you think you may want to print big enlargements of shots you took with your "interim" digicam someday, or might want to crop said shots, you're much better off with a higher pixel count. Caution: Most digicams are not even weatherproof, much less waterproof! The Olympus Stylus point and shoot cameras are weatherproof. So is the Olympus E-1 D-SLR. Don't know about others. The prosumer digicams can give you a fantastically capable package. Excellent lenses with great focal length ranges, some with image stabilization, great macro capability, usually in a package smaller and lighter (sometimes much smaller) than a D-SLR with the limited "kit" lens. What they can't do is match the operating speed and high ISO capability of a D-SLR. If you shoot in low light, seriously consider a D-SLR. Nothing else is close. Nikon Coolpix 5400 pic:  | ||
| Ray_maines |
"5" is a weird number of megapixels . It's way to many for the average "point and shoot" guy like me and too few for the serious picture taker. Three point two megapixels will get you an acceptable 5" X 7" print even if you do a little bit of cropping. For less than $200 you can get a brand new Nikon CoolPix 3200, a GREAT!!! point and shoot camera. It's small, light and uses two AA batteries that can be bought in every drug store in the world. My daughter, the professional Graphic Artist, lusts for something like the new Canon EOS 350D but most of us would only be spending vanity money on such a camera. | ||
| Dino |
Last night I was studying up on various features of the Nikon CP5400 and seeing as Obie happened to be sitting on my knee...  Last Friday night, on arriving at our place in the mountains, we found this little fellow had taken up residence in the bathroom sink. (Olympus C8080)  | ||
| Dino |
Ray, I agree that there is not a huge difference in resolution between 3.2 and 5 MP. But for the price, the CP5400 is WAY more camera (build quality and feature-wise). That said, if you don't need the features of the 5400, the small size of the 3200 may very well make it a much BETTER camera to carry around shooting moto adventures. Heck, look at Ferris' pictures from his cross-country jaunt, etc....those are taken with a 2.1MP Coolpix, and he's taken some beauties! I recommended the CP5400 because Lornce stated that he was thinking of a camera as a step toward a future D-SLR. Seems a full featured camera like the CP5400 fits that bill better than a point and shoot. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Agreed the CP5400 is MUCH nicer then the coolpix 950. Not sure about the 3200, I would make sure it has a spot meter mode, a display that rotates different then the camera body, and a fast image acquisition time (half press pre-focus to lock first is an OK cheat). If you can rely on getting the rebate, thats a really good deal. | ||
| Dino |
First the CP5400's weaknesses...1.5" monitor. Manual focus could be much better, ergo-wise. To get quickest shutter response from pre-focus (0.1 sec) you need to turn off the shutter sound, otherwise it's 0.6 sec. As delivered it does not accommodate RAW files, but you only need to download the firmware update from Nikon. There's no low light focus assist lamp. And if'n you want a 10x optical ultra-zoom with image stabilization...this is not the one. Now the good stuff...the CP5400 has a display that will rotate every which way, macro to 1 cm, 28mm wide-angle (35mm equivalent), 4x optical zoom. Metering includes matrix, center weighted, spot and "spot AF area" (where it meters on an off-center location you've chosen for the autofocus). One interesting feature is BSS (best shot selection) for use in difficult situations. In BSS it takes a series of shots (five I think) when you trip the shutter, then picks the sharpest and saves it to the card. Other bracketing modes are available. Along with auto white balance (and all the usual WB presets), you can use a white or gray card to set a custom WB in any light. Full manual control available (focus and metering) along with full auto, program, aperture and shutter priority exposure modes. Also a slew of "scene modes" to cover specific situations like mud wrestling in dimly lit bars. Well, maybe not that one, specifically. Compact, magnesium body, this is a well built camera. All this in a quite compact camera for approx. $200 after rebate! (best current price I've seen) If it fits a person's needs, it is indeed a screamin' deal. Heck, if my wife'd let me, I'd buy another! | ||
| Henrik |
On the Megapixel issue; while only 2 -3 MP is necessary for a good 4 x 6" print (which is what the majority of us regular photogs do), the extra image info in say a 5 MP camera is great for computer cropping later. For the really small cameras, where the lens causes some softening in the corners, it's nice to be able to crop and "reframe" in "post" without sacrificing print quality. On the other hand, MP count is not everything. I'd take a great lens and usable menus and controls over more pixels. Henrik |
