Picture taking gurus needed. Need help buying camera.

[prochargedcobra]

Im a noob with cameras and want to get into taking pictures. I have no idea what cameras out there are the best. I want something that takes clear pics and can get a decent zoom. Can you picture taking gurus help me with this? Im a contractor so I need to take good pics to save my butt and I want to take pics like you guys do of your cars. I would like to stay under 3-400 dollars.

 

[portcity_gt]

it depends on what ur going to use it for...and if you want to spend a couple hundred or a couple thousand.

i have a canon sd600, that works just fine for my needs, and it was only $200

but i would stick with canon of fuji there the best imo

 

[95kobrah]

Canon S3 IS

Canon A710 IS

Fuji S700

Nikon P5000

Nikon S10

All excellent cameras in your price range with good zooms and lots of features

 

[chvyeter]

What about the Canon 30D?

 

[no cigar]

I will 2nd the Canon S3-IS. They have already been replaced by the S5-IS so they are pretty reasonable right now. I got mine for 350 from Newegg with a 2gig CF card and overnight for 350. They will take some VERY nice pics.

Do a search and look for the thread I posted in pics and vids with some shots from my S3.

 

[BULLITT - 566]

What about the Canon 30D?

I can personally attest, it's a great camera but it's definitely not in the price range which he mentioned in his first post.

 

[96redvette]

i like canon and if you are going for a camera to take some nice snapshots try something from the SD series.. i like the SD630 because it has a large screen. if you want to take some better pics and think you may want to get into photography alittle more you could get the rebel xti, but i warn you, buying lenses is as addictive as buying speed parts for your car. the next step up would be the 5d and the markII or markIII now.... i wouldnt reccomend those if you are a beginner though

 

[Jesterjr]

I have a canon 10D (yeah i bought it when it first came out) and an SD1000. Both cameras take great pics, just for totally different applications. I agree with something from the SD series. Theres only a few cameras out there that you are going to get good zoom with without going to a DSLR, so i would just get a nice pocket camera that takes good pics. I got my SD 1000 for $209

 

[IShb3w]

i like the A series rather than the SD from Canon, they have more features

 

[no cigar]

Dude, if you are truly looking to stay in a reasonable price range, you might as well throw SLR out the window. It will cost you well over $1000 to get it right and if you are just learning the hobby, there are plenty of cameras that will take pics that will blow your mind w/o splurging big. Sure those are nice cams but they are professional rigs. I personally find it funny when someone wants to snap some pics of their car and blow thousands of dollars only to come out with a professional setup that due to user incompetence won't take any better pics than a $100 point and shoot cam.

 

[CobraBob]

If you want an easy to use Point and Shoot that fits nicely into your pocket, takes great pics, and has a zoom, consider these.
Canon SD800 IS - $300. average street price (3.8X optical zoom with 28mm wide angle)
Canon SD 850 IS - $350. average street price (4X optical zoom)

If you want something small with a longer zoom, look no further than the Panasonic TZ3 which came out a couple of months ago. It has the 28mm wide angle with an unbelieveable 10X optical zoom. And it isn't much bigger than the Canon SD800/850 IS cameras. Average street price is $300. Photo quality at the lowest ISO100 in daylight is very good, although a notch below the Canons.