I should have posted this earlier in the season, but I didn’t get a chance to. Hopefully it’ll still be somewhat useful to some of you out there. If not for Christmas, then maybe in the future.
Here’s a message I received recently. I get this kind of message every now and then. I’m sure most photogs do.
hey eddie…how are you? hope you had a great thanksgiving! when are we gonna see you again? would love to introduce you to the new additions to the clan
quick question–do you have any suggestions for any digital cameras under or around $400? my old point and shoot is absolutely no good (blurry, etc). i know you helped S____ and C____ buy a camera (olympus pen e-pl1).
i was doing a search and also saw Olympus SP-800UZ 14MP Digital Camera for $250…how is that?
looking for a camera that is nicer than a point and shoot but not too complex as we don’t intend to go into semi-pro photoshooting…
any thoughts/recommendations? appreciate your input…
also, have you heard anything about Canon S95? i heard good things about that one as well…? hoping to make a decision this week
My response:
Sorry it took a while to get back to you. I was away in LA for the past week and a half.
At that price range, I personally think all cameras are pretty much the same. I like the Sony DSC-TX7.
You can even go cheaper and get good results. Point and shoots have come a long way in the past few years.
If not the Sony, any Canon or Nikon in the $250 to $400 will do. There will always be a trade-off in terms of size vs photo quality. Generally, as long as you stick with one of the major brands, the bigger the camera, the better the quality. It’s a matter of physics.
In the same way, don’t expect dSLR quality without getting into the complexities of photography. Taking consistent, high quality photos requires the study of photography and the controls of your camera. Not learning those things would be like buying a Ferrari but not knowing how to drive stick. Or perhaps a more accurate analogy (since you’re in the $250-$400 range) would be buying a Civic with automatic transmission and hoping it performs like an M5.
This is not to say that you can’t get amazing photos out of a point & shoot or other cheap camera. I’ve seen some friends create some great photos using the cheapest of tools.
There’s a balance. Cheap gear can seriously limit what you can achieve in photography. But more importantly, it’s knowledge or the lack thereof that makes the most difference when it comes to photo quality. And since photography knowledge is readily attainable, it becomes a matter of desire and will.
A print of the photo at top is being purchased by a friend to give away as a gift. It’s great having supportive friends. The photo was taken in NYC on Ilford Delta Pro 3200 Film using a Nikon N80. The N80 is a relatively cheap film SLR camera. Lens was a Nikkor 50/1.4D.