Good Camera Advice??

[jenhelgren]

I had originally posted this in the Theme park thread not knowing there was a photography thread...any advice?

I am not an experienced photographer at all and I need some advice for a good camera to buy for our upcoming trip. I have always had middle priced point and shoot cameras for our past trips Sony, Panasonic, etc and have never been really happy with the pictures we took. There always seems to be dust particles even though I keep the camera stored in a case and try to be careful with it. The night shots are almost always terrible! We will be visiting for MNSSHP this year and I really want a decent camera without breaking the bank. I was looking at the Pentax Q10 which is a mini/compact DSLR. The negative reviews I had read on it seem to be from people with much more camera experience than I will ever have. It is supposed to have dust reduction system which is what caught my attention. Any advice on the Q10 or any other small cameras???? Thanks!!!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Even though I'm a long time Pentax (D)SLR user, I have never really looked at the Q system to accurately give advice on it. However, if your intent is to leave the P & S arena and move up to an interchangeable lens camera system, its going to take you learning more about photography, starting with the photographic triangle of Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. This may sound like a foreign language if you have never been exposed to it, but it is the basis of all digital photography (ISO is the old ASA film speed). A new interchangeable lens camera is only going to give you marginally better images if left in the automatic mode. You will need to move to the semi-automatic modes or full manual to utilize the capabilities of the new interchangeable lens camera system to capture images in more difficult situations, ie, lowlight, motion, etc. A good start is a book by Bryan Peterson called "Understanding Exposure". I have just begun to look at mirrorless systems because my SIL just bought an Olympus. It was an OMD but I don't remember which one. They can get expensive. I was impressed with it. For what I shoot, I need to stay with a DSLR system so I really haven't considered anything else. Since there are so many good camera systems available today I would recommend the website www.dpreview.com. It has good tools for comparisons of cameras. I wish I could be of more help in your camera selection, however if you are going to switch, educating yourself is going to the cheapest thing you do.

BTW, I just did a quick look at the www.pentaxforums.com website and the Q7 is the latest version in the Q system. The 10 was the second generation and the 7 is the third.

 

[ukcatfan]

I am wondering what you mean by dust. If it is a p&s, then the sensor is sealed, so you cannot get the dust problems a DSLR gets. It is possible you are talking about dust on the lens, but that is simple to fix. You just need to clean the lens. I am thinking you mean dust in a shot with the flash. If that is the case, a DSLR might help, but only if you either stop using a flash or use a removable flash unit. Dust reflects the light from a flash causing it to show because the flash is close to the lens. A removable flash is several inches higher than the lens making the angle of reflection not hit the lens as much. If this is the case, then you need to factor in the cost of either a fast lens or a removable flash.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I did a little research on the Q system. I used the dedicated-to-Pentax website Pentaxforums.com review for the Q7. They didn't really like the original Q nor the Q10, however they did like the new Q7 a little better, especially since its price point was better. Dpreview's evaluation pretty much said the same. If small size and pocketablity with an interchangeable lens is your forte then this may be something to look at. Remember this is a fairly new system so the lens availability is not large, yet.

 

[jenhelgren]

Thank you for the helpful replies!! There are just so many options I am dazed and confused I'm not sure how I always get dust blobs on my pictures either with a point and shoot-I have a lens cloth and clean the exterior of the lens but always seem to get dust spots
I really am a true newbie and don't have much time to make my decision at this point but I want something that can operate in low light for our nighttime activities for sure this time!

 

[boBQuincy]

The Pentax Q series have small sensors and only 3 of the available lenses are f/2.8 or better (one is variable aperture). What all this means is that this is not a good choice for low light photography, like MNSSHP. If a small interchangeable lens camera that works well in low light and has dust reduction is what you want then Panasonics GM1 or Olympus Pen models would do well. Even then, you will still want a wide aperture lens for low light like the 20mm f/1.7.

If you want a real viewfinder then the GX7 or OM-D series is not much larger.