Looking for a new digital camera HELP!

[GoofyG]

OK, I have a Sony cyber shot. I'm looking for a new camera that has a higher zoom. I have 2 DD's that I love to take pictures of. They do dance and gymnastics, and in school programs. Did I say they are only 3 1/2 yrs old and 17 mos. My life is busy, but I love it. I do know I want a rechargable battery. Oh! I forgot, I leave for WDW on the 21st. Was in hopes that I would find something. Any ideas?

 

[kimluvswdw]

I am curious about this also. I am also looking for a new camera with a high zoom. I also would like one that takes great nightime pictures that don't blur. I get tired of looking at a fuzzy parade.

 

[Master Mason]

For both of you the ultimate solution is a DSLR, it will let you get the low light fast action pictures your looking for, and you can put on a big zoom to get close in the case of the OP. However with that comes cost and complexity, you have to be willing a to pay for it, and b to learn some basics to be able to use it so you can get what you want out of it.

If your not willing to do a and b, then you should look at a bridge camera such as the Cannon S3 or S5 or the Fuji 6000 model. I understand that the Fuji will do a better job in low light because it has a bigger sensor.

However, the bridge will never really solve your issues, so it is highly possible that you would get one and then decide at some point to move to the dSLR anyway.

If your interested in the dSLR
Canon XT or XTi
Pentax K100D
Nikon D40 or D40x
Sony A100
Oympus e 410

These are the intro cameras in the major brands, and each has it's pros and cons

 

[kimluvswdw]

For both of you the ultimate solution is a DSLR, it will let you get the low light fast action pictures your looking for, and you can put on a big zoom to get close in the case of the OP. However with that comes cost and complexity, you have to be willing a to pay for it, and b to learn some basics to be able to use it so you can get what you want out of it.

If your not willing to do a and b, then you should look at a bridge camera such as the Cannon S3 or S5 or the Fuji 6000 model. I understand that the Fuji will do a better job in low light because it has a bigger sensor.

However, the bridge will never really solve your issues, so it is highly possible that you would get one and then decide at some point to move to the dSLR anyway.

If your interested in the dSLR
Canon XT or XTi
Pentax K100D
Nikon D40 or D40x
Sony A100
Oympus e 410

These are the intro cameras in the major brands, and each has it's pros and cons

I have a Fuji F470 and it takes beautiful daytime pictures, but the nightime pictures (especially of lights like Christmas) come out blurry. I didn't know this when I bought the camera. I am headed back to Disneyworld in December and want to photograph the parade at night. I need a camera that can do this. Do you think the Canon can do it? What is the difference between the S3 and the S5 except for $$$$? Thanks again.

 

[Master Mason]

the fuji 6000 has a larger sensor, it has better low light performace according to the tests than the canon s3 or S5

The S5 has more MP which the jury is still out on if it is better or not, and I honestly don't know what else. dpreview would be a good place to compare the 2

 

[Nikel]

I have a Fuji F470 and it takes beautiful daytime pictures, but the nightime pictures (especially of lights like Christmas) come out blurry. I didn't know this when I bought the camera. I am headed back to Disneyworld in December and want to photograph the parade at night. I need a camera that can do this. Do you think the Canon can do it? What is the difference between the S3 and the S5 except for $$$$? Thanks again.

I'm completely unfamiliar with fujis - do you have different setting choices? The problem is, especially if you're shooting in full auto, that the camera isn't keeping your shutter speed high enough, so you're getting motion blur. If not set correctly any camera will do that, even the most pro camera. If you have a shutter priority (tv on canon), use that and set the ss at at least 1/100. So it may not be that the camera you have can't do what you want, but that you just need to learn to make it do what you want.

I have the s3, which has been handed down to my husband, and it performs quite well for a point and shot. The biggest difference I know between the s3 and s5 is that the s5 can use an external flash. Though, IMO, if you're going to be using an external flash, you may as well bite the bullet and get a dslr.

 

[YEKCIM]

So it may not be that the camera you have can't do what you want, but that you just need to learn to make it do what you want.

Whether you have a $200 PnS or a $2000 dSLR, it will pay big dividends to learn how to use the camera to its full potential. Read the manual and perhaps a general photography book (like "Understanding Exposure"...I've not read it, but many here and elsewhere swear by it). Then go practice what you've learned in different situations, experimenting with different exposure modes, apertures, shutter speeds, ISO settings, and so forth, to familiarize yourself with the camera so that you can maximize its strengths and minimize its weaknesses. There are some EXCELLENT photos made using relatively inexpensive PnS cameras on the POTD thread and elsewhere on these forums. I'm virtually certain that the better ones are better because the person behind the camera took the time to learn the basics and then applied the knowledge "in the field". Having a big-bucks dSLR can definitely give you some advantages, but even a PnS can deliver high quality images, *if* the user knows how to get the most out of the equipment.

~YEKCIM

 

[kimluvswdw]

Whether you have a $200 PnS or a $2000 dSLR, it will pay big dividends to learn how to use the camera to its full potential. Read the manual and perhaps a general photography book (like "Understanding Exposure"...I've not read it, but many here and elsewhere swear by it). Then go practice what you've learned in different situations, experimenting with different exposure modes, apertures, shutter speeds, ISO settings, and so forth, to familiarize yourself with the camera so that you can maximize its strengths and minimize its weaknesses. There are some EXCELLENT photos made using relatively inexpensive PnS cameras on the POTD thread and elsewhere on these forums. I'm virtually certain that the better ones are better because the person behind the camera took the time to learn the basics and then applied the knowledge "in the field". Having a big-bucks dSLR can definitely give you some advantages, but even a PnS can deliver high quality images, *if* the user knows how to get the most out of the equipment.

~YEKCIM

From what I understand I need to change the shutter speed to get the spectromagic parade to come out clearer, but I am not sure I can. I have tried many settings on the camera and can't figure it out. The manual was not much help there either.

My pictures come out like this.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

From what I understand I need to change the shutter speed to get the spectromagic parade to come out clearer, but I am not sure I can. I have tried many settings on the camera and can't figure it out. The manual was not much help there either.

My pictures come out like this.

Check out DPreview.com and check out the Panasonic TZ3. It is the best P&S I've ever used in lowlight conditions. I used it 99.9% in Auto mode because I just got it right before my last trip and my pictures came out great. I was very happy with it. Either that or get a dslr. I just bought the Nikon d80. It's great too! If you go the dslr route, get get the Nikon d80 field uide to learn how to use the camera functions, Digital Photography by Scott Kelby and Understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson. They are all great books to help you understand how to set your camera and what the different settings mean or do.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

kim and Goofy, try using a tripod or firm surface when you're taking night shots (in addition to learning to vary the settings). Many cameras' shots will be blurred if either you're moving (even the slightest bit) and/or your subject is moving. In the picture posted I suspect the camera was hand held, correct? Had it been on a firm surface, it would have been better, tho the people still may have been blurred. Even the best photographers here have trouble with Spectromagic since it's low light and moving. Go out and practice at night using a firm surface or tripod, and I think you'll see improvement in your photos in the camera you have. Good luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Here are a couple of examples of what I mean. I was using an HP point and shoot camera.

First shot taken rushing out of MK. Hand held and blurry. Knew it was no good, so...

Second shot still hand held, but I believe I leaned against a pole or something, placed the camera against my forehead and held my breath (the latter being a trick my father taught me when I was a kid using our new Polaroid, LOL). Had I used a tripod or rested the camera on a firm surface it would have been even better but for whatever reason I didn't. Buildings relatively clear (they're still) but people are blurred (they're moving). A faster shutter speed would have improved the people blur, but at the time I didn't know how to do that.

My point is, like YEKIM said above, with any camera you can improve your results by learning/understanding a few basic things. Keeping the camera still is really key when taking night shots. (Second shot is my entry for this week's weekly photo contest.)

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I agree; even a monopod would make difference in steadying night shots better than handheld. Understanding Exposure and Digital Photography are good books to explain the technical stuff and how to get good pictures. I just started reading them and find it very interesting/helpful.
I like your 2nd shot. I thik it's fne that people are blurry, they were probably moving, right? (Plus you don't know them anyway, LOL)

Here are a couple of examples of what I mean. I was using an HP point and shoot camera.

First shot taken rushing out of MK. Hand held and blurry. Knew it was no good, so...

Second shot still hand held, but I believe I leaned against a pole or something, placed the camera against my forehead and held my breath (the latter being a trick my father taught me when I was a kid using our new Polaroid, LOL). Had I used a tripod or rested the camera on a firm surface it would have been even better but for whatever reason I didn't. Buildings relatively clear (they're still) but people are blurred (they're moving). A faster shutter speed would have improved the people blur, but at the time I didn't know how to do that.

My point is, like YEKIM said above, with any camera you can improve your results by learning/understanding a few basic things. Keeping the camera still is really key when taking night shots. (Second shot is my entry for this week's weekly photo contest.)

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm also reading Understanding Exposure and trying to make sense of it all in relation to my new camera, an S3. It's an ongoing process.

 

[YEKCIM]

Also, the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO is very important to understand.

I see a lot of posts on this forum asking for a recommendation on a camera that doesn't take blurry night pictures. There is no such camera or, to say it another way, any camera will make blurry night pictures if it's not used properly. My Nikon D50 excels at night photography, but if I shoot Spectromagic, hand-held, using ISO 200 and AUTO exposure setting, I can guarantee that the results will be unacceptable.

Having the "right" camera is only part of the solution to the problem. Having a grasp of the elements of exposure (shutter speed, aperture, ISO), in addition to having a camera that is technically capable of what you are asking it to do, is the key.

~YEKCIM

 

[Groucho]

I'm pretty sure that Fuji is the only company to make a long-zoom camera with a sensor larger than 1/2.5".

Virtually every 12x zoom digicam out there uses the same size sensor, 1/2.5", and will generally perform pretty poorly in low light (with higher megapixel cameras being worse).

With the Fujis, you have to looking for the SuperCCD HR models, not the plain SuperCCD ones. The HRs have the larger sensors, with the low-light king probably being the S6000, with it's 1/1.7" sensor.

Now, if you use a tripod or similar support system, virtually any camera can do terrific night photos of still objects. (And the longer shutter helps make the people walking around less intrusive.) For moving objects - the bigger sensors are where it's at.