Looking for a Decent Camera

[jennifer lynn]

I’m new to the forum, but I heard that y’all could help me out. I’m looking to upgrade to a better camera. I just don’t know enough about them to confidently make a decision.
I’m currently working with a Kodak C875. It’s been a trusty little camera and has lasted through quite a few years of tough abuse. But I think it’s time to move on. I can’t always seem to get the resolution
that I want in some of my pictures, and the auto focus is infuriating!
I’m hoping to find something that will take better quality pictures, has a decent zoom, does NOT have auto focus, and is reasonably priced (think college student budget affordable). Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jen

[M. Wood]

What will you primarily be taking pictures of?

[Roy Conley]

Not wanting auto focus will be an issue.  None of the Point & Shoot cameras, I am aware of, have this option.  Therefore, you are looking at a DSLR which will have the option of turning auto focus off.  An excellent entry level DSLR is the Nikon D3100.  http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Digital-SLR-Cameras/25472/D3100.html

You will have all of the auto options of your old camera, but also may turn most of them off and do much of the work yourself.  

[Zach Matthews]

Jennifer –

Maybe you just had an experience with a terrible autofocus?

[jennifer lynn]

What will you primarily be taking pictures of?

[Douglas Barnes]

Hmm, manual focus, exposure, good indoors, good underwater, macro, fixed lens. When you find a camera with all those features built into one unit, sign me up for three!  😉

Sounds to me like the best option might be a used DSLR with a decent kit lens. I’m sure that you can find a D70 or something with an 18-70mm lens (Which is quite sharp) pretty easily and/or cheaply.  Throw in a 50 f1.8 (used) and a couple close up filters and boom, macro city. All for under five hundo. You can always build on that if you’re interested in taking it up as a hobby. But like any endeavor, if you’re trying to ‘learn the finer points’ then you should start with the right tools. My two cents.

[John Bennett]

From what i’ve read you don’t want an SLR.

So my two copper.
Have a look at a Canon S90, or S95,

[anonymous]

Doug described my setup almost exactly.

[jennifer lynn]

A 50 f1.8? That’s a little over my head. Would someone mind explaining it to me? Also, what differences do the various mm lenses make?

[John Bennett]

Jennifer. In layman terms
A typical point and shoot has one “zoom” lens. It can range from 17mm out to 300mm. That describes its “focal” length.

With SLRs.
You can buy a whole host of lenses of varying focal lengths. Some are zooms, some are primes. You can think of zooms as “all” purpose or “multi” purpose and primes as “specific” purpose. As you get further and further into photography, you acquire different lenses to fulfill “focal range” coverage and “specialty” lenses.

A wide angle for landscapes will be in the neighborhood of 17mm to 35mm

Portrait lenses: 35mm to 85mm

mid range: 100mm to 200mm

telephotos: 300mm plus.
……………

fx.x
Denotes the lenses widest aperture setting. Most “consumer” lenses have as their widest setting f4 to f5.6. The wider you can open the lens, the more light and pass through in the same time all else equal.
So when you read f1.8, thats telling you the lenses maximum aperture setting, which affects your exposure settings and artisic choices with regards to Depth of Field.

Nowhere near as comprehensive an answer as it should be, but it should give you an idea as to what was being mentioned.

[Author]

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