Good digital still camera for $500?

[DavidBeier]

As I'm doing more jobs with my HVX200, the need for a decent digital still camera is becoming more and more apparent. I don't need something with a detatchible lense or something for the best photographers, just something with a lot of manual controls and at least five megapixles of resolution. I've heard Canon makes some of the best around but the cheaper ones I've seen all have a bunch of auto stuff on them (focus, white balance, exposure) which annoys me. Can anyone reccommend anything?

[DavidBeier]

I origionally was thinking of a Canon since I've heard their's are the best but I saw this on B&H and it caught my eye. It's a Panasonic Lumix and looks to have a lot of controls, good resolution and lense, and a flip out LCD. Any thoughts?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=8613&A=details&Q=&sku=447360&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

[Jeremy Ordan]

I'm not a huge fan of Panasonic still cameras because they all seem to have high amounts of unnatural noise at low ISO settings.

For your budget if you want the best bang for your buck get either a used Canon Rebel XT, Nikon D100, or Nikon D50

Get one of those with a Tamron 18-200 lens and you have a better camera and lens than almost any of the other ones you were looking at.

------------------------------------

Otherwise, do a search. This topic of point and shoots has been discussed a lot in the past couple of months.

[vidled]

David, don't discount the smaller P&S cams. They've come along way, and have the HUGE advantage that they are small, and because of that they often are used more than the bulkier bigger cams: you'll find that you will have a small P&S cam in your pocket and snap a shot that otherwise would of been missed.
Simplicity is sometimes better than having the "best" tool.
Canon makes excellent ones; look at the SD900 for instance. A 10MP cam, with decent manual control. Around $370.00 or so. Here's a review:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd900/

Official site:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=14220

[vidled]

Wow, just saw this one:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=14903

Powershot TX1, available April 2007:
"With the PowerShot TX1, Canon takes a futuristic wish-list and makes it a reality. This is an ELPH-sized camera with a whopping 10x optical zoom that not only captures 7.1 megapixel images, but HD movies, too!"

New concept ELPH-sized 7.1 Megapixel digital camera with ultra-compact Canon 10X Optical Zoom lens and proprietary Optical Image Stabilizer Technology

Enjoy the unprecedented clarity of 1280 x 720 HD movies at 30 fps with Face Detection, stereo sound and 1080i component video playback

[Jeremy Ordan]

David, don't discount the smaller P&S cams. They've come along way, and have the HUGE advantage that they are small, and because of that they often are used more than the bulkier bigger cams: you'll find that you will have a small P&S cam in your pocket and snap a shot that otherwise would of been missed.
Simplicity is sometimes better than having the "best" tool.
Canon makes excellent ones; look at the SD900 for instance. A 10MP cam, with decent manual control. Around $370.00 or so. Here's a review:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd900/

Official site:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=14220


I don't disagree with your concept but the original poster said he wanted manual control and any small P&S has you digging through menus to change anything, hence why they are small.

For general reach, grab, and shoot you can't beat a little camera (the Sony Cybershot is nice also), but ultimately asking for manual control and a p&S is like asking for a Yugo with the handling of a Porsche

[vidled]

... but ultimately asking for manual control and a p&S is like asking for a Yugo with the handling of a Porsche

Hehehe, yeah Jeremy, no arguments from me there! :)
It all depends on what the cam is intended for.
If it's for BTS stills that are to be shot by a non-dedicated person (e.g. the director, DP, or similar), I'd definitely recommend a P&S cam. Screw the manual control, just snap them candid pics already! ;)

[Jeremy Ordan]

Screw the manual control, just snap them candid pics already! ;)

I'm not disagreeing with you or your opinion... In fact I agree with it except that DavidBeier isn't asking for that. he said that:




I don't need something with a detatchible lense or something for the best photographers, just something with a lot of manual controls and at least five megapixles of resolution.

Manual control just doesn't come with a P&S.

--------------------------------

Now to back up vidled's point... I own 2 Nikon D200's [both with vertical grips], 1 D50, 1 D80, 1 D100, a couple of film cameras, and entire closet full of glass. I grab my girlfriend's Nikon CoolPix all the time because it is small, light, and fits in my pocket. Sometimes you don't need the manual control, you just need to hit the shutter and have the image.

just fodder to chew on.

[DavidBeier]

I've heard the noise complaint bout the Panasonic too. I went to B&H Photo in New York today and looked at some of their deals. One clerk reccommended the Fujin S9100 over the Lumix, saying it was similar but better in low light and about $70 cheaper. They also had a deal on the Nikon D40 with lense for $600. Is there much different between it and the D50? Is there a decent zoom lense under $100?

As for the smaller cameras, I just can't deal with the lack of control. My girlfriend has a nice little Canon and it's sharp as hell and pretty small but it doesn't focus on what I want it to, doesn't expose how I want it to, and always white balances right in the middle (which is not always what you want). I've had offers from people I do video work for to also do some still photography (a church I'm making a promo video for also wants me to do portraits of some of the families, a high school who I'm taping a dance for also wants me to get official shots of the crew) so I really need some professional controls if not a completely profressional camera.

[infokill]

Yeah David i would do what Jeremy suggested and go with the D50.
Im not sure how the D40 comapres to it though :/

But i was in the same situation as you are now. I was doing some video work for a few people that needed a photographer, so i stepped up and told them if they pay for all my equipment, and allow me to keep it, i'll take the photos.
at the end of the job, i not only got paid for the video work but ended up with a "free" D50,extra lens and sb-600 flash :)
AND now i get hired to shoot photo's along with the video jobs.
So it pays for itself, and some.

Just my little story :D

[DavidBeier]

I had resolved to get either the Lumix or Fujifilm S9100 since the SLRs were just too pricey. As I walked into the store however, I saw that they had a Canon Rebel XT display model in excellent condition and $100 cheaper than normal. I took it as a sign and picked it up (since it now cost the same with a lense as a Lumix would).

So far I must admit that I love the camera but am grappling a bit with HOW much like a 35mm camera it is. Don't get me wrong, I love the control but I miss having a flip out LCD for easier framing and I still havn't figured out how to change the apeture. Still, I'm glad I went pro and got something I could use for real photography work.

[jdmkenji]

Get the Olympus E-330 with LiveView... hehehe. Then you can start framing just like any digital camera. ;-)