Digital Camera advice

Ser William · #1 03-06-2006, 05:07 PM

I am admittedly a camera novice. My main question here that I haven't seen answered in other, similar threads, is:

Say I have a budget of $1000. I want to get a digital camera than can take nice nighttime pictures. Like say of a city skyline at night, or the moon on a clear night through the trees. Artsy sh*t like that. Is this even possible?

Before I go and do my own research I wanted to see if I could pick the brains of OOT.

codewarrior · #2 03-06-2006, 05:10 PM

$1000? Canon Digital Rebel XT. 8megapixel digital SLR. Very nice.

(Edit to add: this is a "real" camera - you have full control over aperture size, shutter speed, etc. + you can use a myriad of different lenses and flashes, if you want to get into it deeper. The built in point and shoot modes will get you started quite nicely, though.)

Gildwulf · #3 03-06-2006, 05:14 PM

I don't know much about digital cameras, but I browse FatWallet enough that you can get a seriously good digital camera for $3-500

Ser William · #4 03-06-2006, 05:18 PM

[ QUOTE ]
$1000? Canon Digital Rebel XT. 8megapixel digital SLR. Very nice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, after just a little bit of research I can tell this is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks.

gusmahler · #5 03-06-2006, 05:19 PM

Yes, it is possible. For that kind of money, get a digital SLR. You can get the Nikon D50 or the Canon Digital Rebel XT. There are a few P&S cameras that have the flexibility to do what you want. (The Canon G6 for example). But the SLRs give you more freedom to use different lenses and attach external flashes. I personally like Canons, but Nikons have a great reputation also. And the D50 is a lot cheaper than the Digital Rebel.

Also, you NEED to get a tripod to do what you're asking. The least expensive tripods that get good recommendations from Photo sites are made by Bogen. You should be able to find a nice tripod kit for $100 or so. I have this model.

And don't forget to buy a memory card. The standard card that comes with the camera is puny. Get at least 512MB. You should be able to buy the camera, tripod, and memory card for less than $1000 total.

Freakin · #6 03-06-2006, 07:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know much about digital cameras, but I browse FatWallet enough that you can get a seriously good digital camera for $3-500

[/ QUOTE ]

you can get a seriously good point and shoot digital camera for $3-500. This guy does not want or need a point and shoot digital camera

gusmahler · #7 03-06-2006, 07:23 PM

Actually, you can even take long exposures on $300 cameras, like the Canon A610 (which can take a 15 second photo). So if you're really strapped for cash, you can easily make do with those. But since OP has $1000, he should get something better that he can grow into.

MrTrik · #8 03-06-2006, 07:30 PM

[ QUOTE ]
$1000? Canon Digital Rebel XT. 8megapixel digital SLR. Very nice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Given the price range, this is the best move IMHO. It is an awesome piece of equipment that you will most likely grow into a little at a time. It'll do great with you as a beginner and as you learn more it'll do even better.

codewarrior · #9 03-07-2006, 08:22 AM

Spend a little extra, and get the 2GB flash drive - it's a mini hard drive. Even in 8MB RAW mode, this thing holds over 600 pictures.

onthebutton · #10 03-09-2006, 03:26 AM

I can't believe that more people aren't saying Nikon. For your price range, go with the Nikon D70s, and pay for the better kit lens. The 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 is far superior to anything packaged with the Canon Rebel XT series, and worth the difference in price in itself (The D70s is about $1050 with the 18-70mm Nikkor lens from Amazon, and you can probably do better than that if you look around. This lens retails by itself for around $350, meaning that you're really only paying about $700 for the D70s body.). I've had both, and much prefer the Nikon D70 to the Rebel.

In either case, drop either $100 after you purchase and get a normal 50mm f/1.8 or a normal 50mm f/1.4 for about $300. Killer fast lenses that will produce really nice results for the shots you describe, and they're relatively cheap.

Also, when buying memory, check out www.robgalbraith.com. Buy relatively fast memory for your camera. It can drastically improve your camera's performance when shooting sequences of shots rapidly.

If you'd like any more info, feel free to PM me.