Hey everyone,

I'm looking to purchase a new camera in the coming months and am seeking advice on where to go and what to get...

I currently have your average digital camera which isn't half bad. However, I'm going to be travelling, (or at least away from home) next year and would like to be able to get some top-notch shots which I can play around with on my Mac.

I'm leaning towards a Canon camera, mainly because I've simply heard that these are the best, no...?

Apart from that, I'm completely in your hands and after a camera that is digital and heavy duty so that I can feel it around me when on my travels.

Thanks in advance,

Richard.

We just bought a new spiffy digital camera in December.

We considered the Canon Rebel and the Nikon D-80.

After reading several reviews comparing both cameras, the only choice for us was the Nikon D-80. This is the review that made our decision for us (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/).

I. Love. This. Camera.

It rocks my world. The pictures are beautiful. It's an SLR but it's lightweight. The controls are easy to use. I can play around with settings or I can use the automatic setting feature. We bought this camera because I hated the point and shoot digital camera we had. It was too complicated to figure the settings, the pictures weren't good and the record time was slow so we often missed shots of our children while the camera was recording and ready to take the next picture.

None of this is an issue with this camera, even though it's an SLR so you might expect it to be more complicated instead of less complicated.

My very favorite thing is to pick up my camera and take multiple pictures in a row - because I can!

Oh, and we're Mac-aholics, too, btw. :)

Adrienne

ETA: Here's the summary page of the Nikon D-80 review. (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/page29.asp)

The Canon vs. Nikon debate is endless, but it boils down to your own preference. I have a D-100 and I love it. We chose that over a Canon model because I read that the Canons have a "soft" body, and are more easily damaged. I'm REALLY hard on cameras - I have cracked two bodies before this - so I needed something that would handle a little more abuse than normal.

A good full-service camera store will allow you to handle and test several models side by side. You will generally pay more than you would shopping online, but you won't get stuck with a camera you'll have to sell at a loss on eBay before you can go buy the camera you should have purchased the first time. :eek: (Inside joke)

AVP

... but you won't get stuck with a camera you'll have to sell at a loss on eBay before you can go buy the camera you should have purchased the first time. :eek: (Inside joke)

Well that's what I got for letting my husband pick a camera entirely without me. :rolleyes:

I grew up Nikon. My last film SLR was a Canon. It was ok. The point and shoot digital from h-e-double-hockey-sticks was Nikon (the camera AVP referred to above.) blech.

So I've been on the sides of loving Nikon, hating a Nikon, and liking a Canon very much.

adrienne

I love my Canon Rebel XT. The newer XTi is much quieter than the XT. Sometimes I feel bad taking pictures in quiet places, like church.

The other thing to think about is where you will be traveling. Will it be in the US? Will it be outside of the US? Taking a really nice SLR outside of the US could make you a target for theft. A really nice click and shoot can be hidden much easier than a digital SLR.

The digital SLR also needs the goodie bag. My camera bag keeps getting bigger and bigger. There are days when I would rather have the click and shoot because I don't want to have to carry my camera body, 3 lenses, filters, etc. When traveling it sometimes pays to have lightweight equipment and equipment that can be stored in a pocket opposed to a bag.

The digital SLR also needs the goodie bag. My camera bag keeps getting bigger and bigger. There are days when I would rather have the click and shoot because I don't want to have to carry my camera body, 3 lenses, filters, etc. When traveling it sometimes pays to have lightweight equipment and equipment that can be stored in a pocket opposed to a bag.My "pocket" camera is a Casio Exlim 8.1, and I've gotten to the point where I only break out the D-100 if I know I'm going to do more with the photos than toss them up on MousePlanet, or if I need the longer lense.

AVP

No matter which DSLR you eventually wind up going with, you may undoubtedly find that you'll probably wind up spending a small fortune on various lens attachments, external flashes, lens filters, and whatnot; I know--my small collection of lenses cost me more than twice as much as what I paid for my Canon 20D! Other than that, both Canon and Nikon (but not necessarily limited to just those two brands) offer roughly three levels of DSLRs--"pro", "prosumer", and "consumer" (how I view them--not necessarily how Canon and/or Nikon classifies them), in ranking of most-expensive to least expensive. Both Canon and Nikon consumer-level DSLRs (e.g., Canon Digital Rebel XT/XTi, Nikon D40/D80) can be had for less than $1K, including a kit lens; prosumer DSLRs like Canon 30D and Nikon D200 will easily run you in the $1100 or higher range--and that's just for the body only. Pro-level would be Canon 1D/5D or Nikon D2X/D2H, where you'll need at least $3K to play (again, that's body-only).

Yeah, probably way more info than what you were looking for, since you were asking about what kind of camera to purchase that can both take top-notch shots and is heavy-duty (emphasis on "heavy" since you mentioned that you wanted to be able to "feel" it around you)...but in any case you can't really go wrong w/ either brand. I will offer this--unless you plan on learning (or, already know) how to use a DSLR camera properly and to its fullest capability, you would be better off going w/ a more full-featured (and more heavier/sturdier?) but easy to operate non-DSLR camera. I'm not insinuating that you can or can't afford to buy a DSLR camera, nor that you are or are not capable of taking great pictures w/ one...just that just because you read that some camera is the "best" doesn't mean it'll give you great pics. Canon may have the "best" cameras...but when operated by unskilled/underskilled hands, they could very well make one think that they're not really the "best"; note the same can be said about any high-end camera make/model.

If you don't read anything else in my post, go read Phil Greenspun's Web page on how to choose the best digital camera:

http://philip.greenspun.com/photography/best-digital-camera

He's been around online forever and he had a really good photographer's guide back when people had barely heard of the Internet, but mostly when everyone was still shooting film. I trust his opinions implicitly.

My "pocket" camera is a Casio Exlim 8.1, and I've gotten to the point where I only break out the D-100 if I know I'm going to do more with the photos than toss them up on MousePlanet, or if I need the longer lense.

AVP makes a REALLY good point and it's one I was going to bring up (good thing I read the full thread first). If you want to become a serious amateur shutterbug, the "full size" camera that looks like a traditional 35mm SLR is REALLY tempting. They give you automatic cachet and you can feel like you're taking Really Gorgeous Phohhhtographs.

HOWEVER, there is a really big catch with this. If you choose to buy a full-size SLR, you will have to always figure on carrying a camera bag. If you enjoy lugging the extra gear with you, that's OK. But chances are, you are going to want some sort of tripod, an exterior flash (the built-in ones are mediocre but if you decide you want to take advantage of a nice camera body you are going to seriously want an attachable strobe to reduce red-eye and the frontal white-wash look), and more than likely at least one extra lens (be it a zoom or telephoto or whatever).

Now, what is YOUR definition of "top notch" photos? And do you have an idea of what you will want to do with your photos? Do you plan to take a lot of shots that you want to have printed at poster size (or maybe something larger than 11 x 14)?

Technology is advancing so fast that these days, most reasonable pocket digital cameras are going to provide you with exceptional resolution and really good quality. If you are concerned about things like blurry photos, you may do better (if you get a compact camera) to buy a small tripod that you can set down or hold (your hands will be steadier holding onto a pole than the small camera).

But most importantly, what type of camera you wind up getting will depend a lot on whether you want to lug a camera bag with you. What type of travel with you be doing? Will you be going on extended road trips on an RV, where you can keep your camera bag in your vehicle until you need it? Or will your trip consist mostly of business trips where you will already have to carry a laptop bag with you? Will a separate (large) camera bag become cumbersome for you to where you wind up leaving it at home?

Because NO camera is a good camera if it's sitting in your closet, unused. In that sense, the best camera is the camera that is easy to recharge (that perhaps takes AAs in a pinch), easy to download off of (uses a standard media card instead of requiring a special cable and software), has a reasonably long charge on its batteries, and is small enough that carrying it around is not at all a hindrance. Now, should you wind up choosing a camera bag as your main "purse" (I realize men dont' "carry purses" but citing that Jerry Seinfeld episode, I know not all guys like to carry everything in their back pocket), you might like the excuse of having a camera bag to use it to stuff all your travel belongings in it, too.

Now, what is YOUR definition of "top notch" photos? And do you have an idea of what you will want to do with your photos? Do you plan to take a lot of shots that you want to have printed at poster size (or maybe something larger than 11 x 14)?FWIW, most of the Update photos I shoot for MousePlanet are taken with my Casio Exlim 8.1. Since I know every photo is going to be shrunk to 400 x 300, there's no reason to use the D-100 for most things. Even so, the camera takes GREAT photos that are excellent at larger sizes. Here are the full-size versions of two photos from this week's update. Both were taken from a moving Monorail, so you get an idea of the conditions.

One (http://albums.mouseplanet.com/AdrienneVincentPhoenix/Subs1_032507_AVP.jpg)

Two (http://albums.mouseplanet.com/AdrienneVincentPhoenix/Subs2_032507_AVP.jpg)

I adore this camera, and it does fit perfectly in the pocket of any of my purses. It also has video and audio recording capability, which have come in VERY handy during an impromptu interview, and later during a traffic accident I witnessed. This is the camera I am never without.

AVP