Cute N Cool

Saturday, May 30, 2009

This is one of the best times of the year to take pictures...and how do you decide on the right camera ?



I have been going crazy taking pictures, as the colors at this time of year are wonderful and I cannot get enough of the possibilities!



I have been asking many of you...what kind of camera you are using?
Choosing a camera now days is so hard, as the choices and prices are all over the place.




I was at Costco, and took them up on the "90 day return" if not happy, on a new Nikon L100, it is a "point and shoot", and a pretty good one.



I liked the fact that the screen was 3", and I could change the settings without having my reading glasses on! I don't like the fact that I will need to buy an SLR to get those really great close up shots!



Now...this is where you all come into the picture (haha play on words)!

Do I step up to the camera I will really use for the longest time? Say a Nikon or Canon SLR, or sit tight with this one for the time being. I see I will need to pay at least $300.00 more for a good SLR.

So, tell me what camera you use, or recently bought. Please give me some camera advice on how you decided on yours.. and if you are glad you bought it...

Thanks for your feedback on this topic, which has been being discussed a lot in our family for the last couple weeks!

This is a late PS.

Are you finding you need to also use PhotoShop, or something like it to enhance your pictures?

PSS.

I got my new Consumer Report this afternoon...on the cover..."Cool Cameras"
How convenient!

PSSS.. this Point and Shoot does Videos too, I think I am going to want this on my SLR too...




Posted by Picasa

13 comments:

  1. I have a Kodak and the reason I got that one is because I can't afford the SLR right now. But if you seen my blog you know my Kodak takes wonderful pictures.

    Loved the pictures the colors are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just got a nikon d90 and I love it! I'm of the theory that you should get the one you will use longest, otherwise it seems like a waste of money. Like you I was a "point and shoot" camera girl and finally graduated to an SLR and am glad I did.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i started with an olympus and still love it but the good husband purchased the canon rebel xti and i got a long lens for christmas last year. the deer and great blue heron and all the bird photos are with the long lens. i love the sports mode on this camera and can get some good movement photos. birds are very shy and in my opinion difficult to photograph. the service was superb at canon since i had to send it back due to one tiny prong that got bent when i inserted the card...my fault and they corrected it very quickly. i like that very much.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It depends on how much money you want to spend and I have had several of both kinds. Now I use 2 cameras depending on what is the subject and how I am going to use it. I have a Nikon SLR 70S with 2 diffrent lenses and love it, but I also have a little Nikon 550 that I carry in my purse so I am never without and I love it too. I always am prepared and I know you love your new camera!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's tough - every time I get the latest greatest technology does something really amazing a year or two later!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am an SLR girl through and through, though I carry a small Canon Powershot in my purse daily. I always call my SLR my "real" camera! I like the little one for the portability of it. The other camera is for much more serious photo taking.

    I love the pics you showed us, especially the Iris! What a beautiful flower!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have a Canon Rebel XT (SLR) with 3 lenses and I love that camera. However, my favorite lens is long-ish and kind of heavy, so I don't use that camera for everyday things. I carry the Canon PowerShot A590 IS in my purse and it is a very nice point n shoot. It has plenty of functions I'll probably never use and was only about $120. You can just get the SLR body and then add an inexpensive lens for probably around $600 or so, but trust me, the lenses are addictive and I spend far too much time online "shopping" for new ones! LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I recieved a Panasonic Lumix DMC-T25, for Xmas. So far I love it, I have taken a lot of pics with it. It is a small point and shoot, with tons and tons of settings. The only problem I have had with it is taking action pics of horses inside of an arena, where it is darker, a lot of blur, I managed to fing a good setting, with a manual appeture setting that minimized that, but it took a lot of work. A fast memory card makes a lot of difference, I got one in addition to my camera and love it.
    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I vote Nikon SLR -- I think you could even do a D40 really and probably get it <$400. My only complaint is having to look through the viewfinder to snap my picture. But, after doing it for awhile I understand why and feel I get better shots because of it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think your photos are looking lovely, especially all the flowers. Such pretty colors :)

    I hardly use all the settings on my Canon PowereShot SX110 IS, so buying an SLR would be too much camera for me. Plus I have health issues with my neck and shoulders and don't want to lug around the extra weight. I travel light. heheh!
    That being said, the SLR's are really cool with the many options for photo taking if you buy all those fancy lens. But I just don't have that kind of money and my photography is just a hobby, so it will never pay for the cost of all that expensive SLR gear.

    And quite honestly, I am seriously impressed with the features and photo quality that modern point and shoots offer.

    Zoom is very very important, at least for me. Macro is cool, but most of my photos don't involve macro. I love the landscapes and animal photos the most.
    My zoom is 10X Optical (the most important in terms of quality and sharpness of images) and 10X Digital (gets you in even closer, but some of the sharpness of the image is lost)
    But combined 20X zoom is awesome!

    Another important for me pixels. The higher the better. My camera has 9 mega pixels. Never go less than 9. 10 and above is even better. And as point and shoots improve, they are offering higher pixels, so that's a great deal for the money.
    You want to be able to enlarge your photos, as large as you want, without losing image quality.

    As for posting on my blog or using any image software, I rarely ever have to. I don't have Photoshop...still a little pricey for me, even with the cheaper Elements.
    I just my basic Windows photo editing to help out with brightening and contrast if needed. But that's it.

    Have fun camera shopping! :)

    ~Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the photos - especially the irises. I know nothing about cameras! I just shoot and pray.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What beautiful photos! I really love the one with the purple iris! Keep those pix coming!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have the Nikon D90, and I love it!!! It is a 12.3 megapixel, and it also shoots HD movie. Now the thing is, the D90 is a bit pricier than some of the others but I think you can probably find a pretty good deal on a body + lens combo! The only complaint I have so far is my lens, from the time I got it it has not worked right. It is a Tamron 18-200 mm F3.5-6.3 it has a zoom of 11.1x. The reviews on this lens is great but I think mine has something wrong with it :( It goes to the shop Friday, so we will see...

    Please keep us posted on your decision!!!

    ps~ I think the pictures you took are great!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments...I mean really...Thank you for taking the time to do that.. how nice of you!