Help for choosing a digital camera

[Clarence1]

Hi,

I know this subject have been covered in the past but the main problem is that there are new cameras on the market and the old articles concerned some old models.

Anyway, I 'm looking to get my first digital camera. By the way, I don't know nothing about digital camera. I just know that I need macro to take good close-ups and a good set-up for the light.

I did some research on the net and I found that 2 or 3 models seems a good choice but I'm still confused about the main differences between those 3 cameras:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dsch5.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dsch2.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_s3is.asp

Those 3 are in my price range. What would be your recommendations on those 3???

Thanks for your help.

Clarence

 

[Dan Morton]

All 3 of those look like superb choices. The Sony 5 has the ability to provide more pixels than the other two. 7.1M pixels vs. 6.0M pixels for the others. More pixels = approximately more resolution. More resolution = more clarity, sharpness, color. Many other factors also control image resolution.

The Sony 5 has a few more bells and whistles than the 2nd Sony in your list. The Canon is also an excellent choice. Personally I like Canon cameras because IMHO they seem to be a little easier to learn to use. I found the Canon controls more intuitive, etc than the Sony I used to own.

But with any of them I urge you to read the instructions. Not every page, but regard it as a cookbook. Try stuff, see if it works, get the hang of it and move on.

If you have any opportunity to go to a camera store and play with these before you buy one, I'd take it. Show them the internet price and see if they'll match it. I have a camera store here in Omaha that does that. Be careful of sales staff that try to talk you into another camera. They may not have your best interests in mind.

Good luck!

All the best,
Dan

 

[garyjd]

I would even go as far as to see if the instruction book for the camera you want can be found online. It may give you a better idea of the camera's macro abilities.~Gary

 

[Anders Heintz]

I just went through the very same thing, and picked the very same cameras to decide between.

I would not spend the extra money for the Sony H5 and get the Sony H2. Read both reviews and for what we are doing the H2 is perfectly fine. The H5 only offers 1 Mpixel more and very little else, just a few more bells and whistles, and is hardly worth the extra $100 or so.

I ended up getting the Nikon D-40 DSLR. It is a little more then I need but will work good for other uses as well other then figure stuff. And its a great camera for the price.

 

[Anders Heintz]

Forgot...The DSC H2 and H5 have superb Macro, I think the focus range is something like 20mm (2 cm) which is pretty awesome.

 

[Clarence1]

Hi,

I finally got myself a nice Nikon D50. I guess you had an influence on me Anders.
I will finally be able to get some picture of my stuff!!!

Well, now I only need to practice cause I never used a camera like that.

Thanks everyone for your advices

Regards

Clarence

 

[Anders Heintz]

The D-50 is an awesome camera!

The Macro isnt all that great, but with the large sized pictures you can make a 35th scale head look like a 1/3rd scale head.

Looking forward to see your pics!