Camera Advice?

[IcyWolf]

I am so frustrated right now. I just spent over three hours taking pictures of babies, I took close to 200 hundred pictures and there are MAYBE 10 actually worth using. I know I need a new camera, I don't have the funds at the moment to run out and get one but I'm hoping that I can get one soon. Right now I am using my phone, it's and lg optimus q, the camera isn't that bad but my hands are shaky and these darn american budgies NEVER sit still. The only way I can get decent photos is if I have the phone stabilized on something and the bird itself is completely still. I have an actual camera but it's worse than my phone and recently stopped working. It's a vivitar, I think a T328 but I could be wrong on the number, it's the touch screen one, 12.1 mp but it's absolutely horrible. Every picture I take is too dark or too bright or blurry or a combination of the two. A couple months ago it started giving me lens errors and the lens won't even come out without a couple hours of fighting with it, I suspect the lens motor is wearing out.

I know some of you are really good at getting nice pictures, I thought maybe someone would have some camera suggestions. I've had two friends come over with their nice(very expensive) cameras, the birds can literally be running in circles and the pics still come out pristinely clear. I'm really not looking to spend $1000 dollars on a camera, would prefer to keep it under a few hundred dollars honestly, and I wouldn't mind getting one used if need be. I just need a camera with a pretty fast shutter speed and that can compensate for the shakiness of my hands and the nuttiness of the babies. Is there such a thing as a camera capable of this without breaking the bank or am I doomed to stressful photoshoots that leave me wanting to pull my hair out?

 

[lizardsmells]

I have a DSLR, but that's going to be out of your price range. I would recommend pretty much any Olympus or Nikon or Canon point and shoot model. Any of those brands are going to have good optics and decent color replication and all of them should have a sports setting which will allow you to take a lot of pics really fast so you can capture the action.

I have two dogs that won't ever sit still. I think it might be impossible or something. So I have a lot of pics of them that are just blurry heads

 

[azdesertrhino]

This place sells used cameras, free shipping and appears to have a long enough warranty to check everything out. It is run by Ritz Camera.

I found it in a web search, I have no affiliation.

Ritz used camera site

 

[IcyWolf]

Thanks for the advice so far.

Yea, I would LOVE a DSLR but there is no way I could convince hubby to spend that much on a camera lol. I have seen a few reasonably priced ones on craigslist but I don't know enough about digital cameras to know what's a good deal or not.

I noticed Olympus is now making point and shoot type cameras with interchangeable lenses, it seems like now that camera phone cameras are getting to be so advanced, they are really stepping it up with the digi's to try and recoup some business. Does anyone have any specific cameras that would satisfy my needs? I've been trying to do research but honestly, I am just seriously confusing myself. All these specs, I don't know what's good, what's bad, etc. I thought it was going to be good buying that vivitar(yes, I know, horribly crappy brand, should have known better) because it was advertised as a 12.1 mp but it has given me nothing but problems from day one. I have even had people that really know their stuff try and adjust the settings for me and it still just butchers all the images

 

[lene1949]

Before I got my DSLR I used a Nikon Coolpix, and it took brilliant photos... and as far as I remember it was pretty cheap... as in under $200...

 

[Skeletoes]

Try to look Nikon Coolpix models and prices around.

 

[lizardsmells]

Your MP total isn't going to mean a thing to you unless you're going to get any of your pics blown up to posters. Then you'll need to worry about MP. My DSLR is 10MP, I think, I don't even remember, and I frequently get 16x20 prints of my photos made. I get excellent pics that I've had blown up into 8x10's from a 4MP Olympus too. So don't worry too much about MP. Anything over 4 is fine for small prints or the web. 10MP would serve you perfectly well.

A used DSLR is one way to go. I won't do it because DSLR bodies have a limited number of 'fires' on them. Meaning they're good for x amount of pics before they need replacing. It's a huge number, huge, but you don't know where that DSLR is in that number range if you buy used. The guy before you may have barely used it, or he may have shot 1000 pics a day with it, there's no way to tell. And the body is the cheapest part of a DSLR. The glass is what's expensive. I know I've spent way more on glass than I ever did on the body.

The things you need to be concerned with when shopping for a camera are optical zoom (digital zoom is kind of a gimmick and doesn't get you clear pics), and speed of autofocus and speed of shutter fire. You can test the AF and shutter speed out at the store.n If you want to have lots of control over your photos see if you can't score an advanced point and shoot from one of the big name brands. The 4MP Olympus I had forever allowed me to shoot almost in total manual mode, which was fantastic, because even though I couldn't change lenses, I could decide my exposure (to an extent anyway), aperture and ISO for the situation.

One of my favorite places to compare camera brands/equipment is this one.
Side-by-side camera comparison: Digital Photography Review

They'll tell you EVERYTHING you want to know about any camera you're considering. It's a great site, very informative!

Sorry for rambling. Photography is a dearly held hobby of mine and I could talk about it all day!

 

[SunnyGirl]

I have the Canon SX30 IS and it makes great pictures even of ''the moving around and chasing the camera'' Sunny


Canon PowerShot SX30 IS: Digital Photography Review

 

[mysteryfoxes]

You're better off putting away as much as you can each month and getting a start up bundle pack. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-75-300mm-Telephoto-Accessory/dp/B005E0OWQ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340627979&sr=8-1&keywords=dslr+bundle"]You will thank yourself a billion times over.[/ame]

The key for photographing moving animals is having the correct light for your camera. With better cameras you can worry about shutter speeds (making sure your picture isn't to blurry/dark), iso (making sure it isn't too grainy or dark), and apature (depth of field).

Until you can get a good camera try getting as much light in as possible. Near a window, turn on all the lights, etc.

 

[mysteryfoxes]

One of my favorite places to compare camera brands/equipment is this one.
Side-by-side camera comparison: Digital Photography Review

They'll tell you EVERYTHING you want to know about any camera you're considering. It's a great site, very informative!

Sorry for rambling. Photography is a dearly held hobby of mine and I could talk about it all day!

I second this. Researching is always the best route. And just know...

With a DSLR, it's more the lenses than the body. For just simple baby pictures, etc. you can get yourself a nice camera in a matter of months if you know how to save right.

xx,
Jessica (photography is my semi-profession/hobby/obsession)

 

[IcyWolf]

wow, thank you all so much for this help! It really is a big help! I know that lighting is my main problem right now. In the house all of my pics look horrible, the colors aren't quite right, the blur is so bad no matter what I do, etc. I can go outside on a nice day though and even just with my cell phone, the pics look 100 times better, I just don't really like taking babies outside, especially those that haven't fledged yet but are soon going to. We do have two big bow front type windows that make nice little picture taking spots though. Yesterday it was cloudy and I was forced to do my pictures in the bird room where there's a combination of fluorescent and incandescent vanity lights, not a good combo for pictures.

When I was a kid, we had a dark room in our basement and I would spend hours down there with my dad developing pictures, I loved doing the black and whites. He still has tons of old cameras and his enlarger and stuff, I remember taking unused flashbulbs and stringing them up with aluminum foil and setting them off with batteries lol.

 

[talldub]

I'm using a Canon Powershot SX210 IS and I get pretty decent pics IF Loki decides to stand still long enough. The problem I have with this camera is that the burst mode is so slow it's almost useless. I've been looking at the newer version of the camera, the powershot SX260 HS (Canon PowerShot SX260 HS Review | PhotographyBLOG) in which the burst mode seems much improved. I'd love an SLR too but can't afford one at the moment. There's a version of this camera, the SX240 HS which I believe is the same in all aspects but does not have GSP tagger built in. So, it should be cheaper and as it's meant to be better than my current camera should do a pretty decent job. See if you can give it a try somewhere, might be a good alternative.,

 

[horsesculpter]

Todays groupon has a pretty descent Fuji Finepix for 149 that would probably hold you until you get a DSLR.

 

[Customcasket]

I've got the Panasonix Lumix DCM-ZS10. It takes amazing pictures! I've got like 3 SLR cameras and haven't had the money to put into a DSLR yet. The little Panasonic I have takes great pictures for the money. You can see them in the photo albums on here in the Kayak album of her standing on her coiled rope. I even have decent pictures of my fidgety budgie. He's always on the move. It has a pet and child setting (I don't use them unless I have A LOT of light in the room) it shows a lot of noise in the pictures. I normally change the shutter speed on it. There are so many settings I haven't even played with and I've had the camera for well over a year.

 

[wenz2712]

I have 2 Kodak Digital Cameras, and they both take brilliant pics.. You can pick these up pretty cheap )

 

[Jenlynn]

If your heart is set on a DSL or an expensive point and shoot but don't want to go out on a limb and spend such a big amount all at once...you could buy one at home shopping network... hsn.com they have canon dslrs with 4 flex pay payment arrangement plans. They also have a ton of nice point and shoots. You pay your first installment and the item is mailed right away...so you can get it now but pay it off little by little, sometimes up to 5 months.

When my TV broke and I didn't have the money available to spend to buy a new one out of pocket and I was reluctant to put such a big purchase on a credit card, I went the HSN route and it worked out amazing. No interest or anything.

Its kind of addicting though haha...this computer was a daily HSN special that I couldn't pass up. It's amazing all that they have and their prices are great.

I have a canon DSLR and I was even able to get a lens from HSN on 3 payments. There was no other way I could drop 800 dollars for a lens. I love HSN