What camera should I buy.... Help!?

Q. Hello,
I am looking for a digital camera.... that takes great pics, doesn't have blurred pics... and if I am on the sidelines at my kids games... it can zoom in and get GREAT shots. What megapixel do I need? What optical zoom do I need? Any brand?
Please help! I am asking for a camera for Christmas...just not sure what kind to ask for.

Answer
Allison, you need to look at a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) with a telephoto zoom lens.

I currently use a Nikon D70 and a zoom set at 300mm for most of my Little League and soccer photos. It's the same setup I use for my WNBA, NBA, & NCAA football shots, so you can see how versatile it is.

A DSLR will give you almost instantaneous response, without the shutterlag that compact cameras almost always give you. Shutterlag has the camera taking the actual photo a second or more after you've pressed the button, missing that precious moment!

A DSLR will also have a continuous shooting mode for a serious of action shots, helping you to freeze that great catch, kick, or throw.

My recommendation? Get the Nikon D40 or D40x and the Nikon 55-200mm VR. The VR function helps to steady the camera and lens, virtually eliminating the need for a tripod.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55-200mm-vr.htm

The D40 is a great camera for a beginner and has very easy to use auto modes. Here are some examples of what some ordinary people did with this camera when handed a D40.
http://www.stunningnikon.com/picturetown

And here's a couple of reviews.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40/

Here's some photos I took with my D50, the older cousin to the D40. Both cameras have the same 6 megapixel resolution and ease of use. These photos were taken with a Nikon 75-300mm zoom, cropped, and then reduced in size for uploading to the website.
http://www.spmsportspage.com/images/college/football/2007/California-45-Tennessee-31-09-01-2007/index.html

If you have any more questions, please ask!

Can the camera body of a DSLR camera have optical zoom?

Q. Is the lens you put on a DSLR the only thing that determines the optical zoom or can the just camera body contribute to the zoom it has?

Answer
No, the body does not have optical zoom. Zoom is controlled by the lens. If you want a "super zoom" offering 10x or more zoom, you might be better served with $400-$600, super zoom point-n-shoot or bridge camera rather than going through the expense of a $450 DSLR and an $500-$800, 18-200mm or 18-250mm lens. Examples would include Canon's Powershot SX1, SX10 or Nikon's Coolpix L100 and P90.

Very few of the better DSLR lenses offer much more than 3x zoom. There are however 10x or better lenses like Nikon's 18-200mm VR lens that are very useful for general photography. Still, the whole point of a DSLR is the ability to use the right lens for the shot rather than being stuck with a lens that attempts to be a jack of all trades.

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Various DSLR camera lenses: How far do they zoom?

ssammiee

I was just wondering.. I'm considering purchasing a Nikon D40 or Canon 100D as I'm becoming more and more interested in photography, but still at an amateur level.

How far do the lenses zoom? Such as an 18-50mm lens? How far do that zoom in real life? Like 35x optical zoom on standard digital cameras..

Thanks for answering.
Have a lovely day.

Answer
It is a little confusing when trying to compare them to point and shoot camera lenses. You can have various lenses that are all 3x zoom but will give you vastly different fields of view. For example the 18-55mm kit lens is a 3x zoom as is a 100-300mm. The 18-55 goes from a slight wide angle to a slight telephoto. The 100-300mm is a long telephoto lens.

To get the point more we need to start with a lens that would be considered normal or what the eye sees. For either of those cameras normal would be about 35mm. Anything longer than that is telephoto. Anything shorter is wide angle. So for example a lens that was 200mm would give you a field of view that was about 5.5x closer than your eye sees. An 18mm lens would give you a field of view that looked twice as far away as your naked eye would see.

There really isn't any lens that will give you the equivalent of a 35x zoom. The closest your going to get is an 18-200mm which would give you a 11x zoom lens. Tamron makes an 18-270mm lens which would be 15x zoom. The downside with these long zoom range lenses is that there are a lot of compromises involved in making a lens like this. They are not going to be optically as good a having a couple of shorter range zoom lenses.

I hope this helps.

whats the difference between point and shoot cameras and DSLR cameras? and what about high zoom?

MUAH**lol

?? lol


thankss

Answer
Point and shoot cameras are all one piece digital cameras designed for everyday users. They are small and most functions (focus, speed, etc) are adjusted automatically. A Digital SLR camera is bigger and more complex, suited for professionals or photography enthusiasts. You can switch out lenses, filters, flashes, and other accessories based on current needs. High zoom is a marketing term (usually on upper end point and shoot cameras). It just means that the camera has a more powerful than normal optical zoom. For example a point and shoot camera might have a 20x optical zoom instead of the standard 3x. However, these come nowhere close to some optional lenses for DSLRs which can be many times more powerful.

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What is the max. distance for a 300 mm lens to zoom in an object very close?

dslr camera zoom examples image

Jessy

I have a Canon Rebel camera with a 50 mm lens. Now, I want to take pictures from birds (as close as possible). If I would buy a 300 mm lens, how far away could a bird be so that it still could be zoomed in well?
I'm also wondering if I rather should buy a digital camera with a 30X Zoom for example because they are cheaper than a 300 mm lens and most have an Image Stabilizer (when shooting birds, one must be fast). What I'm not able to figure out is how many mm correspond to 1X for example or, can I not compare it this way?
Any help is much appreciated.

Answer
Depends how big the object is. A house sonme hundreds of feet away, an insect just a few feet.

Compared with a compact or bridge digital camera offering 30x (and starting around 28mm 'equivalent') a 300mm on crop-frame DSLR would bve around a 10x.

Comprisons can never be exact, and they very from model to model, but for ease of calculation for bridge or compact cameras take a starting point around 25mm to 28mm looking at full-frame DSLR (veery expensive) or 35mm Film SLR. A 'normal' lens on a crop-frame (low-to-mid-price) DSLR is around 30mm, and the kit lens of 18mm to 55mm is equivalent to 27mm to 82mm on full-frame.

Confused? Aren't we all! But certainly a 30x on a compact or bridge camera is much more powerful than a 300mm on a mid price DSLR. I recommend bridge rather than a slim compact because of the eye-level viewfinder. It is impossible to follow fast action (e.g. birds, sports) at long distance (big zoom) with a camera held at arm's length.

Is a point and shoot camera with an interchangeable lens as good as a DSLR?

DN

I've been looking at point and shoot cameras with interchangeable lenses and was wandering if they will take as good of a picture with DSLR cameras? Also with the interchangeable point and shoot cameras, will they capture night shots (for example the sky)? Thanks in advance for your help
Edited: The camera I'm talking about is the Sony Alpha Nex-5 which has interchangeable lenses but it has a LCD screen of the picture you're about to take which DSLR's don't use.

Answer
Two big things that determine the image quality are the lens and size of the camera image sensor. Most compact cameras have much smaller image sensors than DSLR cameras though there are some new more compact cameras that have either 4/3" chips or APS-C size ships which are equivalent to most DSLRs. Interchangeable lenses allows you to install a quality lens catered directly to the type of shooting you need. Don't expect to buy a camera with a kit lens and expect great quality though. Often good lenses cost $1000+ for a decent one though prime lenses (lenses without a zoom) will offer great quality without the huge cost. Some 50mm f/1.8 lenses are available for $100 with great quality. More tips at: http://www.learningcameras.com

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