Camera recommendation?

[doch]

I've had a little bit of time to look at a few cameras on line today, and to be honest, the main reason that I lean towards something that is point and shoot is for simplicity. My wife has a good point and shoot, and I have one that is kind of hit and miss (which makes me question my camera using skills - it's a sony, btw). We already have cameras, and I don't know a whole lot about photography (most of what I read today sounds like german). As such, I worry that if I spent $600+ on a DSLR, and then lenses on top of that, I wouldn't understand how to properly use it, and I'd end up with a dust collector. Even with my ~$400 Sony, I don't know what most of the settings in the camera mean. I end up getting crappy pictues quite often and question if I should be mad at the camera, or take a class.

One thing that I know for sure, is that neither of the cameras that we have take very good close up pictures. I prefer to use my cell phone over my sony... this to me is pretty sad.

I do want an SLR, but as stated, I worry about understanding it. I wonder if I could request a photography class for my birthday...? Would that be a good approach?

[doch]

Oh, and BTW, I'm in the preliminary thinking/planning/budgeting phase, so I have not set a budget yet. Like I had said earlier, $600 doesn't bother me all too much, but I'd prefer to stay around that mark all included (lenses, case, etc). A little bit more than that is not so bad... but I want to know how to use it.

[sphelps]

Like I said before take a good look at the Nikon D3100, in your budget with a basic lens that will still take better macros than a standard P&S but this will allow you to later get a nice macro lens to take real macros. It shoots in auto just like a P&S and has a built in guide, you don't need a class to use this camera.

[doch]

How much is a good macro lens worth? I was looking on kijiji today and there were used lenses for $900!!!!

[Slick Fork]

If your P&S confuses you... take a photography class. Dropping $600+ on a DSLR and then lenses makes zero sense if you are not interested enough to enjoy learning how to use it properly. Like you said, it would be a dust collector. I know lots of people that have high end DSLR's of all makes that just sit around collecting dust because they would rather slip a P&S in their pocket and go.

If you do decide to look at DSLR's more seriously, the Sony I would recommend is the a35 or the a55. A reasonable macro lense will probably put you back around $500. As Sphelps said, most of the DSLR's out there will let you do everything from extreme manual control to full auto brainless snapping.

[mike31154]

I've been on the fence for buying a DSLR. Used to be a little more interested in photography back in the 'film' days so I have some background knowledge regarding focus, field of view, shutter settings, etc. Many moons ago I inherited an old Agfa from my dad which had some really cool extra lenses and took very good pictures even though it wasn't an SLR. A lot more care & planning generally went into each shot since you were paying not only for film, but also development. That has since gone to a collector who I'm sure is taking good care of it.

I now have a couple of P&S jobs, already dated by today's standards. The newer one has a macro setting on the dial but it's still a challenge to get a decent close up shot of anything inside my tank. The glass seems to play havoc with the auto focus and shutter speed settings. It's also too slow to capture any kind of movement, so many of my photos are blurry. I really think this is where a DSLR can shine if you take a little time to get to know it and have the proper lens. On the other hand, a submersible P&S may work very well also, since you're not trying to focus on the subject through the glass, but I have no experience with submersible cameras, so I'm just ruminating.

I reckon if you're going to shell out the bucks for a DSLR, there will be some incentive to learn how to use it. If you do find it might become a dust collector, put up for sale online and I might take it off your hands....

One more thing. A friend of mine has both DSLR and P&S which he brings on the backcountry ski trips we go on. The P&S sees much more use than the DSLR on these trips due to ease of use, compact size. Needless to say, when you're out in the boonies & it's cold, it's a lot easier to pull out the P&S and click away. But when Glenn does pull out the DSLR, the results have no comparison with any of the P&S shots. We had a professional photographer on one of our trips and she climbed & skied all day with a DSLR hanging around her neck, very impressive, but that's what she does for a living. Another ski buddy still brings along an SLR film camera. Anyhow, these are somewhat extreme conditions and I still think that if you want great macro shots of your livestock, a DSLR with macro lens is the way to go. Learn how to use it and you will be rewarded.

[doch]

Well, I have unofficially decided against an SLR. I did a little research and looking at what can be done with the bigger p&s, and I'm thinking that for what I want to do, they'll work just fine. There are some fairly decent p&s that have respectable macro. I also borrowed my wife's Panasonic Lumix FH20, went into the basement and took a few shots. Not bad, and it's just a regular pocket sized point and shoot.

I'll have to go in and check them out in person, but I'm confident that I'll find something that I like in the range of $300-$500. Without actually looking in store, I'm looking at something like these:

http://estore.canon.ca/eStore/product?pid=4812&

https://panasonic.ca/english/audiovi...ll/DMCFZ47.asp

http://store.sony.ca/webapp/wcs/stor...52921666297852

http://en.nikon.ca/Nikon-Products/Pr...LPIX-P500.html

From the reading that I've done, the Nikon sounds the best, and is at the top of the list, but we'll see.

The main reason for this decision is the $500 price tag on a macro lens. Add that to the price of the camera, and it's more than I want to spend... for something that may not end up being used to it's full potential.