Anybody have a suggestion for a good 6+ mp SLR camera?

[Logic]

I'm probably going to buy a new camera for a vacation. I've had several years experience with photography and want to spend about $800-$1100 USD. I was looking through some of the higher end cameras on www.dpreview.com and just wanted to see if anybody had a suggestion. I really think the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 looks great, my only objection to this camera is the video mode saves files in .mov format *puke*. Only requirement is that it HAS to be at least 6 megapixels with mechanical zoom and focus. If some people have any similar cameras care to share a sample image or two? Someone said the Canon EOS-1D Mark II would be really good, but I don't want to spend $600 extra for a lense whent he camera was already $999.

 

[Deamiter]

Just to keep you from feeling ignored, I thought I'd post to say that I really don't think there's a whole lot an amateur can say on the subject of pro cameras like those you're looking at. Basically, the difference in quality (between name brands) is only apparent if you've tried many different cameras so any advice is probably more forthcoming from articles writting online. To me, it sounds like you know what you're looking for and you know what you're doing, so it'd be just presumptuous for me to try to give you advice you already know.

Come back with some pictures once you DO get your new camera though!

 

[intrepid]

I'm probably going to buy a new camera for a vacation. I've had several years experience with photography and want to spend about $800-$1100 USD. I was looking through some of the higher end cameras on www.dpreview.com and just wanted to see if anybody had a suggestion. I really think the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 looks great, my only objection to this camera is the video mode saves files in .mov format *puke*. Only requirement is that it HAS to be at least 6 megapixels with mechanical zoom and focus. If some people have any similar cameras care to share a sample image or two? Someone said the Canon EOS-1D Mark II would be really good, but I don't want to spend $600 extra for a lense whent he camera was already $999.

After years of shooting 35mm with Nikon F and F2 I bought a Fuji S7000. It's 12Mpixel, 6Mpixel effective, with external hot shoe and bypass for all the automated stuff. Only objection is that it goes through batteries like it owns stock in Duracell. It will also shoot 90 seconds of motion with sound if that's an interest to you. It was $699.

Good shooting.

 

[Logic]

I might seriously consider that Fuji s7000, I really wish it had a rechargable LI battery, the 4AA is a lot for short battery life. What format does it save movies in? It says " QT motion jpeg 640x480 / (30fps)" on the site..?!

 

[michabo]

Logic,

Why do you need such a beefy camera?

You're listing some serious hardware which are basically for the pros, but you also want to shoot movies, which isn't possible with SLRs. So what are your real requirements?

Personally, I would never travel with more than a 3Mp camera for vacations unless I wanted to shoot art, and then I'd go for a digital SLR. In that case, the digital Rebel or the Nikon d70 are the only real options in the pro-sumer category. If you are actually making money selling pictures, then maybe the Canon 1D or Nikon d100 would work well. You will only need about 5-6Mp for photojournalism and magazine photography, and you will never use the movie feature.

And don't be suckered by the prices for the dSLRs. Few of the cameras will come with flash cards, so add in an extra few hundred for a 1Gb card (you'll need it if you're using the high res), and another four hundred to two thousand for another lens, and possibly another $150 for a second battery. If you're on the road, throw in $400 for a portable CD-burner or $550 for an iPod with a flash reader.

 

[Logic]

Well, it doesn't have to technically be a SLR, but I want one with the manual zoom and focus ring. I just like the movie feature on the camera that I have now, I think it's cool that you can take a digital movie with a camera and not have to spend extra on a video camera. I'm currently using the Sony P-8, which is 3 mp, I wanted the image quality to be higher resolution (looks really cool on a big plasma tv with higher resolution). I don't need a huge memory card (256mb is fine) because I'll bring my laptop with me, I can just transfer pics to that. I don't make any money selling pictures, but I've made a pretty serious hobby out of it. I'll also buy the camera on ebay, almost positively, which will be a few hundred cheaper. I'm also listing the maximum requirements that I would want, I'll probably end up buying a slightly cheaper one.

 

[michabo]

I'm currently using the Sony P-8, which is 3 mp, I wanted the image quality to be higher resolution (looks really cool on a big plasma tv with higher resolution).

televisions have only about 480x320 resolution, so your camera currently has greater resolution than can be shown on a tv, no matter how big. HDTV does make this better, but even then the change isn't big enough to come close to tapping your 3Mp camera. Your camera's pictures will look just as bad as an 8Mp camera on a tv. The difference is only noticeable when you go to print. A 3Mp can drive an 8.5x11.5 image at about 240dpi (if I recall correctly), a 5-6Mp can drive a 13x19, and an 8 can drive even more. However, I've seen a 3'x5' poster generated from a 3Mp camera with attention to the PhotoShop enlargement process (by 10% increments only) that was so good you'd have to know the subject intimately to know it was a huge enlargement.

Different cameras will have different colour profiles, different features, different weight, different attachments and different resolution, but unless you wish to go pro or make some extremely detailed enlargements, 3Mp is adequate. I'd pay more attention to the other areas and leave the pixel envy for those with a lot of money to burn.

I don't need a huge memory card (256mb is fine) because I'll bring my laptop with me, I can just transfer pics to that.

Just FYI: I have a Canon Digital Rebel which is about 5-6 Mp (can't remember) and I can get about 150 or so pictures at high resolution onto my 1Gb card. If you are shooting 8Mp onto a 256Mb card, you'd be lucky to get 15-20 pictures before you have to dump it to storeage if you're shooting at high res. Most videos are typically in the range of 1Mb/sec and up, which will also cramp your style.

I don't make any money selling pictures, but I've made a pretty serious hobby out of it.

gotcha. That's about what I'm doing, though I sold my first picture a couple weeks ago (yay!). In that case, you may chose to have one serious camera which allows different lenses, external flashes, synch cords, manual focus and manual time & aperature controls, a very fast response (<150ms), RAW mode (not just JPEG compression), synch speed of <1/250 sec, and Adobe RGB colour profile. I'd consider the two major dSLRs: the Canon Digital Rebel and the Nikon D70.

Then buy a second camera for movies, quick pics, and portability - something to slide into your jeans pocket and bring with you where you wouldn't lug the bigger, beefier camera.