# Digital camera choice help



## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

Hello all I am getting ready to buy a digital camera and I needed some advice. I am probably going to stick with Nikon. The question I have is I am debating between the cool pix 8700{$719) and the 4800($399).

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Niko...sem/rpsm/oid/108461/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

and

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Niko.../sem/rpsm/oid/88675/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

the 4800 is a 4mp and the 8700 is an 8mp. Anyone have any experience with either of these units? Is it worth the extra cash to get the 8700? I would like to be able to take some good photos of my plants and fauna. I also want a versatile camera that will be good for my family pics as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## titan97 (Feb 14, 2005)

As an owner of a CoolPix 5700, I am biased towards the Nikon's as well. If the only difference is megapixels, then the question becomes what size prints do you want? And also, how much will you zoom and edit your pics on the computer or at the kiosks? Most digital photographers will tell you that you will need 300dpi for true photo quality. So, a 5"x7" print will need a 3.15MP camera for max quality. This is without any editing or cropping latter in the process. An 8x10 will require a 7.2MP camera. With all of that said, I have printed several 8x10's with excellent results with my 5700 (5MP). If you can afford it, go with the big boy. But if you don't think you will be needing large prints, the 4MP camera will not disappoint you.


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

I was looking at the 5600 also but I decided against it with only the 3x zoom. Both of the others have 8x zoom. I want to be able to zoom well, and have a good flash. I plan on using my photoshop 7.0 for pic manupulation and 8x10 would be the largest pic I will print, mostly 5x7 though. I want to be able to get some good close-ups of my shrimp and plants.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I'm no expert but have been reading up a lot lately on digital cameras as I'm planning to buy one as well.

If you're ok to spend over $700 why not go with a Digital SLR like the Nikon D70??

Much better all around...


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

the Nikon D70 is about 1200 dollars or so and thats not including a teelphoto lens. Its is a better all around camera but by the ime Im done getting what I need for it I may be spending about 2,000 dollars.


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

I agree, if size is not a problem for you and you are considering spending 700 or so dollars you really should consider a digital SLR. The Canon EOS 300D for example sells for around $750 with a 18-55mm lens.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=6222

The nice thing is that any accessories you buy (lenses, flashes....) will remain with you regardless of how outdated the camera body becomes. When it's time to upgrade just buy a new body and you will already have all the lenses and accessories needed from the previous body.

I don't mind spending 200-300 on a digital camera that will be obsolete in a year or so, but spending 700 on a camera that will be worth 200 in a year or two doesn't make as much sense to me unless I needed something that has to fit in my pocket. Also, with the latest wave of digital SLRs on the market you should have no problem finding a used digital SLR for a good price, you can always upgrade the body in the future. I have lenses from 30 years ago still in use on my latest camera bodies, as long as you don't change brand of camera body you will never regret money spent on something that will serve you so long.

For the features and ability to have full manual control of the camera I purchased the Canon A70 some time ago as my pocket camera (most of the photos on my website are taken with this camera) and a Canon 20D for the more serious stuff. Also use a Nikon F2 and Minolta SRT100, the old workhorses from back in the day, still getting good results from them though.

Just a thought.

Giancarlo Podio


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## Jeff Kropp (Apr 25, 2004)

gpodio said:


> For the features and ability to have full manual control of the camera I purchased the Canon A70 some time ago as my pocket camera (most of the photos on my website are taken with this camera)


Giancarlo,

Do you use the macro lens on your A70? I am having trouble with focus issues using my new A510. So far the auto-color balance seems as good if not better than any custom white point setting. When shooting with your A70 what mode do you typically use, TV at 200 with +1 exposure? (Sample shots at my website via my name pulldown.)

ty, jeff


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## jsenske (Mar 15, 2004)

Trust me- you will want t o go with the best camera you can afford. Remember too that a nicer camera will maintain more trade value in the future should you decide to upgrade which- with digital tech being what it is- you will want too! That 8700 is is a nice EVF. If you are partial to Nikon, it is a bit of a $ jump to the D70. Go with the most your budget will allow is my advice on cameras.


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Hi Jeff,

I just looked at a detailed review of this camera and have to say Canon "fixed" the things I didn't like about the A70 and dropped the price too! One of the biggest setbacks with the A70 was no external flash option, no longer the case...

I shoot exclusively in manual mode when it comes to taking photos of tanks. I rarely find any other setting to give better results. Playing around with speed and aperture is the best way to get the perfect shot. ISO 50 or 100 is good on my A70, 200 and above were not acceptable IMO and so I prefer to use a longer exposure on this camera rather than a higher ISO setting. Using higher apertures and longer exposures will make focusing easier but the camera needs to be on a tripod and triggered using a remote cable or self timer. If you select a low aperture in favor of a fast shutter speed, depth of field will be very limited making focusing a tricky task. 

In Tv mode as you pointed out, a 1/200 shutter speed will require a high ISO and low/fast aperture (F2.6 on your camera) resulting in a hard to focus shot. Try 1/15 - 1/30 on a tripod using the Tv mode and see what F value is automatically set for you. Otherwise try the Av mode and set the aperture to F4. Every shot is different though, so in the end playing with the M mode will give you the ability to learn your camera well and "guess" the settings required for each situation, at least to a point where 2-3 shots is all that's needed to get a perfect one.

White balance will vary on the lighting, some settings such as cloudy, Fluorescent H and L can often give acceptable results, but I do use the manual white balance. I place a white sample card in the tank itself to set the white balance. Fine adjustments in white balance can also be done in photoshop or paintshop pro so not extremely critical to get it right on the camera itself.

As for macro shots, I use the threaded adapter and a cheap set of 52mm closeup rings (+1,+2,+4). I also have a 52mm reversal adapter that allows me to screw a regular SLR lens backwards in front of the camera's lens, this gives me 1:1 and higher magnification levels for true macro photography. Vigneting is strong but you just crop that out.

Many of the closeup photos however were done with the regular lens, keep in mind that the closer the focus, the larger the picture... so if you set the zoom to it's minimum setting, manually focus the camera to it's closest range, then move the camera to get the object into focus, you will get the biggest magnification possible with the given lens. Obviously minor adjustments in focus may be needed unless you have a sliding adapter of some kind, but you can get rather good closeups like this and all without additional lenses.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio


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