What brand and kind of camera do you use to get great pictures of your doodle(s)?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am reposting a discussion started by Kathy (Ellie and Oliver) along with the responses to see if we can get additional feedback.

"As the holidays approach, many of us may be thinking of getting a different camera to help us capture those unforgettable doodle moments. There seems to be sales, sales, and more sales! I like to have a wish list on hand for items that I am possibly interested in buying now or in the future. Please share with us the name of a user friendly point and shoot or SLR camera that you use to take awesome pictures of your doodle(s). Thanks for your suggestions!!!"
Replies to This Discussion

Reply by Noble Vestal Labradoodles on December 4, 2009 at 7:33am
Canon only!

it takes a good camera and a good eye for framing a picture, I notice most take pictures standing up and looking down on their dog~ ugh... Get down at eye level with your dog when taking pics and I do mean eye level... that means on your knees or belly : )

Reply by Sara Sonntag on December 4, 2009 at 7:46am
Your right...I am crawling everywhere when taking pictures..laying on the ground too! Take pictures from all kinds of angles...even pictures from BEHIND it!! CANON ONLY...I'm with you on that too!

Reply by Allyson, Peri & Taquito on December 4, 2009 at 10:57am
My mom is a photographer and only uses her Digital Canon Rebel. It is awesome. She has used Canon only for the past 30+ years.
For a smaller, less expensive camera, we both have our own SD1100 Canon's. It fits in your pocket and I think the quality is great for the price ($200).

Reply by Kathy (Ellie & Oliver) on December 4, 2009 at 6:39pm
Wow, thank you for sharing information on the camera that you use to capture special doodle memories. I knew that I could count on my fellow doodle members to share their experiences. I'm going to research your suggestions and then take it from there. Once again, many thanks!!!!!!!!! Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)

Reply by Leslie and Halas 15 hours ago
I bought a Canon EOS 50D last winter, and I love it. It came with a kit lens, which works well. I've recently added a wide-angle lens for more landscape pics and some home remodeling pics (want to capture as much of the room in the shot as I can), and I'm loving that so far, too. My point-and-shoot is also a Canon. It's a PowerShot XS100. I think almost all the pics on my page were taken with one of these 2 cameras.

Reply by Kathy (Ellie & Oliver) 58 minutes ago
Thank you for replying to my question. I think that I am leaning towards purchasing a Canon. I'm still researching all of the different kinds of Canon SLR cameras. It seems that both Canon and Nikon cameras have wonderful reviews. I have always used point and shoot cameras and so the world of SLR seems a bit confusing to me, especially the terminology. I just don't want to spend money on a camera that I may find too difficult to use! I'm sure that many people had the same type of concerns before purchasing their camera. I have joined the Photography Group here on DK. So we'll see how my SLR journey unfolds!!!!!

[Robert K]

I have been a Pro. Photographer for 26 years and have used many different cameras. Nikon & Canon are without a doubt the best SLR brands out there. I personally prefer Nikon. However don't just listen to comments here or in reviews you read. Both brands are the highest quality you can buy. Comments people have been making here are just personal preference. You need to go to a camera store, like a Samy's, Calumet, Cal's Camera, in So. Cal, and talk to the people there and than take 20 min. or so and actually use the camera's in the store. See what personally feels best to you and make your decision. (even if you buy some where else) Don't just go to a Walmart/Target/camera store in Mall like Ritz etc....... they don't really know much even if they say they do - go to a real camera store. (You may even look at other good quality brands like Pentax could meet your needs as a starter) Even at those stores one salesman will like Canon the other Nikon, etc.. talk to more than one salesmen and they can tell you what features each camera has.

[Robert K]

You may find this useful http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guides/dslr_buying_guide_01.htm

[Mandy&Bailee]

I have a Nikon D300s that I just got within the last couple months that I adore. My husband swears he had to keep me from sleeping with it in bed when I first got it.
If anyone is just getting their first DSLR, I would recommend the Nikon I started out with a couple years ago - the Nikon D60, or go for the D90 if you have extra bucks to spend. The D60 doesn't cost an arm & a leg, comes with a great 18-55mm zoom, and is pretty easy to use as a starter camera. It has mode settings like landscape, flowers, nighttime, portrait, etc. BUT it also has aperture priority, shutter priority, and totally manual - so as you learn and become more confident you can start taking over on some of the creative controls with the camera and manually controlling settings. My D300s only has 4 settings - aperture, shutter, program, and manual - no more mode settings, I graduated up!
Happy camera shopping and feel free to ask me any ?s before you shop! [e-mail]

[Linda and "Toby"]

I LOVE my Canon EOS 5D! I have two favorite lenses... a 70-210mm telephoto and a 100mm macro (great for taking nice, crisp portraits). I'm tempted to pick up a point and shoot to keep in my pocket because mine is a bit cumbersome to take everywhere I go. (I go thru phases where I do that.) The one I would buy is the Panasonic TZ7 Lumix. I posted some info on it in the "Video" camera thread.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have a canon Elph which is a few years old and I love it. the newer ones are much less expensive and have more features and pixels, of course.

[Diane Margetts]

OK--I went a totally different direction. I have an Olympus e-510. An Olypus uses a 4/3 sensor which is distinctly different from the Nikon/Canon 3/2 sensor. People on either side of the fense will tell you their 3/2 or 4/3 platform is better. Actually I don't believe either is better but they do have significant difference. And I would really recommend you investigate these differences BECAUSE a DSLR is a major investment with lenses and other accessories that aren't generally interchangable so you are really making a lifetime commitment to a brand or at least to a platform. And even though I am talking about major Olympus vs Canon/Nikon differences, there are distict differences between Nikon and Canon also that the other members of this group can better address (and probably have).

--
--A plus for me is with the 4/3 I have a 2x crop factor. To me this means that my 300 Olympus lens is practically multiplied by 2x so I actually have a 2x300 lens or a 600 mm equivelant (as compared to traditional 35mm). This is also a plus for me because I am a fairly small person and the 4/3 allows me to use smaller and lighter lenses to get the same mm equiven lance as compared to larger, heavier Nikon/Canon lenses.
--A negative for me is that the 4/3 makes it more challenging to achieve a shallow depth of field which is an effect that I really love.
--A positive for me is that the "sweet spot" in my aperature for landscape or other depth of fiels photography is 12-14 A. This gives me a lot more room for bracketing and other creative experiments.
--A negative is a lot of noise at mid ISO levels vs 3/2 that can give better low light results.
Etc . . . There's a lot to think about before you make that lifetime commitment!! Try to find some camera pros, in camera shops if possible, that are not totally biased to a particular brand -- not an easy task!! -- and ask them to let you handle the various cameras to see how they feel to you AND to show you results from the best and worst of each. Good luck and have fun!!!