Best Camera for Under $400?

[kpchen]

Hi I'm totally new to this forum and I must say it's a great place to be! I'm a student and I'm trying to get a camera (any type - compact/prosumer/dSLR) for my club to record events primarily via sharp and vibrant photos. Good quality videos would be a plus. The budget is around $400. I'll be going out next weekend to scout for the camera.

Any recommendations for which model and best place to purchase it?

Thank you guys!

 

[KenBit]

Try the Panasonic LX-3, Canon G10 or G9, Nikon P6000 or Sony T700 dunno if they are above $400 but they are :thumbsup:

 

[kpchen]

okay i'll go test them out soon

 

[eosdigital]

Hi, assuming you do not mind a second hand dSLR, i found one which is right in your budget of $400, albiet body alone.

But if you do not want the future constraint of investment into lens and stuff, i advise that you get this good PnS instead which have the famed L lens.

 

[KenBit]

Erm... Not really sure if they cameras I have recommended are under $400 but they are certainly good ones! No doubt about that. Out of those I have suggested I think the cheapest would be either the G9 or P6000 which both are really good but if you can't find any reason to pay a little bit more than you can go with the second hand stuff if not try the T-500 its great and QUITE cheap.

P.S. Are you sure you do not want to invest in a DSLR? Coz at around 800+ can get you either of these two great beginner DSLRs in the Nikon D40 or the Nikon D60. Becareful, coz photography is very addictive so think about it. Consider. Get back to me if you need to know more.

 

[kpchen]

Thanks for the replies! The thing is I'm looking for something portable for the club and actually we have a D50 and D70, it's just that it's pretty inconvenient to lug dSLRs around.

Besides, we might need it to take video sometimes. It's more flexible I guess. A D90 / 5D Mark II will be out of the question haha. I'm just very unfamiliar with the PnS/Compact market. Don't know the good ones, though I've heard that Fuji cameras are legendary

I'll check out the Panasonic LX-3, Canon G10 or G9, Nikon P6000 and Sony T500/T700 soon.

 

[photobum]

Hi I'm totally new to this forum and I must say it's a great place to be! I'm a student and I'm trying to get a camera (any type - compact/prosumer/dSLR) for my club to record events primarily via sharp and vibrant photos. Good quality videos would be a plus. The budget is around $400. I'll be going out next weekend to scout for the camera.

Any recommendations for which model and best place to purchase it?

Thank you guys!

Take a look at Nikon Coolpix P5100. I believe you can get it for less than S$400 now. It is so versatile that even reporters from Lianhe Zaobao use it.

 

[KenBit]

Posted some at this link: http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424223
I think most of them over shoots your budget but you can just take a look.

 

[KenBit]

OMG! It's the same thread didn't realize. Anyway have you tested out those I mentioned above? How are they?

 

[runes]

For $400, buy a used Nikon D50 with used 18-55 lens, should fit your budget. Forget about recording movies with this, concentrate with just taking pics. I find handling both at the same time distracting.

This should last you half a year at least before you decide to continue, maybe upgrades.

 

[KenBit]

For $400, buy a used Nikon D50 with used 18-55 lens, should fit your budget. Forget about recording movies with this, concentrate with just taking pics. I find handling both at the same time distracting.

This should last you half a year at least before you decide to continue, maybe upgrades.

If you will just pay attention TS don't wanna have DSLR he has had experiences with them before.

 

[kpchen]

I'm going to try them out tomorrow. Haha, delayed by one week. Thanks for the replies so far!

 

[Flashbulb]

Hi I'm totally new to this forum and I must say it's a great place to be! I'm a student and I'm trying to get a camera (any type - compact/prosumer/dSLR) for my club to record events primarily via sharp and vibrant photos. Good quality videos would be a plus. The budget is around $400. I'll be going out next weekend to scout for the camera.

Any recommendations for which model and best place to purchase it?

Thank you guys!

maybe second hand Canon 350D with 18-55mm kit lens around that budget.

rent a 18-200mm as well as macro and fisheye when you have time. Go nuts.

Depth of Field is pretty interesting imo.

 

[kpchen]

Okay, I've finally purchased a Fujifilm Finepix F100fd for $480.00. The other camera I liked was the Canon IXUS 870 but it was priced at $550.00 which was beyond my budget. Besides, most the shots that my club takes are night shots and apparently, Fuj cams are better at night shots due to better noise handling.

I must say I'm quite happy with the camera, just that it took me some time to get use to it. Another problem that I faced was that my fingers tend to cover the flash bulb. Must get used to it

The Nikon PnS are pretty lousy. They are slow and somewhat clumsy. I did not try the other models though.