Help: Nikon, Canon or Olympus??

[Virgo]

I support sammy888 on this. Well said. :thumbsup:

Would like to add my opinion. Since you're very new to photography, I don't encourage you to spend thousands of dollars throwing in the cash to get a DSLR, lenses and accessories. You need a lot more than this.

I would advise to get a prosumer series, like Canon G6 or something. It has those 'dummy' functions point-and-shoot, as well as advance features for Aperture Priority (Av), Shutter Priority (Tv) and Manual (M) settings. When you're getting adventurous and are comfortable with these manual settings, then consider a DSLR.

In this case, the leap won't be that big, although you still need to change, but the price you pay won't be that great. In the digital world, there's nothing like spend one time and that's it. You need to upgrade when you're ready!

This is definitely better than you spend the money in getting the DSLR system, and later found that you only use point-and-shoot functions most of the time. Not worth a single cent!

 

[AReality]

Adding to what virgo said, get a 2nd hand cam.
If U decide to upgrade, the loss will be minimal.

 

[NatRotciv]

I agree with sammy888 too.
Me thinks if you got yourself a DSLR, you would've to take care of 2 babies instead of one.

 

[blursotong]

Thanks for all advise. Have ben talking to some friends too, and all advise to get higher level consumer / prosumer digi cam 1st. Their argument is: If I buy the DSLR now, and find a chore to use, then I may give up altogether (then the forum will have a mint set to sell!! Ha). Good advise, I'd say.

However, there are some who advise against shooting with flash directly into the child's eyes as it may cause damage. They suggest to buy an external flash and then bounce. Seriously, I don't have any idea what's that, but because don't want to appear like blursotong, dare not ask further. What is bounce flash? And how to set?

I understand that to have external flash, only certain cameras can do it. Which means must hunt for those cameras already. G5s have been advertised recently. Will do more research on this.

Oh ya... Found this great website. www.dpreview.com. Great stuff in there (I guess you all would know already).

Next time I write, I will appear "knowledgeable". But, still need advise...

Cheers...

 

[afbug]

Since you're new to photography, why splash all 3k on a dslr? Put 1k on a good digital point and shoot cam and the remaining 2k on a video cam. That way, you've stills and movies

 

[frcfyp]

Since you're new to photography, why splash all 3k on a dslr? Put 1k on a good digital point and shoot cam and the remaining 2k on a video cam. That way, you've stills and movies

well said sammy888 and afbug. to add to what afbug says, i would like to ask the threadstarter whether he will be interested to hear his own cries when he was a baby? whether he will be interested to look at videos of himself learning to walk, learning to talk when he was a baby? while it is not possible for us since it is history, i believe in the future your child will be glad you captured the moments for him.

i second afbug's suggestions. nowadays u dun need a dslr to take photos with flash bouncing off the ceiling and/or shooting with high iso. good prosumer cams with ext flash support can also do that. maybe not as well as a dslr, but can still be acceptable. check out the reviews to see the noise levels of the cameras at high iso setting to see if you can accept it. use noise reduction on those samples at those camera reviews.

 

[zaren]

since you are taking pics of ur baby growing up, i would suggest you get a digicam that has;

a) fast start up time
b) low shutter lag
c) fast autofocus
d) image stabilization
e) fast lens

so that no precious moments may be lost due to slow response or camera-shake....

 

[Witness]

so totally agree with zaren...

 

[CYRN]

I second the fast autofocus... I missed plenty of "the moment" of my child wif slow AF.... basically, you need a responsive camera.

As for flash... depends... you might want to consider a fast lens instead.

 

[authmn]

just get the pansonic fz20 if u need a digital cam to learn and it comes with good zoom...

 

[mpenza]

Don't think fz20's autofocus is fast enough to capture the "moment" though. but otherwise it's a competent camera.

 

[Madmax]

Is there a consumer P&S with fast auto-focus?

My honest opinion, I really think you should keep the cash for the baby. If you want a good consumer P&S digicam, you can really consider Olympus. The models C-4040 & C-5050 has a largest aperture of F1.8. Great for taking pics in ambient light.

 

[mpenza]

there are some, eg Ricoh G4 Wide, that focus very fast.

 

[imaginary_number]

Maybe u can consider buying a cheap 2nd hand D60 for $1k? Even if u decide to sell later, u'll not lose much. I'm selling mine

 

[AReality]

Actually...
If you don't have a studio, the best pics will usually be taken with ambient lighting. Get a cam with a "fast" lens.

Ok, going to answer your next question.
A "fast" lens is a lens with a small aperature number. Something like f/1.8, or f/1.4 (u must have $$) Small aperature number == larger hole == more light can enter == faster shutter speed.

Suggest a DSLR with a fast lens. Can be as cheap as $1200 total (2nd hand). U'll never regret.