I'm looking to upgrade my 2003 point and shoot digital camera. It's served me well over the years but I'm really having an issue with flash. If I turn flash off, I get a blurry, low quality picture. If I turn it on (even low flash setting), the light is too much and ruins the picture with an annoying shining light.
So I am looking for a new camera that will allow me to take a picture like what I'm seeing using my own eyes (if that makes sense) without any annoying "flash" issues. I never heard of DSLR before until a few weeks ago. Would an entry level DSLR camera be a good choice or would I still be dealing with an annoying "flash" in my pictures? Do I need to be a rocket scientist to use one, or is it easy? Cost is not much of a concern...I don't want to spend over $500 though so anything at the "professional" level is out of my budget. I am looking at entry level only.
I'm looking at getting the Sony alpha 200 right now and it seems to have good review and is just under $500. Thanks for any help or advice.
To give you another route to consider, I recently made a camera purchase with a similar budget, but after trying out a lot of different DSLR's, settled on a different category of camera - the "point-and-shoot for the SLR user" class.
Right now, there are two models that top those charts, and tons of debate over which is superior. They are the
Canon Powershot G10 and the
Panasonic LX3. There's a Leica-branded model out there that's identical to the LX3 but twice as pricey, FYI (the LX3 uses the same Leica lens).
Of the two, I finally settled on the G10. It offers quality that, in the right conditions,
can rival medium format equipment (at a 13x19 print). It has the "auto-everything" that keep point+shoots popular, while maintaining as much or more control over aperture/shutterspeed as entry level DSLR's. To boot, it's a lot easier to carry around with me - which means I find myself taking more opportunities for a great shot than I would if I left the camera at home.
That said, if you are out to take very rapid shots or lots of evening/night shots using only ambient light, you'll probably be better off selecting one of the entry-level DSLR options out there.
Brand new retail for the G10 is about $400 as of when I purchased a few weeks ago, and less if you're patient for a deal, so it'd fit well within your budget.
Whatever you choose - do your homework, and spend the time/effort to find and 'test-drive' your narrowed options in a store before laying down the cash! =)
...I'm really having an issue with flash. If I turn flash off, I get a blurry, low quality picture. If I turn it on (even low flash setting), the light is too much and ruins the picture with an annoying shining light.
Not sure if this has already been pointed out, but just to be sure you've heard it: A universal truth is that if you take a photo with less light - such as without flash in a dim situation - then you will be increasingly fighting blurriness due to handshake and/or subject movement. That's a reality of any camera. Some newer digital cameras have optical stabilization technologies (worth it - really works!) that can help with the handshake side, but there are going to be times that to get a shot, you'll simply have to deal with flash (that's why it's out there).
That said, flash is like a tool in your photographer's toolbox - albeit one you may understandably prefer to avoid. Like any tool, you can develop skills to help you use it, when needed, with better end-results. Annoying effects caused by flash (foreground overexposure, off colors, glare on eyeglasses, and more) can often be mitigated with different approaches!
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