Best camera for a total newbie?

Help please, we are going to a South American cruise soon and are staying a few days in Patagonia beforehand.

I would love to capture the landscape of this magnificent country but need advice on which camera to buy which is easy to use and, for beginners like me, would produce nice pictures.

I researched the net but the choice is just too overwhelming.

Thank you for any tips. :)

Help please, we are going to a South American cruise soon and are staying a few days in Patagonia beforehand.

 

I would love to capture the landscape of this magnificent country but need advice on which camera to buy which is easy to use and, for beginners like me, would produce nice pictures.

 

I researched the net but the choice is just too overwhelming.

 

Thank you for any tips. :)

There are so many good cameras out there as you have seen. What price range are you looking in. This will narrow it down.

There are so many good cameras out there as you have seen. What price range are you looking in. This will narrow it down.

Around 300 Dollars...:)

Around 300 Dollars...:)

Consider the Sony Alpha A5000 range - purchased as a a gift for my techy godson on a recommendation from a specialist outle (Boolchands in St. Maartin). He loved it!

For less than $300 you can pick up the Canon S110 or the Olympus XZ-2, small cameras with large sensors, that will give you image quality that's superior to that of most point and shoots (and cell phones). Their only downside is that they have short zoom lenses, 5x and 4x, respectively.

For a small camera with a long zoom lens that's under $300 I like the Canon SX700 (30x zoom), though its image quality is not quite as good as the S110 or XZ-2.

If you are willing to spend a little more, check out the Canon SX50, Nikon P600, or Nikon D3200 dSLR (in that order). There was a good bundle for the Canon SX50 for 399 at Ritz. If wanting to stay inside the $300 range, look at the Nikon P530 or next lower power in the Canon range.

I am a bit of a camera-name snob. Went away from them once, paid for that. Now will stick with the names, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax (Ricoh).

Thank you to ALL of you!!! Tremendous help. :):)

I am not a completely newbie but have been very pleased with my old pocket camera for ears. From time to time I would have liked to get something "better".

For me a trip to S. America will be one of the lighlights of my life, just as my upcoming trip to China. I wanted to get great memories so I can relive this trip at my old age.

You say you are a newbie,- but you will not be for long and you may actually want something better than a relative simple camera for $ 300.

I went out of the way and purchased the Sony A6000 and have fallen so much in love with this camera, that I sleep with it. Well, I check out the various features etc. before going to sleep. Wife is not pleased because, when we go somewhere, I want to take many more photos than before and that takes time she says.

Some of my reasons were:

Fast focus for taking photos while in tour busses.

Many pictures per second so one of them may be good from the bus.

Good and fast focus

Light and compact for travel.

Great auto as well as manual settings which I could use if I really got into photography.

Not too long ago, I went out with a group of photographers in daytime as well as in the evening. I stayed with the automatic settings all the time, even in the evening, which impressed the more "professional" photographers.

What I really want to have you think about is that if you can afford it, go with something a little more advanced, and NOT necessary the A6000, as you may get the "bug".

No matter what you choose, I am certain you will get good memories and wish you a safe and wonderful trip.

Glad you like your Sony. And for the same reason, I like my Canon SX50. It has a huge zoom lens (up to 1200mm equivalent), is very responsive, does well in low light (6400 ISO), has a great burst rate (13fps for up to 10 frame, is light and VERY versatile.

The SX50 is considered a "bridge" camera. Has point/shot capabilities plus some advanced features similar to a dSLR.

Viking, very interesting comment and I think you hit the nail on the head with your reasons where and why you want to photograph which very much resemble my reasons.

Funny enough my father used to be a hobby photographer in his days so maybe now since I am retired, I am starting to get an interest in photography...it made me laugh when you said you go to sleep with your camera and your wife is not impressed..well, my other half goes with the iphone to bed so I might join with the camera :D

Could you tell me which camera you would purchase even if it would cost more?

I just checked on the net and the A6000 cost between 600 to 800 Dollars? (converted from Pounds)

Is this correct?

I just checked Amazon... yes, 600.

Look at the SX50. I've had it 2 years now, love it. I know lots of other people who have it as well and do enjoy the features.

I just checked Amazon... yes, 600.

 

Look at the SX50. I've had it 2 years now, love it. I know lots of other people who have it as well and do enjoy the features.

Brilliant, thank you, I will have a look. :)

let me know if you have any questions regarding it.

Snc, thank you very much. I had a look at the Canon and decided to go for it. It seems very straight forward and exactly what I want. The price is ok too. :)

Everyone else, thank you very much for your great help. :)

I am sure you will like it. If you have any questions, you can reach me either here or at this username at hotmail.

Steve

Thank you very much! I will experiment with it before our cruise and stay in South America. And as Viking said, we also have a trip coming up to China, Northern Thailand and Laos. So many opportunities to get great pictures in the future which we did not do so much on our last few trips.

I am very much looking forward to it and I am sure I will come back regarding questions!! :D

I just checked on the net and the A6000 cost between 600 to 800 Dollars? (converted from Pounds)

 

Is this correct?

I did not plan on "selling" you on the a6000, just think about a possible future interest in photography. There are many other simioar c ameras out there.

I did not plan on "selling" you on the a6000, just think about a possible future interest in photography. There are many other simioar c ameras out there.

I can agree with that. My cameras have progressed in capabilities as I have used them more. started with point/shoots and have progressed into high-capability bridge cameras since I am not ready to make the jump to dSLR because of the weight and extra lens needs.

Help please, we are going to a South American cruise soon and are staying a few days in Patagonia beforehand.

 

I would love to capture the landscape of this magnificent country but need advice on which camera to buy which is easy to use and, for beginners like me, would produce nice pictures.

 

I researched the net but the choice is just too overwhelming.

 

Thank you for any tips. :)

The important thing about this is......you have to be willing to have it with you and use it. If it is something you don't want to carry or is uncomfortable to carry you won't have it, or any photos.

The best camera to have is the one you have with you.....at least you'd have some photo vs none at all. I'd take a photo with my iphone before I go with out.

So on that note, do you want a dslr or a point and shoot?

I have a Olympus SLR and my wife has a Pentax SLR. We have gotten tired of carrying the lenses and other "stuff". On our last cruise, We only needed iPhones. The lenses on smart phones are much better than they used to be. Even video is decent.

I would love to capture the landscape of this magnificent country but need advice on which camera to buy which is easy to use and, for beginners like me, would produce nice pictures.

 

Yes - it is overwhelming!

I just got my wife a Panasonic ZS-40 from Amazon. It is a tad over $300 but it has a 24mm wide angle to about 700mm zoom which should cover everything you want to shoot. It has a stabilizer and is light-weight and can fit in a pocket with no problems..

In my last cruise, I used a Sony A6000 which is a great camera, interchangable lens and is (comparatively) user-friendly. David Pierce (mouse on his name) has a great article on the Sony.

But if it is a one-camera choice, you can't go wrong with the Panasonic!

All the suggestions are good but your best bet is to go to a Best Buy or your friendly camera store and look at the cameras suggested, see how they fit on your hand, check the zoom range.

Thank you very much for all your advice. :)

one resource I use for camera comparison is a website called snapsort.com. This site gives you the ability to compare the detailed specs of two cameras side-by-side. It is how I came up with my list that we discussed the other day.

Help please, we are going to a South American cruise soon and are staying a few days in Patagonia beforehand.

 

 

 

I would love to capture the landscape of this magnificent country but need advice on which camera to buy which is easy to use and, for beginners like me, would produce nice pictures.

 

 

 

I researched the net but the choice is just too overwhelming.

 

 

 

Thank you for any tips. :)

Remember that good photographs are not made by the camera, but by the person holding that camera.