The camera question

Right down the road from the birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, I dropped our old APS camera one too many times. May it rest in peace. This finally gave me the excuse to go looking for a new camera. We really couldn't decide what we wanted. We wanted a digital SLR, but could we justify getting something like the Canon Digital Rebel? (A very nice piece of gadgetry, to be sure.) John Dvorak made the decision easier for us:

Should a consumer buy one of these professional gems? Maybe not, until things slow down a little. I don't see a long lifeómeaning a minimum of five years of happy ownershipófor any camera made today. A Nikon F-series film camera was a long-term investment, but you'll want a new digital camera in two years no matter what you buy. That said, with these irresistible cameras, you could take thousands of great pictures while you're waiting for the next generation. It's really a matter of how much you can afford to spend, and spend, and spend.

It looks like we might be going with a fairly basic 35mm SLR camera. I really want a digital one, but you really can't go wrong with 35mm SLR. Except for those nasty film strips, which I hate.

Comments

[Brian Mullins]

I don't know, man. My friend had his new 35mm at the breakfast today. Now he has to wait until all 36 pictures are taken, and then wait a day to get them developed. I have a three yr.old Sony Cyber-Shot, 2.1 Megapixel camera that works like a charm, photo quality prints on glossy paper, even pretty nice 8X10s, and you can get one for less than $300 I think. Anything higher than 2.1 is over-kill for my money. I had a Canon 35mm, which I sold after 2 yrs of non-use. Shoot (pun intended), I'm giving my daughter a basic digital camera (640X480 $60?) for Christmas!

[Darryl]

I can see the logic with a point-and-shoot camera. With SLR, though, it's hard to justify the money with a digital - yet. Maybe in a few years. I want to do some serious photography that requires SLR. This one's kind of nice because you can still do point-and-shoot if you'd like. The best of both worlds.

[kevin]

I had the same problem a couple months ago, Darryl. I needed to replace my old SLR, wanted to go digital, but didn't want to spend the money on a digital SLR at this time. Too much money for something that will be obsolete too soon. In my case, I decided to go with a digital point-and-shoot. I found an Olympus C-4000 on clearance at Walmart for $300. It's a 4MP with enough manual control that what I want to do with an SLR I can pull off. I decided it was a happy medium for me and would be good enough for a few years until what I really want comes down in price. I don't think there is a "right" answer to the question. You just have to pick what feels best for you and go with it. Enjoy the new camera!