Need a new camera.

[britishbandit]

This weekend I had my purse stolen, all of my ID was in it (besides my bank card) and so was my camera.

Anyway, I don't ever expect to see the camera again, even if the purse gets dumped and handed into the police with anything left in it that didn't strike the person's fancy.

So I'm on the search for a new camera, but I don't want to buy just anything. I LOVE taking pictures and want something much better than what I had. I came across this one which I think is pretty reasonably priced, plus I can pay it monthly (cause it ain't cheap...lol) and get one a lot sooner this way. For those of you who know what to look for in a good camera, please let me know what you think. I'm a bit camera stupid and always thought the quality was based on just the megapixels it had, but my last camera was a 7.1MP and my old one which was only a 4.0MP took better quality pictures. This one is also an SLR, which I've been told makes a HUGE difference.




Resolution: 8.0 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type: CMOS
Total Pixels: 8,200,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution: 8,000,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size: 14.8 x 22.2mm
Light Sensitivity: ISO 100, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, ISO 1600, ISO auto (100-400)
Shooting Programs: Landscape, portrait mode, close-up, night portrait, sports mode
Special Effects: Monotone
Max Shutter Speed: 1/4000 sec
Min Shutter Speed: 30 sec
X-sync Speed: 1/200 sec
Exposure Metering: Evaluative, partial (9%), center-weighted
Exposure Modes: Program, depth-of-field, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, E-TTL II program flash
Exposure Range: EV 1-20 ( ISO 100 )
Exposure Compensation: ±2 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing: 3 steps in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Exposure Metering Zones: 35
White Balance: Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets: Fluorescent, cloudy, tungsten light, flash, daylight, shade
White Balance Bracketing: Yes
Status LCD Display Information:Autofocus mode, shutter speed, frame counter, aperture, manual focus mode, red-eye reduction, self-timer mode, film speed, photo quality, photos remaining, drive mode, white balance indicators, exposure compensation, battery condition, program, flash mode
Still Image Format:JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG
Continuous Shooting Speed: 3 frames per second
Image Storage: RAW 3456 x 2304 - 8.3 MB ¦ Fine JPEG 3456 x 2304 - 3.3 MB ¦ Normal JPEG 3456 x 2304 - 1.7 MB ¦ Fine JPEG 2496 x 1664 - 2 MB ¦ Normal JPEG 2496 x 1664 - 1 MB ¦ Fine JPEG 1728 x 1152 - 1.2 MB ¦ Normal JPEG 1728 x 1152 - 0.6 MB
Camera Flash: Camera Flash
Pop-up flash: Guide Number (m / ISO 100): 13
Flash Modes: Fill-in mode, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction
Features: AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation
Lens System Type: Zoom lens - 18 mm - 55 mm - f/3.5-5.6 Canon EF-S
Min Focus Range: 11 in
Max View Angle: 74.3 degrees
Additional Features: Direct print, USB 2.0 compatibility, backlight compensation, RGB primary color filter, auto power save, digital noise reduction, DPOF support, display brightness control, depth-of-field preview button, camera orientation detection, PictBridge support, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, FE lock
Viewfinder Type: Optical - eye-level mirror pentaprism
Field Coverage: 95%
Software: Drivers & Utilities, Canon PhotoStitch, Canon ZoomBrowser EX, ArcSoft PhotoStudio, Canon Digital Photo Professional
Min Operating Temperature: 32 °F
Max Operating Temperature: 104 °F

I left out a few things cause this is already a lot to read through. LOL

[Rivsky]

I'm sorry you got all your stuff stolen - do you have insurance on any of it?

Is that the Canon 300D?

Both Swiftwind and I have the 400D and I couldn't be happier with my camera not 100% sure what the differences between the two models are though.

It's easy to use (I'd never had an SLR before this one) and I'm also starting to use the manual settings on it a lot more now.

The standard lens you get with it is a little on the ordinary side though it does the job - particularly when you're starting out and finding your way around the camera.

The quality of the photos is great when you print them out (mine is a 10.1 megapixel so don't think the difference would be too great for a 8).

Let me know if there's anything else you want to know.

[Swiftwind]

I'm really sorry to hear that you got your purse & items stolen In a way, it's bittersweet... it gives you a great excuse to buy a new camera!

We don't have the Rebel XT model in Australia (but it might be under a different name here), I think it might be the "300D". My sister has that camera and it is excellent, just as good as the one I have. It just doesn't have ALL the features that mine and Rivsky's 400D has (such as the integrated cleaning system). It's not missing any features that are vital, though.

I'm really happy with my camera and I can safely say it's definitely worth the money! Once you get more familiar with it and comfortable using it, then I'd say you should buy yourself another lense. Like Rivsky said, the one you get with it does the job well, but once you use a better lense you can see the difference.

[DogLover8]

Sorry to hear all your stuff was stolen. Hope you get some of it back. I do not even have a digital camera yet .