A new camera is coming...

[hillbilly]

The best possible event in my life happened yesterday. The wife came home in a angry mode and threw her purse on the dining room table. Needless to say it created quite a mess. Now here is the good part. During her tantrum she knocked my Nikon B14,000 (at that time) pic and shoot in the floor.

Never mind that this camera had tape holding the battery in or keeping the body together.

Now as part of the makeup 'I am so sorry' she has to buy me a new camera. Her money not mine.

Cut to the chase. I want a Nikon D90. What do you think? Or should I go up higher up in the food chain of cameras?

The only reason that I am sticking with Nikon is that I can use my old lenses with the new digital body.

Your take?

[Mid]

hold out for what you want



you'll pay in the end ..................

[aging one]

mine is she will buy it for ya, but you will never forget she did... Thats what would happen to me anyway.

I once pretended to be a bear outside our tent cabin in yosemite, she dropped her camera on the hardwood floor and i had to buy her a new one. From 5,000 baht to 300,000 at that time. She picked up a shit hot Olympus in what 2000 that was 750 usd plus tax, at 40 baht to a dollar.

good luck on this one hilly.

[Stinky]

The Canon G11 is quite a piece of kit, been thinking one getting one myself.


Canon PowerShot G11 Review
December 2009 | Richard Butler

Review based on a production Canon PowerShot G11, Firmware version 1.00

The Powershot G series has represented a fairly formidable presence at the top of the compact camera tree. From a keen photographer point-of-view, there's little on the market that can match its mixture of zoom range, lens flexibility, build quality and level of manual control. Somehow Ricoh's GX and Nikon's P series have never quite had the same impact but Panasonic's LX3 has been enough to tempt some potential customers away, with its bright lens and convincing (for a compact) low-light performance.
The G11 seems determined to wrestle back its position as undisputed champion of the market, though, incorporating what Canon describes as a 'high sensitivity' CCD. In what might be a first, the company has reduced the pixel count in comparison to the preceding model. In principle, there is no disadvantage to having more pixels when you consider the whole image (other than the larger file sizes that might slow down the camera and fill your memory card faster and the added complication of having to apply noise reduction before demosaicing, which is not something many people are willing or able to do). However, the often larger photosites of a less pixel-dense sensor will tend to receive more light, in the same exposure, making it easier to produce an image that looks cleaner at the pixel level. Almost as if Canon wants its flagship compact to be a handy all-rounder.
The body style dates back to the G7, which upset many existing G-series owners by omitting several features they'd become used to. Those missing features have, one-by-one, been re-included as the range has developed, leading us to the G11, which finally regains the fold-out, swivel display that went missing after the G6. There's no denying it's a well featured camera and one with styling that appeals to many photographers.
However, since the G10 arrived, Olympus and Panasonic have released their Micro Four Thirds compact interchangeable lens cameras, the E-P1, E-P2 and GF1, the Powershot G series has looked like a less obvious choice. The Panasonic GF1 for instance, is no larger than the G11 and offers a similar level of external control (albeit without the nice retro metal dials), but is built around a sensor with more than five-and-a-half times the surface area. So although the GF1 and Olympuses can't compete with the G11's 28-140mm equivalent lens range (at least, not while remaining as compact packages), they are likely to offer greater image quality and control over depth of field than the small sensored Canon can.


Headline features

• 10.0 Megapixel CCD sensor
• 5x wide-angle (28-140mm equivalent) zoom lens with optical image stabilizer
• 2.8” tilt/swivel LCD (461k dot resolution)
• RAW image recording
• Claimed 2-stop advantage in low light compared to G10
• Dedicated Exposure Compensation and ISO dials
• DIGIC 4 processor
• i-Contrast boosts brightness and retains detail in dark areas
• 26 shooting modes with manual control and custom settings
• Accessories include tele-converter, Speedlights flashes and waterproof case
• VGA movies, 30fps

Changes compared to G10

• 10 megapixel 'high sensitivity' sensor, down from 14.7 megapixels
• Gains ISO 3200 as full setting (Rather than option-limited scene mode)
• White balance fine tuning
• Tilt and swivel LCD 2.8" (rather than 3" fixed screen)
• New Low Light and Quick Shot modes
• HDMI connector
• No Superfine JPEG compression (Fine is least compressed option)
• No voice annotation or sound recording function
• No remote (tethered) image capture

Powershot G11 against its peers

The visual differences between the G10 and G11 are not exactly pronounced - a slight tweak of the grip covering and the flash are the only things beyond the badges that give the game away. It's interesting to see the G11 alongside the smaller Panasonic LX3 (which has a similarly-sized sensor), and the Panasonic GF1 which has a much larger sensor (though would require a much larger lens to match the G11's 28-140mm equivalent range).

Canon G11 specifications

Street price• US: $440
• UK: £390Sensor*• 1/1.7" Type CCD
• 10 million effective pixels*Image sizes*• 3648 x 2736
• 3648 x 2048
• 2816 x 2112
• 2272 x 1704
• 1600 x 1200
• 640 x 480
• 320 x 240 Movie clips• 640 x 480 [at] 30fps
• 320 x 240 [at] 30fpsMaximum clip length Up to 4GB or 1 hourFile formats• Still: JPEG (Exif v2.2)
• RAW
• Movie: MOV [H.264 + Linear PCM (monaural)]Lens• 28-140mm (35mm equiv)
• f = 6.1 - 30.5 mm
• 5x optical zoom
• F2.8-4.5
• Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups (1 double-sided aspherical element)Image stabilizationYes (Lens-Shift)Conversion lensesYesDigital zoom up to 4xFocus• Auto focus :TTL
- Face Detection / 9-point AiAF
- 1-point AF (center or Face Select and Track)
- Fixed centre or Face Select and Track
• Manual focusAF area modes • Single
• Continuous
• Servo AF/AE
AF lock Yes (on/off selectable) AF assist lamp YesFocus distanceClosest focus distance 1 cmMetering• Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame)
• Center-weighted average
• Spot (center or linked to Face Detection)ISO sensitivity*• Auto
• ISO 80
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
• ISO 1600
• ISO 3200*
AE lock Yes (on/off selectable) Exposure compensation+/- 2EV in 1/3 stop incrementsShutter speed• Auto (1 - 1/4000 sec)
• 15-1/4000 secModes*• Auto
• Program AE
• Shutter Priority AE
• Aperture Priority AE
• Manual
• Custom (2 modes)
• Special Scene
• Stitch Assist
• Low Light*
• Quick Shot*
• Movie
Scene modes• Portrait
• Landscape
• Night Snapshot
• Kids & Pets
• Night Scene
• Indoor
• Sunset
• Foliage
• Snow
• Beach
• Fireworks
• Aquarium
• Underwater
• Color Accent
• Color Swap White balance*• Auto (including Face Detection WB)
• Daylight
• Cloudy
• Tungsten
• Fluorescent
• Fluorescent H
• Flash
• Custom1
• Custom2
• Underwater
• White Balance Correction*Self timer• 2 or 10sec,
• Custom or FaceSelf TimerContinuous shooting• Approx. 1.1 shots/sec.
• AF: Approx. 0.7 shots/sec.
• LV: Approx. 0.8 shots/sec. (until memory card becomes full)Image parameters
(My colors)• My Colors Off
• Vivid
• Neutral
• Sepia
• Black & White
• Positive Film
• Lighter Skin Tone
• Darker Skin Tone
• Vivid Blue
• Vivid Green
• Vivid Red
• Custom ColorFlash• Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, Slow Sync, Red-eye reduction
• Slow Sync Speed : Fastest speed 1/2000 sec
• +/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments
• Face Detection FE compensation
• Safety FE
• Flash exposure lock
• Manual Power Adjustment
• Second Curtain Sync
• Range (Auto ISO):50cm - 7.0m (wide) / 4.0m (tele)External FlashE-TTL with EX series Speedlites, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX, Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1ViewfinderReal-image zoom, Optical ViewfinderLCD monitor*• 2.8 inch Vari-angle PureColor II VA (TFT)
• 461,000 pixels
• 100% coverage
• AdjustableConnectivity*• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• HDMI mini connector*
• AV out (PAL / NTSC switchable) Print compliance PictBridgeStorage• SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus , HC MMCplus compatible PowerRechargeable Li-ion Battery NB-7LWeight (no batty) 355g Dimensions112 x 76 x 48 mm

[Takeovers]

I have the Nikon D90 and I am very happy with it.

It is a great camera. It should be a bargain as the model is near the end of its life time. A new model replacing it is expected any day now. Go for it unless you are the type who needs the newest model all the time.

It is great at high ISO. With ISO 6000 you still get reasonably low noise pictures.



This picture was taken with some tea lights distributed on the tables as only light source.

You have a lot of automatic features so you can use it like a simple camera if you want to, but it also has very good manuel controls over everything for semiprofessional handling.

I also used this camera to digitize all of my old slides.

Edit: A link to my thread (My rainy day and new camera thread) with the first shots with the D90

[Takeovers]

With money of no concern you could also go for the full format sensor Nikon cameras, the D3 or the "cheaper" D700.

You said you have lenses from your analog SLR so the lenses would be good for full format.

[The Fresh Prince]

threw her purse on the dining room table

Hmmm the digital screen on the new camera I bought my wife for christmas was mysteriously broken the other day. Foul play hadn't even occurred to me.

[larvidchr]

There is a new Nikon coming out just now as a replacement for the D90 it is the Nikon 7000, on the other hand that will probably make good deals on the D90 available.

I have recently started with a Canon 550D and I am happy with that for now, but all the in the know people say's that we will eventually want to move up to a full frame DSLR, so if you can wait and save the extra dosh needed ?

Nikon D7000 Hands-on Preview: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

[Takeovers]

all the in the know people say's that we will eventually want to move up to a full frame DSLR

Yes they say that. But there is a hitch. Not just that the bodies are prohibitively expensive. They may come down with time. But if you want to use the full capacity of the chips resolution you need top of the line lenses too which may easily cost as much as a body each.
You do get higher sensitivity at low light with less noise, that is a definitive plus.

A D90 would still be my best bet and great value for money.

[Takeovers]

Hi

I push up that thead a bit.

Hope you are on the mend and feel better after your knee operation, Hillbilly.

I read some more about the new D7000. It is an improvement over the D90 with some features like partly magnesium body and two card slots. Also better at high ISO, that should read even better as the D90 is already very good in this are. But to make better pictures than with the D90 you need really good lenses. If the higher price is no problem go for the D7000.

The difference is not that big that a happy D90 user needs to change though. The D90 is still regarded as very good value for money even compared to the D7000.