Digital Cameras?

[nightsky]

High on my wishlist, is a digital camera. An ex-photographer proud owner of a Nikon N6006 35mm SLR and out dated manual printing production tech skills. But the thing is I have been watching Digital Camera Prices and Development of reveiws. In my search I fumbled onto the Panasonic Luminx. Ok, Canon seems at the top of alot of users and reviews, Olympus held that spot for quite a while too but financially out of my reach at the time. As the price tag of New Digital Technology drops - quality continues rising So Nikon, Kodak, Pentax the entry level SLR manufacturer along with Vivtar of my time are big time competetors and Panasonic with its LICA lenses!
By no means am I a SLR or Digital Camera Devotee. No, but facinated with all the developing technology. I wait for new technology to develop and then buy, but by this time the choices are unsurmountable! Hahaha
I really love the Lica lenses, can we get a comparison list going here on PCMECH as a sticky, of the most wanted options in Digital Cameras and the Cameras encompassing those options, Price being included as one of the options.

[Cricket]

Why don't you just go to sites like DPReview.com, DCResource.com or Steves-Digicams.com.

And do you mean LEICA lenses?

Cricket

[Stuey]

That might be difficult to do. I just went through the process of purchasing a new camera, and it was pretty difficult to do. A lot of cameras these days provide similar features and have only the subtlest of differences. Choosing a camera depends on the person who's going to use it. Both of my camera purchases revolved around a "Canon vs. Sony" debate. In each case, I couldn't easily choose between offerings due to their vast similarities.

Also, don't go by lens labels alone. Other cameras might use Leica lens but might not have the marketing rights to boast that fact. Also, big-name lenses aren't all that significant. Sony's big zoom model, the H5, has a Zeiss lens. Canon's big zoom offering, the S3, has a Canon lens. Both have some chromatic aberration, but the Sony's is a bit higher and above average in some instances (according to all the reviews I read). So all in all that Zeiss label is just to draw in a few extra customers.

Panasonic's big zoom offering has a Leica lens, but in some cases is not a top performer. Of the Canon, Sony, and Panasonic zoom cameras, each comes out on top under certain conditions but none of them are superior in all cases. For that reason, if someone (like me) is choosing between them, then a simple list of features is not suitable.

There are plenty of digital camera review sites which compare cameras of similar qualities. If you're looking for a new camera, myself and a lot of others would be willing to offer comments and suggestions.

As for waiting for new technology, it's always coming. I picked up my camera for $350. It was released originally for $499 or so. A new revision will definitely come out in a few months. If I waited for that, it would cose me $450-$500. If I waited for its price to drop to atround $350, I may as well wait for the NEXT release which would be only a few months from that point. Get what I'm saying? In some cases, it doesn't make sense to wait or else you'll never let yourself enjoy a purchase.

[glc]

I think a specialized digital camera forum would be a lot more useful to you - this is a computer-oriented forum. Discussions of things like digicams are just a convenience to our members and don't get into the heavy duty technical details. The specialists that frequent the digicam forums will have much better info for you. We can't be everything for everybody, it's just not possible.

[nightsky]

I booked marked all the recommended websites.

[Stuey]

I'm still a bit confused... Are you looking for help choosing a camera, or did you just want a source for comparisson info for the future?

[nightsky]

Looking for help buying a digital camera. hahaha But I am looking at the comparisons on the recommended websites, they are helpful. Thanks

[Stuey]

Oh, ok. Let us know which one you choose! Also, if you have any polarizers, macro lenses, or other filters for your SLR, you might be able to use them with a new digi with an appropriate adapter (and maybe a step up ring). Good luck and happy buying!

It's also worth mentioning that you should check resellerratings.com if you plan on buying from a not too well known shop. The forums on the sites that Cricket mentioned have several stories about bait and switch outfits.