I'm about to purchase my third digital camera. I am a bit of a techie person and find I jump on the high tech bandwagon a little too fast. I bought one of the first Rio Mp3 players, only to discover in 6 months a flood of newer and more powerful players at a cheaper price. I also purchased one of the first digital cameras - Epson with the resolution of 640x480 - ooooh. Then I decided to invest in a higher res. camera (no kidding). My husband actually bought it for me for Christmas - so I hadn't had the chance to research it much. It was the Kodak DC280 2 mega pixel. Not a bad little camera. In time I was to discover but it had a great deal of shortfalls...At the top of the list was it's LCD screen. Hello, take it out on a bright day... and forget about seeing a single thing. Second was it's poor built in flash. No hot shoe or ability to mount a slave flash. I just as soon give up taking a night indoor picture. No threads to attach additional lenses - I had to purchase a special mounting unit to attach macho lenses - not good. Finally, the format can only be saved in jpeg. So, with that, I'm endevouring to find a new camera that will last me "a while" as these are not cheap. So, I have done my homework and would love to ask anyone that might own the Cannon Powershot G2 or the new Nikon Coolpix 5000 to give me their feedback. Both camera have a pivitable LCD screen (yeah), both have hot shoe, thread to additional lenses, and finally raw format storage. The extras like CCD, white balance are also a nice bonus.

Your feedback would be so appreciated!

Lisa

Hi Lisa,
I can't help you on this issue myself but I did a Google search for Digital camera reviews and got alot of interesting sites. Here's three of them. I would look for reviews from owners of the cameras you are looking to choose. They would be the most honest since they have nothing to gain or loose from their opinions. Good luck. I envy you getting such a nice new toy. :) Let us know what you get and how you like it. The first one looks the best for getting some good user info.

http://www.pcphotoreview.com/pscCameras/Above,3,Megapixel/PLS_3098crx.aspx

http://www.zdnet.com/special/filters/sc/camera/

http://www.dpreview.com/
DJ

HI Lisa,
I have the Nikon Cool Pix 5000. So far the photos have been great although I've had little time to delve into the finer points of operating the camera as yet. The one thing that annoys me about it is that the screen goes into power saving mode far too quickly. Although I suspect that if I actually took the time too real the manual I would discover how to adjust the timing of the power down. I bought an external flash unit as an extra but have not had the occasion to use it as yet, the built in flash is quite good and has worked well under some of the poor lighting conditions. I would love to get some longer lenses but that will have to wait a while till the finances recover. I'll post some of the photos on my web site so that you can have a look at the results I have so far.

http://www.photorenovate.com/nikon/

Thanks for the review links DJ - I do like your suggestion to look at the reviews from the owners. I have gone to dpreview and other sites to research the camera's and compair them. The consensis is most people like the Canon G2 better. However, the perplexing part is that the Nikon is a much more powerful camera - but appears to be a bit too complicated for the average Joe to use. I put myself in the average Joe category - as just about everything I do in life has been self taught. I learn mainly by playing around.

Thank you Sanda for your input and posting a link to some pictures. What impresses me about your pictures is, the size: the tractor / truck image stands out the most. Not being a standard 35mm in this case has it's advantages (28-85mm). Most of the images look a bit on the dark side. Have you used the white balance or fooled around with the settings? I'm curious. Still in all, very impressed! Thank you so much.

Lisa

Lisa,
Yes the size of the photos is very good. I've been able to print 8"x10"s easily from the files.

No I haven't played with any of the settings yet, I've been a bit lazy. I've spent more of my time playing with my new printer and scanner that's what I get for buying 3 pieces of new equipment at once, I need more hours in the day at the moment.
I need to sit down and read the manual and get the camera set up properly. The photos you saw were with the settings on the camnera that came straight out of the box. I was hoping that one of my sons would read the manual and set it up for me but as usual they didn't, guess that would be too much to ask for.

Hi Sanda,

Well, if I get the Nikon - which I do believe it a more powerful camera - you can bet your bottom dollar I will keep you posted with my new discoveries and settings. The only issue with the Nikon would be the proprietary battery and the fact that you pay over 1,200 for a digital camera and get a mere 32mb memory card!

I appreciate the time you've taken to help me with my decision.

Lisa

Nikkon Coolpix 5000!

I got it! I got it! I got it!!!

Any requests?

Lisa

I got one. Give us a break down on the features you like about it. You can't get a new toy here and not let us in on the details. :D You should know that by now. :)
DJ

Lisa,

I've been considering the Nikon 5000. I checked one out at Bests and that little camera fits my hands pefectly.

My most pressing concern is how well it takes indoor photos on the manual settings. Would you mind posting one?

Thanks.
Sharon:)

I have my daughters 12 birthday party today at an indoor bowling lane.. I'll test it out. I too am anxious to see how the indoor lighting will affect this image. I am happy it has a hot shoe for additional flash. I guess I'll have to wait for Christmas for that!

I'll keep you posted :)

Lisa

Lisa,
I belong to a group of Nikon 5000 owners at yahoo. I'm not sure if it'll be any value to you but you might find it interesting.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nikon5000
Sandra

Hi Lisa,

I goofed. What I ment to say was the auto settings. :dizzy: Could you give that a try at your daughter's birthday party?

Sandra, thanks for posting the Nikon Yahoo link.

Sharon:)

Thanks for the link Sanda, I'll be checking it out and I'll let you know what I've learned.

Lisa

To all you Nikon 5000 users,

I have the Nikon 950, so I won’t be upgrading for a while. I’ll probably wait a few more generations.

I took an online digital camera course a few years ago when I first received my Nikon 900. As you can see, I have already upgraded once. It was interesting that almost every member of the class, some who had had their cameras for almost a year, had not read their instruction manuals. Also, no one was using any of the manual features of their cameras.

The course forced me to use the manual settings and it was well worth it. The auto settings worked extremely well, which I’m sure is true for the 5000, but I like the control that the manual settings give you. I do not work with my camera on constant enough bases for many of the manual options to be truly instinctive, but I’m slowly getting there.

I use the spot metering much more than the matrix setting. This way I have better control over the final image.

If you have the time, a good way to get used to any manual feature is to use it for a while and bracket the settings so that you can compare the differences. I often do this inside, so that I use the camera’s power cord. I do not care if the pictures are great since I’m looking to learn.

Two of my friends, both professionals, have the 5000 and it is really a beauty.

Alan

Thanks for the tip Alan. I stayed up way too late last night reading the manual. That in itself can be intimidating! However, that said, I'm not one for auto settings. I learned how to make a mini movie last night - which was fun. We've finally had a sunny day, so I'll be working outside with the camera.

The manual is overwhelming for a beginner... I took out my pink highlighter and started learning one step at a time. I have only delved into learning the menu and setting date, reformatting, deleting and viewing features. My camera reminds me of my computer: There is so much to learn and the potential is so great... that it's up to me to discover just what it has to offer.

Nothing is truly instinctive until we do it enough times that we can do it in our sleep :) Works for me... now I just have to learn how to sleep;)

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

It is a good idea to read the manual for an over view of the camera’s features. Also, the CD manual is even better than the book. I’m assuming that one came with your camera.

Once you have the overall view, than I suggest that you work on the features as you find the need for them. My camera came with a quick sheet of all the commands, etc. which I keep in my camera bag.

I still do not have the feel of the digital camera that I have with a 35mm. I will probably upgrade in a few years when I retire. Hopefully, the digital cameras will have faster shutter speeds and interchangeable lenses.

I find that looking forward to the future is what keeps me young at heart. I’ll be 67 this summer, but only my body knows it.

Alan

I'm in awe right now. I took a picture of my daughter against our wood weather worn fence and the quality of a 5 mega pixel camera in comparison to my old 2.2 is stunning! I have been fooling around with the settings a bit and familiarizing myself with the menu. I have learned how to make a small mpeg, and how to adjust lighting, and center weight, matrix, etc settings. It will take me a while.... but I have already discovered that the auto settings are not accurate enough for me. I'll have to figure out how to post a few shots in order for you to see.

Lisa :)

Lisa,
I came across a couple of sites which have great information on the Coolpix 5000, thought you might be interested.
http://www.nikondigital.org/discuss/ubbthreads.php?Cat=
and
http://www.dpreview.com
both have good forums discussing the CP5000
Sandra

I have a couple of awesome shots I took today fooling around with white balance and metering. I just wish I knew where to post them for you to see the clarity.

Lisa:depressed

Congrats on the toy Lisa! Maybe you could post a cropped part of a photo? ...I'm so jealous!!

Thanks - it was my 40th birthday present!!! Shhhhh

OK... well here is one of the close up images I took of a tulip.
Most of this image was auto accept I chose to centre weight and chose a different lighting - cloudy.

Lisa

Here's another flower cropped. I chose white balance and then took centre weight off.

Lisa

And yet... another one.

Am I gloating???


Lisa ;)

Wow, they turned out fantastic!! I think I found my next camera. Of course by the time I can afford to get it, it will be obsolete. :D
Looks like you're going to have a great time with your new toy. Boy I sure envy you. :)
DJ

Those are fantastic! I especially like the first one. I have no hope of ever getting colors like that out of my digital camera. :bawling:

Just so you get an idea of what the original file looked like...
Before cropping it was 1920 X 2560 pixels, 72 dpi. Had I chosen to save it as a tif with no compression it would be huge. I was just reviewing my notes and discovered the one with all the white flowers that I posted, did not have white balance. I'll post the one with white balance so you can compare.

The colors have so far impressed me. Thank heavens for a sunny day!

Lisa

Oops, forgot the attachment.

Hi Lisa,

Your candytuft flowers (the white ones) came out beautifully. I love these plants. In time they become very large and bloom from spring to fall. I have 15 of them in my gardens. I am really impressed by the close up of the tulip. Did you use the original lens that came with the camera or do you have additional close-up lenses?

Sharon:)

I also like candytufts. If I zoomed out, you could see the entire ledge of the garden covered with them. I used the original lens. Not bad huh!

Lisa

Lisa,

I plan on getting my Nikon 5000 in a couple of months and it's good to know that the original lens takes such good close ups.

The digital camera I have now is a Kodak 260, 1.3 MP that I bought about 4 years ago. It takes a good 4x6 but anything larger looses a lot a detail.

Sharon:)

I have to say.... I had the time of my life yesterday with my new toy. I took a 2 hour walk along the waterfront and took a ton of pictures. The quality of this camera in comparison to my old Kodak DC280 (well, let's just say, there is no comparison)! I'll attach a few of my favorites. On a side note... Doug, should I be posting these in the Gallery area?

Lisa

Here is a close up - not using a macro lens of some daffodils.

Here's one of a Canadian Geese that ended up chasing me away!

Lisa, those pictures are absolutely beautiful. Excellent photography.
DJ

Great pictures Lisa. I am really looking forward to getting this camera.

I joined a Nikon 5000 Group at Yahoo. There’s a good conversation going on now about add-on lenses for the Nikon 5000. Just go to http://www.yahoo.com and type Nikon 5000 Group into the Search box.


Sharon:)