contemplating buying a camera
 

i'm interested in buying a sony cybershot dsc-hx1. i'm not planning on getting into photography, it's just for some hobby type jobbers.

i was wondering if anyone here could let me know what they think about this purchase.

it's $319

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...789079#gallery

I played with that camera when I worked at HHGregg. I was very impressed with it and thought about getting one myself even though I have a Nikon D40. I don't think you could go wrong with it.

Oh and that sweep panorama mode and 10 frames per second are some badass features.


ETA: that is a great price.

yeah, like i said, i'm not trying to get into photography just to take some nice crisp pictures of my car as well as my friends car and maybe some hobby type stuff.

i'm getting lowering springs first but i'm hell bent at buying one of these and now that it's ~$75 cheaper, it's a given.

My girlfriend recently purchased this camera about a month ago.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921666123653

I'm not camera expert, but; It has a lot of the same features of the one you listed, but has the advantage (to me) of being more compact and cheaper, simpler. It doesn't have quite the optical zoom as the DSLR-like camera but it does pretty good. It's also 14 MP which is huge, I can really zoom in on details in the pictures on the computer. It's been a good camera, we've taken about 1500 pictures so far. I haven't used it for video yet but I plan to this weekend to compare it to my Samsung video camera. No doubt the more you spend the better camera you'll get though. The H55 is more like a traditional point and shoot (but with good zoom), with a good intellegent auto feature, no messing with stuff if you don't want to.

i'm looking for something with a manual mode in case i do learn some tricks or what not and feel like messing around with the settings.

the first shot i want to take is something like this one:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/...e050c6b8_b.jpg

Did you end up buying the Sony?

not yet. i'm getting springs first.

I just found another one today that you may want to check out. It's about $60 more but I thought you may be interested. Check out the virtual "demo" also http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Canon+-+...&skuId=1218378

I've got a Nikon D60 that I don't use anymore that I'd be more than willing to sell to you.

THIS!!!!

Or the SX30 whitestang posted. Both are much better than any Sony, sorry. Canon and Nikon are focused mainly on photography and optics in general. Sony just wants their hands in everything and honestly out of everything we sell at work the SX30 is the only hybrid-DSLR that I'd buy.

price tag?

It'd be $175 shipped. You'd have to buy a lens, but those are cheap. You can get them for < $50 for a kit lens or $100 for a very very nice prime lens.

Damn that is a screaming deal. I would have take it off your hands for that price :p OP I paid more than that for a used D40.

okay so the sony cybershot is no longer available for purchase through the website. makes a lot of sense because a couple of months ago best buy had sold it and had a display and i went there a week ago and i couldn't find it anymore. looks like i either do some research on a lens that will fit the nikon and trust that switch will send me the camera, or i'll shoot for that cannon which was around my spending price.

This is a good beginners lens. It's the one that comes with the camera: http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-AF-S-DX-Zo...#ht_500wt_1156

And the nikon blows the doors off the cybershot you were looking at buying.

can you tell me a little about the camera? i'm new to the camera scene and i'm used to cell phone cameras as well as the simple point and shoots.

Here is a good but relatively brief description of DSLR cameras http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/wha...gital-slr.html

But in short they are a versatile camera that you can change lens configurations (wide angle, telephoto, fisheye, ect...) and you are able to change each setting of the camera manually: shutter speed, aperture, ISO. All of these settings allow you to get a custom shot each time. For beginners it has modes that control all of the setting except one so you can easily get custom shots. Or if you want you can even just throw it in auto and shoot like a point and shoot camera. It takes a while to learn to use the full manual mode which is why they offer the other easier to use modes. This is a VERY high quality camera and a great price. You may get addicted to photography though :p Oh and it has an insane battery life. I get around a thousand pics on one charge with my D40. The only downfall is price of lenses and accessories and the size and weight of the camera.

Here is a picture taken where the user changed the aperture to blur the background.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1252/...67c610ec_b.jpg

Here the aperture is set for to prevent the blur in the distance.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2472/...a43f6af8_o.jpg

Here is one with a wide angle lens.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2681/...af615303_o.jpg

More wide angle (notice the "strech" effect)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/...d26c088b_o.jpg


This is a very brief explanation of what it is and capable of just let us know if you have any other ?'s

Sorry in advance for the thread jack, but before I dive into my car or other "expensive" hobbies again I am thinking of trying to buy a new camera (I have an older cyber-shot... good point and click but i am looking into it as a possible future hobby). I do not know much about photography though (the little I do is from messing with photo mode in Forza 3 lol). If someone on here has the spare time to make a quick thread on photography for those of us just getting, or planning on getting into it that would be awesome!

Too much to copy and paste :p http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/

I would recommend starting with the links in the "SLR Photography For Beginners" section.

thanks ws. that was very informative. i'm pretty sure i'm going to buy switch'(es/s?) camera from him when i get my chips right. i might jump on it before lowering springs.

You can't go wrong there. If I knew he was letting it go for that price I would have snagged it a while ago. Oh and Ryan (Switch) is good people ;)

my chips is right so as soon as i come in contact with switch again, i'll make the transaction on paypal. now all i have to do is find a lens, preferably the one that comes with the d60 starter kit.

If it comes with the 18-55 lens you don't want it.

Your money would be better spent on the 18-105 or the 18-135.

Or there is the godly 18-200 as well.....for like 500 bucks lol.

$500 is out of my range. i could definitely see myself spending 2 bills on a lens though. this is just a hobby and (hopefully) i won't get too crazy into it and have it ending up a(nother) money pit. i'm interested in shooting cars and mainly for a college trip to dc in may which i want some high quality pictures, something my p&s can't do too well.

stock (i think)
lens 1

not sure what the difference between these two are besides the recomendation of "traveling" subject.
lens 2

Those two look the exact same IMO. The 18-105 would be a huge upgrade over those though.

Check out adorama.com or amazon for lenses. Hella cheapness.

Or there is always that "AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR" for the great low price of $10,300 :p

Brontobyte, I don't know what distance you plan on shooting from but the kit lens or any of the 18-55 lenses don't have much of a zoom. That's all I have right now and I'm pretty happy with it but I just want to make sure you make an informed decision so you don't regret your purchase later. I have no problem helping you find what you need and I don't want to speak on his behalf but I'm pretty sure Ryan wouldn't mind helping you pick the right lens to start with either.

i'm going to be walking around washington, dc sight seeing and what not on day 1 so i'm not going to be too far away from what i want to shoot. with cars, i can always walk closer (who'da thunk?) i'm probably just going to go with the 18-55 lens just because it's $119. i'd like to have something with a small aperture as well for those amazingly "buttery" (i heard that in a review video for the nikon d60, lol) backgrounds. i'm pretty sure i'm not going to shoot something miles away.

Its not just about distance. There are MANY more things that play into a lens other than just its distance. Aperture, lens diameter, autofocus motor, etc. All of which the 18-55 comes up short compared to others lol. Just trying to give you some advice.

I am pretty sure he doesn't have to worry about autofocus in the lens since the D60 has it built into the body. You're right that there are other aspects of the lens than just the zoom capability. Nobody is saying the 18-55 is the greatest lens available but it's a decent starting point and the D60 with a kit lens will still beat the hell out of other cameras he was looking at before.

Just thought you might want to know, the difference between these two lenses is that the $199 one has vibration reduction. If you go to Nikons webpage and look through their lenses they give a description along with sample photos taken with each lense ;)