Cameras? Cameras.

[Pacu]

Just bought my first DSLR last night..a Nikon 3100.  I was at some backwoods store in MS last night and happened to walk past a display. 329 bucks! Sold.  My boss bought one also.

now to learn how to use it..

what camera do you use or yearn after?

[sticktodrum]

I use a Sony NEX VG30 for my videos.

[Teofilo]

Eddie and I have a nikon 3100 too.    love that camera! Get a 55-300 mm.lens. It complements the stock 18-55  mm lens

[Chako]

I was never much into Nikons. They do make good cameras, and your camera at that price would be hard for even me to leave that store empty handed...not that I need another camera system.

I currently have:

1. Pentax K10D
2. Pentax K01...not a DSLR, but a very nice and under appreciated camera. If you google it...yes, I did go for the in your face Yellow.
3. Canon EOS 50D
4. Canon Rebel 1000D
5. Canon EOS 1D Mark II N

[PTRSAK]

I have a Canon EOS 40D and while it is a bit of an oldie it is still a goodie.
But to be honest I usually end up using my IXUS 500HS most of the time.

[dmanuel]

Nikon D7000
Nikon V1
Nikon AW1
Fuji X100
Fuji X100s

Yearn after:
Leica M9

[Millhouse]

Panasonic Lumix G5
Panasonic TZ10

[derekmac]

I have a Sony a55 and love it.  Had the a100 before that, and was also happy with it.  I was a Minolta SLR user, and already had a couple of good lenses, so for me Sony was the way to go.  The a55 is also crazy fast!

[jekostas]

I'm currently shooting with a Fuji XF1.  This thing has more manual control options than my first dSLR did.

[Zed]

I use a fujifilm finepix s5700 bridge camera and a fujifilm finepix 40i   

[Pacu]

I also have a Nikon 1 j1 . Got it on a fire sale. Not sure if Nikon really wants to pursue the Nikon 1 lenses as they are few and expensive.

it's a step up from p/s and makes a fine take and go lite camera. great pics too.

[dmanuel]

I also have a Nikon 1 j1 . Got it on a fire sale. Not sure if Nikon really wants to pursue the Nikon 1 lenses as they are few and expensive.

it's a step up from p/s and makes a fine take and go lite camera. great pics too.

Give em some time, heck I think they have done way better than most companies as far as making sure there are lenses out for the system. I'm expecting to hear about a V3 soon and a couple more lenses, fingers crossed for a good macro and a 14mm (35mm equivalent) f1.2!

[comis]

When 3/4 cameras were first coming out, I used to have high hopes for them and did manage to get myself a Panasonic GF2 with few lens.  But soon I realized they were nothing close to what I have seen on the full frame DSLR and was rather disappointed with GF2 performance vs weight/size(I do like taking pictures, but I am no where near to be a fanatic, and did think I could have done 'better' with a point-n-shoot)

Fast forward a few years, I got a Sony RX100M2 after doing much research on a nice point-n-shot, and it turns out its performance were described as good as entry-level DSLR.  Although the price was rather formidable, I bite the bullet and got my feet wet with this new puppy.  So far it really does produce some stunning pictures despite low light/less than ideal situation, and the best part is it can connect with any smart phone to use the phone as remote viewer and control.  It is extremely helpful when taking group pictures when myself is included.

[jekostas]

When 3/4 cameras were first coming out, I used to have high hopes for them and did manage to get myself a Panasonic GF2 with few lens.  But soon I realized they were nothing close to what I have seen on the full frame DSLR and was rather disappointed with GF2 performance vs weight/size(I do like taking pictures, but I am no where near to be a fanatic, and did think I could have done 'better' with a point-n-shoot)

It's interesting to see how much the system has evolved over time.  Same as you, I got a GF2 and a couple of decent lenses, but decided the performance (most notably AF) was really too poor for my investment in the system.

Fast forward to today and the m4/3s system is extremely stable, with two companies making excellent bodies and great selection of lenses.  More to the point, 4k resolution portable cinema cameras coming from Panasonic and Blackmagic both use the m4/3 lens mount, giving the system substantial cross-platform appeal.

[Chako]

Phase detection auto-focus is far superior to contrast detection auto-focus. My Samsung NX10 which I bought out of curiosity about mirrorless cameras, I eventually ended up giving it away to a close friend. I found the focus slow for action photography. Everything else about the camera was nice. I just like to take a lot of action shots and found the system a bit limiting.

With that said, I bought a Pentax K-01 which is also a mirrorless camera simply because the photos this camera produces are breathtaking, and they were doing a fire sale online because many photographers are traditionalist in only buying a camera that looks like a camera...black and all. The majority also believes that if you have to forgo a pentaprism and optical viewfinder, you should gain in smaller size and weight. The K-01 attracted me simply because I can use all of my Pentax lenses on it. For a very cheap price, I got a nice backup camera that will probably be my main camera for the Pentax system as it does trounce the old and venerable Pentax K10D.

I still think an optical viewfinder and phase detection is the way to go if you want to remain versatile.

[derekmac]

Not having an optical viewfinder is still weird to me, but the crazy auto focus speed to image capture is just plain awesome.  Also being able to shoot a constant 10 fps has come in handy when outside shooting with the kids.

I actually have the a57, not a55 which I had posted earlier.

[jekostas]

Just found today that Kodak of all people (or more accurately, the company that licensed the name) is coming out with a Micro 4/3s body and lenses.

Weird

[Whoey]

I have a Nikon D5100, and several lenses. It replaced my old Nikon D50, before that we had a film Nikon...

Canon have some great cameras, had I not already had a bunch of Nikon stuff to start off I might have gone Canon too.

As it is, I'm on the lookout for a good deal on an 18-200mm lense to do away with needing to carry both my 18-55 and 55-200... I use http://www.kenrockwell.com/ for some idea of what is worth getting, and as a result I have a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX that I use for low light photography.

[Chako]

That is the best thing to do. Stick with what you already have system wise. The Pentax stuff I have, the older items came from my High school days when I bought a Pentax SF10 in the late 80's. I was taking a photography course and a fellow student had a Minolta Maxxum 7000. I was enthralled by it as I really hadn't seen an autofocus camera before in person. I learned photography using my fathers Kodak Retinette 1A when I was around 8 years old. That camera was a rangefinder which I still have. When I wanted to upgrade my camera, I wanted something with this newfangled autofocus feature. Because my dad already had a Pentax P3, when I spied the SF10 I had to have it. These are all film cameras.

When digital cameras came around, I would have gladly jumped on the Pentax bandwagon, but Pentax was slow to the digital age. I ended up with an Olympus 340R, which was a fixed lens compact digital that was only 1.3 megapixels that came out back in 99. After that was a Nikon 990 which was 3.35 megapixels and cost $1600 bucks back in 2000. At the time, I dreamed of having a DSLR but they were too expensive. Then in 2003, Canon came out with the Digital Rebel, or otherwise known as the EOS 300D. This was the first somewhat affordable 6 megapixel DSLR. At the time, it was $999 dollars. I bought one despite my waiting for a Pentax DSLR as I already had a few autofocus lenses from my film days.

After the first digital Rebel, my next upgrade was an 8 megapixel EOS 20D which I bought back in 2005. Once I had the 20D, I decided to invest heavily in Canon gear. I still had some Pentax gear that dated to the late 80s, early 90s however. My father also had some Pentax non-autofocus gear from his P3 film days. By now, Pentax had some DSLRs out in the market, but by that time, I was fully buried in Canon gear.

When my father got sick with cancer, he would drive me around and I would go take some photographs. I wanted him to get a little more exercise...so in 2007, I bought him a Pentax K10D. He didn't use it much and soon passed away. I inherited all his Pentax gear and also I still had my older gear. This is why I have two camera systems otherwise, one system would be more than enough. I just recently added a Pentax K01 to shore up the now aging K10D...which of course I will never get rid of as it was my dad's last camera. On top of that, when I had my motorcycle accident in 2010, I had that camera in my saddlebag.

Sorry for my rambling on and on. When it comes to camera gear and photography, I can get a little carried away.

[PeakXV]

I started out in the digital era about 12 years ago with a Fuji MX-1200t. It was purchased for the purpose of taking pictures of items to present of eBay. I made good use of it and about 5 years ago upgraded to a Nikon D60. This entry level DSLR was light years ahead of the P&S  in terms of settings & functionality. Two years ago I bought a Canon T4i and with it some more expensive lenses .... and last year I entered the full frame DSLR zone with a Canon 6D.

The big difference with better bodies and glass are the increased photo ops, especially in low light situations, with macros, &/or at long distance. If you are only shooting portraits & landscapes in full light situations, , a good P&S should suffice.  My advice is to buy what you can afford and what best suits your photographic tastes and then upgrade when/if you outgrow the capabilities of your gear.

[mrynnr]

Just got the Sony RX100 M2 for Mother's Day. It's a great compact camera. Amazing how much technology they can cram in this little package.

[comis]

Just got the Sony RX100 M2 for Mother's Day. It's a great compact camera. Amazing how much technology they can cram in this little package.

Please don't forget to get the remote control apps on iphone or Andriod, and some third party even developed time lapse apps for the camera.  With the remote apps, you could control your camera to either take picture or film video, and you could even adjust the zoom and some other functions too!

[mrynnr]

Just got the Sony RX100 M2 for Mother's Day. It's a great compact camera. Amazing how much technology they can cram in this little package.

Please don't forget to get the remote control apps on iphone or Andriod, and some third party even developed time lapse apps for the camera.  With the remote apps, you could control your camera to either take picture or film video, and you could even adjust the zoom and some other functions too!

thank you! I did already! pretty nice feature also to be able to transfer photos from camera to cellphone without cords! I take it you have one also?

[comis]

Yes, me too.

Had one for almost half a year now, and it exceeded my expectation in many ways.  The best part, it even use a mini USB plug to charge and transfer, which means it's one less cable and charger to take on trip.  Quality of pictures are comparable to many older or entry DSLR, without the bulk and weight.  I'm lovin it.