Any suggestions on a camera?

[Rat Rod Mac]

My old camera finally gave up the ghost, so I'm in the market for a replacement. Does anyone make a good one for under $250? I went online to search and about fell over, there are some in the $2000 range. Don't need the smoke and mirrors, just take good pictures and maybe a close up feature. Thanks. RRM

 

[B7510HSD]

Camera for what?

 

[grsthegreat]

ya know, i dropped 5 grand on my Canon setup a few years back.


But i hardly ever yse it. cell phone pics are so much easier and convenient.

 

[JohnDeereJoey]

....
cell phone pics are so much easier and convenient.

And not to shabby photo quality!

 

[ning]

The best camera is the one you've got with you when you need a picture.

I love the Canon 6D (mk1) setup I've got, and expect someday to go into the new R line, but truth be told I only take the 6D with me when I'm going on a hike with the expectation of taking nature or farther-off people pictures - 99% is my phone .

I personally wouldn't buy a dedicated camera unless you're a hobby photographer - I'd put the money into a phone with a really good camera (and there's quite a few of those now!) - the key is picture quality, and ignore the "megapixels" as even for printing, anything above 15MP or so isn't interesting unless you're printing bigger than 20x30. I have some great prints I took on a trip to Scotland in 2005 that I took with a Canon EOS 10D - a 6MP camera - you won't look at these pics closely enough to complain about the resolution and they're 20x30... but it was a pain hauling around full-sized camera gear all over the place, especially as we were walking about ten miles a day. Not sad I did it though, the pics are worth it and for that purpose, way better than a phone, but that's my 1% usage.

If you're taking pics for a computer screen, 2MP is enough for a HD monitor, and 8MP is enough for a 4K monitor -- unless you're zooming in, in which case the sky's the limit. Still, 15MP gives you plenty for an 8MP picture after you've cropped the bozo on the right out and the garbage on the left.

 

[ArlyA]

Phones don't have a camera. Not sure what to call what they have in them. I dirty lens shoe box?

 

[grsthegreat]

I hauled my canon with 70-200 f2.8 zoom around a horse show in kentucky. After about 4 hours i was looking fondly at trash cans.

but the pictures i got were amazing. No cell phone could have matched.

 

[Jims1025R]

I've always had excellent Canon SLR's - slim back in the day, and digital now. I've always been happy. But, as wisely said, it's the camera you have with you when you need to take the photo, which you will appreciate most. The DSLR doesn't see much action these days, it's the little Canon Powershot 12MP which I usually have in my pocket. It does a great job of 80% of the photos I would ever need to take. For the other 20%, it'd be good enough, or I have time to get the DSLR out for the perfect photo. And, you know what, I'm not knocking the camera in a decent phone these days, they're better than most film cameras from 30 years ago!

Try a Powershot or equivalent first, If you see what's lacking, and you want better photos often, then it's time to look for a good DSLR and lenes....

 

[KennyG]

Digital cameras have really gone up in price. You can get a basic point and shoot like a Canon ELPH for about $200 and it's a competent camera but not a lot better than a good cell phone. Cell phones are amazing now and some serious photographers are doing good work with them. However, I find them awkward to use.

I use a Canon G7x. It has a larger sensor than the more basic cameras which improves quality. It's excellent but I think they cost $600 or more now. The next step up would be something with interchangeable lenses like a mirrorless APS-C system, but you are over $1000 just to get started there.

 

[oosik]

I have two Canon cameras. My big one - well over $5K - like grsthegreat. The small one - around $450. Heck - my uber heavy tripod for the big camera - over $1000. When I travel around Ea WA I always take the smaller camera. I've found that I don't need the bigger camera and all the paraphernalia as counter weight in the Taco Wagon.

I use the large Canon to take pictures of wildlife and wild flowers. Specifically for wild flowers - where infinite detail is an absolute must. I would post one here but all my flower pics run 30 to 35 mb and would take a week to load.

Yes - my cell phone has a camera. And a pic taken with the cell phone will allow you to tell if the animal is a duck or a cow.

 

[jyoutz]

ya know, i dropped 5 grand on my Canon setup a few years back.


But i hardly ever yse it. cell phone pics are so much easier and convenient.

I have an old Canon 10D, but also a lot of L series glass. A nice collection, but like you I don’t use it much anymore. But to respond to the OP, I’m a big fan of the Canon point and shoot cameras.

 

[jyoutz]

And not to shabby photo quality!

Unless you want to make framable enlargements.

 

[ArlyA]

I'll stick with a camera, even a point-n-shoot is better than a phone. They just aren't the "swis army knife" some people think they are.

 

[sea2summit]

I'll stick with a camera, even a point-n-shoot is better than a phone. They just aren't the "swis army knife" some people think they are.

I don't think this is totally true. Yes, if you're doing your own F stops, exposures, micro/macro/zoom the phones have a long way to go. For 99.9% of people the phone will take an as good or better picture than the same person could take with a camera, toss on that the handiness of a phone sized tool and there really isn't a comparison.

I retire pretty soon, the day I do I'm getting rid of my smartphone cell service but I'm keeping the phone as a palm size tool just for the camera and a few other applications I use regularly for shooting/flying/farming/designing/building.

 

[Rat Rod Mac]

Ok here's the deal. I have some motorcycle parts that I want to put on Craig's List, so I take the pictures and remove the USB card from the camera, put it in the computer and send the pictures along with the ad. Don't know how to do that with the cell phone pictures. So there you have it, don't need a high dollar camera. Thanks. RRM

 

[ArlyA]

I use the low-end Lumix models but seems any point-n-shoot would work for that as long as it has a usb card.

 

[RobertN]

I'll stick with a camera, even a point-n-shoot is better than a phone. They just aren't the "swis army knife" some people think they are.

My take on this is a Smart Phone camera replaces everything the old 110 and 126 film "point and shoot" camera's did, as well as most digital "Point and shoot".

Most folks keep pictures on their phone or maybe make 3x5 or 5x7 prints. Even that is not as common anymore. Or they post pictures on Facebook, Craigslist etc. You do not need a high end point and shoot, or a SLR for that.

If you want to make enlargements or capture detail, then a SLR with good lenses, or even a high end "point and shoot" are the way to go.

There's still things that a SLR will let you do that are difficult or hard to do with a smart phone or point and shoot.

But... with any camera, you can take some pretty nice pictures with good composition and minding the basics of lighting etc. Have seen relatively junk camera's used to take a great picture, while another using a high end SLR with fancy glass gets a poor or mediocre picture...

 

[RobertN]

Ok here's the deal. I have some motorcycle parts that I want to put on Craig's List, so I take the pictures and remove the USB card from the camera, put it in the computer and send the pictures along with the ad. Don't know how to do that with the cell phone pictures. So there you have it, don't need a high dollar camera. Thanks. RRM

You don't need high resolution pictures for Craigslist.

Smart Phone camera downloads digitally or by cable/USB are easy to find with a simple web search or YouTube search

 

[ArlyA]

My take on this is a Smart Phone camera replaces everything the old 110 and 126 film "point and shoot" camera's did, as well as most digital "Point and shoot".

Most folks keep pictures on their phone or maybe make 3x5 or 5x7 prints. Even that is not as common anymore. Or they post pictures on Facebook, Craigslist etc. You do not need a high end point and shoot, or a SLR for that.

If you want to make enlargements or capture detail, then a SLR with good lenses, or even a high end "point and shoot" are the way to go.

There's still things that a SLR will let you do that are difficult or hard to do with a smart phone or point and shoot.

But... with any camera, you can take some pretty nice pictures with good composition and minding the basics of lighting etc. Have seen relatively junk camera's used to take a great picture, while another using a high end SLR with fancy glass gets a poor or mediocre picture...

The OP wants to transfer photos via USB card.

 

[2manyrocks]

The point and shoot camera market was killed off by the cameras built into phones.

$35 for Nikon D70s (CCD sensor) in good condition plus $43.33 for the 18-55 kit lens. The D70s has a CCD sensor whose color rendition still stands up today. The LCD viewfinder is meh by today's standards. It will make great pictures in outdoor lighting. Indoors, you will need a flash or the pictures will look terrible. If you are just going to shot a general picture and upload it to your computer to edit, this is all you need.

Nikon D70s 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Body

This item is rated in Good condition. That means that this item is between 75-89% of original condition. This item has been tested as fully operational and includes only what is photographed in the listing. This item shows moderate wear for the age of the

usedphotopro.com

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 G II ED DX Lens AFS

This item is rated in Good condition. That means that this item is between 75-89% of original condition. This item has been tested as fully operational and includes only what is photographed in the listing. This item shows moderate wear for the age of the

usedphotopro.com

If you need to make detailed close up photos of parts, then go with this 40mm macro lens that will also do better in low light. Nikon Nikkor AF-S 40mm f2.8 G DX Micro Lens AFS

If you can increase your budget, I'd get a Nikon Z50 plus the kit lens that goes with it. Nikon Z 50 | Compact Entry Level DX Mirrorless Camera $799 currently, but I have seen used versions for less. Vastly improved viewscreen, megapixels, etc.