Kodak must have some patent on image quality. I do not care at all for the materials or feel of their cameras(IMO cheap) but their picutre quality is incredible. I would go that route unless the Fuji has more options for the same price.

 

These days they all take great pictures. You now have to start looking at build quality and features that you want. Canon has a good image stabilizer, Nikon boasts the same, as does Panasonic.

IMO Fuji has the best color rendition of all of them hands down. When it comes to my own personal cameras, I am a Nikon man. If I were do buy a second body today it would be the Fuji S5 Pro.

Matt:
Now that I think about it, the Fuji S5 Pro, or even the S3 Pro may be a way for you to go. This way you could stay with the Nikon glass.

 

You got that right!
It's getting harder and harder to be a professional photographer.
When Joe Blow off the street can go get a $200 Point and Shoot camera and armed with only the slightest bit of knowledge of lighting and composition, they are no longer taking snap shots, they can create photographs.

The bar keeps raising and the gap between photographers and armatures keeps narrowing.
Or at least I know that I'm not advancing in my skills and creations as fast as technology is advancing.

 

To a point you are exactly right. That cheap point and shoot does not allow the flexability of an SLR though. Weak flash is the first thing that comes to mind. You have to be very close or have great natural light to get anything good. The ability to use studio lights is next to impossible as well..

How many of those cameras can take a two hour exposure or shoot at 1/8000 of a second?

Flash sync speed? Most of them are 1/60 or at most 1/90. With my D200 set to Auto FP I can sync all the way to 1/8000 if I want to.

The main advantage to the pro is the knowledge of composition. Most people are clueless, and have absolutly no artistic ability at all.

I could probably go on all night but yea you are right

 

Photog95, you are absolutely right. You guys have nothing to worry about. Shortly before the digital revolution, point and shoot 35mm cameras were getting really good too. A good piece of equipment doesn't replace know-how, skill and experience though. If it did, I could whoop some butt on the racetrack, but alas, my track speed is about as good as my photo skills.

 

Ohh I'm not saying that P&S is replacing or even being competitive to SLR, and it never will manufacturers would be shooting them selfs in the foot if they did.

Like you said, they'll never have the manual adjustments (thats why they are called Point and shoot) but they never have the ranges of a professional model. They also will likely never have interchangeable lenses, few do have a sync boot, and few have screw or snap on filters. Few do have 3 burst but no flash. With a 400W modeling strobe I can crank the modeling light up to 9 and light up a several yards away at night for rapid fire until I let off the shutter. But you don't even have to have a camera to run the modeling light and if it's a slave, then you don't need sync. to make it pop. So the only thing I couldn't do with a P&S on that, is rapid fire for more than 3 burst.

Sorry, for the essay, in my off time I give lectures to photography classes at High schools and Wednesday the teacher has asked me to talk about Lighting, so thats what is on my mind as I'm preparing the lesson.

 

Aha, then my Mavica is probably waaaayyyy over it's maintenance time. Maybe that's why it's giving me trouble now?? I have no idea how you find it's odo though...

Thanks RC, I've been looking at that site and a couple of others. I'll get it figured out one way or another!!

That looks like a really nice camera Kobi but it's just a wee bit over my price limit.

Sorry glc, for some reason I missed your link. There's another camera to add to my list when I stop at Best Buy to play...

 

It don't have one.
Thats only on SLR's
If your taking that many pics to have to worry about it, then you need an SLR just for durability.

 

Mmmk, whew!

 

I purchased my first SLR about a year ago. A great package price. It was an Olympus E-500. The pictures are great. It makes every picture seem like you are a professional. It has more features than I will ever need. I also agree that NIKON makes great products(IMO). We ended up with a Sony cybershot with a Zeiss lens. I believe it is 7.1MP really nice. it was 299. Very nice pictures also. The problems with SLR is that they are not extremely portable or convenient when you are on the go. They are bulky. That's why we ended up with a smaller camera(Cybershot) to keep in the car.

 

Any metal bodied Canon. Best point and shoot cameras I have owned.

 

I bet the neighbors love that "Howdy neighbor".
You know....I would be curious to see what a P&S would do with that 400W/sec strobe set to optical slave. I would be willing to bet that the camera can't meter it and would end up with over exposure every time. I may need to try that with my wife's Fuji and my SB-800 set to optical.




Teaching in person is so much easier than doing it over the internet. It is actually kinda fun until you get someone with a thick skull.

 

He's done way worse than just lights... I've seen him (and me) do it before...

 

I've used the studio lights from work with my Sony Cybershot, DSC-F505v, although it is a high end P&S, it does have a sync boot, I've used it with a sync cord to a controller powering the main and fill and slaves for the background and hair lights.

What ever do you mean?
I try to keep the 500w halogen work lights off their houses.......

Surely not referring to welding and grinding at 4 am as disturbing.
Of course nothing wakes them up like a v8 with open exhaust firing off at 4000 rpm at 1am either.
Or rebuilding a camper using grinders, skill saw, hammering etc. all night long every night for a week straight.
Or sighting in rifles at 10'oclock at night. hehe
Shooting coyotes out of the neighbors yard at what ever time I happen to see them crossing.....
Bon fires with gasoline fed explosions all night long.


Jeez I'm a jerk.......
Why haven't they complained? LOL

 

Heavily medicated?