Finding a Great Camera

I just started two new blogs at http://sassygrrl32.blogspot.com and http://nature500.blogspot.com where I feature nature pictures as well as vintage items, jewelry, etc. Many of these kinds of pictures require macro, at least for the good close up shots. You can also visit my abandoned house blog at http://haunted505.blogspot.com.

Ever since I bought my first Fuji back in 2000 to be used for selling my jewelry on ebay I fell in love with this camera. It took great macro pictures of the jewelry I was selling. I only used it for this. Years later when I got into photographing abandoned houses and now nature my Fuji still offered up great photos. But last year it developed a problem in the lens. At first, a photographer friend of mine, said it was probably a dead pixel. But after doing some research and talking to other photographers I realized it was something on the lens. Even though it still takes great macro shots it no longer worked for landscapes so I went about trying different cameras to see which one I liked the best.

I was only looking for one to use for taking pictures of old houses and buildings and I couldn't spend alot of money. I'd already bought a new one a few months earlier with a good zoom(Fuji).

Many if not most photographers probably use the same camera for everything. I'm not like that. I want one for the nature pictures(which I already had), another one for the old buildings and yet another one for signs, etc. All totalled I have four cameras, each one with a unique use.

Now a few months back I went about searching for a new one not only for the old houses but one for the signs and extra stuff that I didn't want to put on the one camera.

For the signs it didn't matter the brand or really how good it was as long as it took clear pictures. Meaning I didn't care about zoom or macro because I wasn't going to be using those features. I did however, want one that might be able to be used as a crossover if the need required it. So far it hasn't been a need.

Finding one for the simple stuff turned out to be harder than I thought. For whatever reason each one I tried I didn't like or I didn't like well enough to pay the money wanted for it. I ended up choosing a cheap(what I call a baby camera) vivitar. It is truly a tiny compact and works very well for those signs I like.

Finding a camera for houses was a little more difficult. I liked the nikon in the fact it had a nice big LCD screen but when it came to macro shots it just didn't come up to snuff. It did take great landscape pictures. But I wanted something a little better. I tried a few others but wasn't satisfied. My husband thought I should get a canon and believe it or not I didn't like it. At least the cheaper model I didn't. I've had my eye on some of the high end canon's for awhile but I wasn't looking to pay $500-$600 or more. I wanted something relatively cheap.

A friend recommended Kodak. I looked at some kodak's but didn't find any compact ones.

I did find an Olympus I liked very much and for the money and features it was a great deal. However, I was hoping to find a camera that took AA batteries as I don't want two chargers.

I tried a Sanyo which actually took very good photos and I was quite surprised but the shutter was a little slower than I like.

I finally found what I was looking for. I happened to be in Georgia(100 miles from my home) and stopped in a Walmart and they had a Fuji I wanted. I had looked at other Fuji's at other stores but none carried this particular model. It's a compact Fuji and it cost almost nothing($80). There was also a compact canon that was only $80 too but I was unable to find it in any store. The Fuji works great for landscapes, macro and the old houses that I so love to photograph. I take very few nature pix but it does very well for such a small camera. The zoom isn't great but it does have 16 million pixels. As for the vivitar it has even less in zoom but still takes pretty good photos. I like them. That's all that counts really.

The Fuji also offers a fairly fast shutter speed. Fast enough for me anyway. The vivitar isn't bad either. Me personally, I like Fuji. A couple of friends swear by kodak. Yet someone I spoke with in the Walmart photo dept said he would only use a canon and there are other people who swear by other brands.

What you choose really depends on your needs. If you take alot of close up shots then you probably will want one that takes great macro shots and also offers super macro. If you want to be able to take a great picture standing a fair distance away from your subject you'll definitely want to get one that has good zoom. This doesn't mean you have to go out and buy an SLR and have interchangeable lenses unless you take alot of wildlife shots or you're a professional.

One of the things I found with the nikon is that it's zoom also wasn't great. By that, I mean when I zoomed all the way out the pictures weren't clear.

When looking for a new camera you may have to try several before finding the one you truly like. Don't be afraid to go to Walmart. They usually have great buys and they have an excellent return policy as long as you return the camera within fifteen days if you don't like it. I've heard Best Buy is also good on return policies. Whatever store you choose find out what kind of return policy they have before you buy. This is the first and most important step. You don't want to end up with a camera you don't like and can't return.

If you know exactly what you want and you know you will like it, try ebay. At least for a second back up camera. My friend did that.

If you're not sure what kind of camera to buy, it's best to do some research beforehand then buy the camera you think you'll like but there's no guarantee so don't be afraid to take it back and buy something else. Don't be afraid to branch out into something you might not otherwise try for the sake of finding a camera you will truly love. And you must love it or you will not want to use it.

I thought I might like something different, it turns out I didn't. If you're like me, stick with what you like.