Quote:I also, OTOH, do NOT subscribe to my g/f's father's way of thinking when it comes to amateur photography - if you TRULY want to learn, learn on a fully MANUAL camera. *shudders* What 18th century thinking.
:o
There's little that can compete with the feeling of a true manual camera. I'm in love with my fathers Nikon F4, but can't afford to shoot endless roles. Its sort of the difference between driving a manual BMW and an automatic BMW. Most new BMW's have 'manual' switches which allows you to shift 'up' and 'down.'
Granted you can technically do everything you could do in a manual (such as downshifting, aka needlessly burning your engine), its still not the same 'feel.'
To keep with the car analogies, digital is kind of like power steering, compared to old rack and pinion steering. My brother has a 1984 Three series BMW, with the old rack and pinion steering. Its a joy to drive on windy roads, and even modern BMW's don't really compare. There's something to be said about manual cameras, since they are much like Rack and Pinion cars, the knobs are directly connected to a mechanical part. There is no interpretation like in a digital camera.
My point? There is definately a reason for manual camera's still being around, even if it is purely for the feel.
Plus I'm one of those losers who thinks developing film in a dark room is fun :).
I guess I'm just an old man for my age :P
-- To Roland:
Much appreciated for the links, the only problem is now I'm pining after the camera's out of my price range :)
-- To Zippyy
Thanks for the link to dpreview.com, I'm already plunged head first into the reviews. I'm picking up the Digital Camera Jargon as I go.
--To ShadowHM
You're making me nostalgic for summer days spent in Maine. I can definately relate to many pictures of 'dots.' I have at least a role full of 'that dot's a bald eagle' and 'that one is an osprey diving.' :)
-- What about this one?
Canon Elph
As far as the personal reviews go it seems pretty solid, tiny, and would work for what I'm asking for. If I ebay a few items I own, I should be able to raise my price range to 300, which seems a lot more reasonable the more I look. By 300, I mean Camera+Bigger Card. Any thoughts on the Elphs?
I should note I'm more of an extremes person. I'd much rather have a simple point and shoot camera with good picture quality, and options light. And (if ever wanted) invest in a good SLR.
Cheers,
Munk
Edit: Added more replies, didn't want to double post for each person.