what is the best digital camera brand??

@RobTaylor....... it's a matter of preference whether you want more pixels or not...... I crop and enlarge pictures and I can attest that the pixel content means alot! sooooooooo I disagree when you say:

but that's just my opinion and experience. Others might agree with you.

 

Quality gets bottlenecked somewhere along the line, whether it's the pixel capacity, sensor quality, lens quality, etc. A 8mp camera could perform better than a 5mp camera, or it could perform worse, depending on other factors. I agree that a 4092x3072 image could look worse than a 800x600 image if the image sensor is noisy, blurry, etc. but on that same note I disagree with you when you say it dosen't matter at all. IT matters, but it's not the sole determinant factor for image quality and clarity.

 

I just got a great new compact flash card for my camera that will take advantage of it's fastest speed, because the card is soooooo fast it won't imped the performance of the camera! it's the new SanDisk Extreme IV 2.0GB compact flash...... the fastest read and write times you can get with a card. I bet it also enhances the quality of the write to disk of the camera, too!

 

...
hehe.

 

ya ya, BUT it all depends on how fast your CAMERA can write. no sense getting a fast card when your camera is maxed out and can't take advatage of the faster write speed of the card.

and yes, mp matter, but not as much as everyone thinks. people see higher mp and think it's a better camera, not so.

 

ok..... RobTaylor...... did you take a good look at my camera in the beginning of this thread? I think my new compact flash card will do a great job with my camera! what do you think?

 

I think olympus and sony are the best. Although has more features than any other brand I have came across!

 

Do You Need More Megapixels?
QUOTE
Canon PowerShot SD450 Digital Elph

The durable SD450, released in late 2005, captures excellent color and detail with a 5-megapixel sensor. After testing its replacement, the 6-megapixel Elph, we found that the image quality is about the same. The extra pixels may benefit prints larger than 8.5 x 11, but otherwise the difference is marketing clap.
$299
Wired Test rating:

Nikon D50

This SLR cam's large image sensor produces sharp photos worthy of enlarging to 11 x 14 inches, despite its "lowly" 6.1 megapixels. The generous 2-inch LCD screen and large handgrip make it simple to operate. And because it takes SD (instead of CF) memory cards, thrifty photogs can reuse supplies from their point-and-shoot gear.
$700 (with lens)
Wired Test rating:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1

The 5-megapixel TZ1 produces crisp photos, even in low light. Blown-up shots were better than those from many 6- to 8-megapixel rivals. The 10X zoom lens with optical image stabilization further enhances its ability to capture detail; you get steady shots of the subject you want now and don't have to crop onscreen later, throwing out valuable image data.
http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72314-0.html?tw=rss.index

PLEASE GO HERE TO READ MORE
http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72314-0.html?tw=rss.index

 

I am happy with my Rebel XT and I recommend everyone at least check it out. Or the XTi which is the brother to it with new features. Over Christmas I am going to be acquiring a new lens.
http://www.donsphoto.com/product.asp?pid=1303]

 

Nikon & Canon. Both top class DSLR's

 

I have had a variety of SLR's over th epast 35 years - all Canon. All excellent.

Having moved into the digital age, and not wanting to cart around a huge camera bag and lenses, I opted for a smaller camera. Did a lot of research and bought this one about 3 months ago:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s3is.html

12 times zoom [36-432mm equivalent], light weight, outstanding image quality [virtually indistinguishable from DSLR unless you really blow up th epixels], camcorder quality avi video [I use a 4Gb card and can get half an hour of DVD quality video on each], advanced image stabilisation system, almost fool proof in operation.

To see lots of images it can produce have a look at these pages:
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21728&page=267

Do I like it? You bet, overall the best camera I have owned.
Would I go back to a DSLR? Can't see the point unless I was a professional and wanted to blow up pics into posters. Look at the images on the above post and consider if you would be happy producing them.

 

I recently bought the 75mm-300mm zoom lens for my Canon EOS 350D.

Unfortunately I was quite disappointed with the performance of this lens.

I returned the lens to the shop, Jessops, who replaced the lens without any argument (one reason I always buy from them) but the replacement lens was just as bad.

I gave the lens an exhaustive test and found that up to 200mm it was quite reasonable but from 200-300mm it deterirated quite badly.

However I have kept the lens because there doesn't seem to be a really good quality lens at anywhere near the price I paid for it.

I now simply use it up to 200mm, and enhance the images if necessary in Helicon Filter.

So if you are going to buy the lens for 300mm use, don't bother, but if you want a reasonably priced lens up to 200mm this one may suit you as long as you are aware of its limitations.

 

Canon is widely know to be at the top of the digital market. The produce both the components and firware, which is unique. Nikon got into digital later but is quickly gaining on canon.

 

It's Canon all the way in the digital world. Nikon is great, but if we're talking digital, Canon's the one to beat.

I agree with a previous poster who says that as you get up there, your lenses are the determining factor. My 4 main lenses cost more each than the body itself (I'm using a Canon EOS 5D) and Canon L lenses. I have not been disappointed.

One problem is that you wanted to do a lot of low life, sports/action photography yet stay under $800 CDN... that's hard to do since low light performance is the achilles' heel for most lenses/bodies.

 

I got a rebel xt with a 75-200 mm lens which I know is a little low end but for a beginner like me is great. I can get good close ups.

 

No its either Canon or Nikon, maybe also Pentax

 

The Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital SLR Camera is a good value digital SLR camera with an impressive feature set. It is reputed to take excellent quality pictures and has a very good skin-toned reproduction which makes it ideal for portraits and high-contrast compositions. It utilizes a SuperCCD SR Pro imaging chip that claims to offer improvements in noise, dynamic range, colour, and tonality over its predecessor, the S3 Pro. To get a more detailed understanding about the product, I suggest that you visit this site (http://www.smartratings.com/review/photography/digital_cameras/1028) where a compilation of expert reviews about the camera are aggregated. Hope this helps.

 

I trained on the Nickon D100, I love it. Then the newer ones came out.. I think the D70 it was called. I used it for a wedding and it worked well. In my photo shoots, i have always used Nikon.