I need to buy a new camera

[gothra]

I'm currently using Leica DigiLux 1 that I bought 6 years ago. Its time to catch up with new technologies and get myself a new camera! yay!

I need a camera that can easily and quickly focus in dim lighting condition. I take everyday pics of my geckos in their glass tank without special lighting, just diffused light from the window. I also take night-time red light pics too. I had been looking at reviews of various DSLR and am considering if Canon EOS 40D or Nikon D80 is a good choice?

My current camera is a pain to use when trying to focus at dim light. It takes a few seconds to get into focus, during the time, my geckos have already moved away! I know setting the ISO to 200 or 400 (I have 3 choices only 100, 200 or 400) will help, but the noise becomes very obvious, and I don't like it.

Any suggestion? Canon vs Nikon? Any user feedbacks?

 

[Mel&Keith]

Get a 40D! I got one about a month ago and it's an amazing camera for the money. The Nikon isn't exactly comparable technology wise but Nikon is coming out with their answer to the Canon 40D in November I believe. It's going to be a few hundred dollars more expensive than the Canon but it has a few more features. Since you're not invested in lenses for one or the other, do some review reading online and see which brand you think you'd like best. But personally, I LOVE my 40D so my opinions may be biased.

 

[gothra]

Thanks Mel! I think I'll go with the Canon 40D then (I can't wait till November for the new Nikon). Have you tried taking pics in dim lighing? or under red light? Is the camera easily focused in such condition?

 

[Mel&Keith]

If you get an IS lens with it, the lens will help control the camera shake and you'll be able to get good pictures without a flash. Here's a couple of pics I snapped when I first got mine with only a lamp on in the room: http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=16995

Here's a link to Canon's learning center. There are tons of great tutorials and tips for taking better pictures. I stumbled upon it on their site one day and boy am I glad I did! It's full of really great, user friendly info.
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=MultiMiscPageAct&key=Learning_Station&fcategoryid=2533
The "enjoy digital SLR cameras" section is especially helpful.

 

[Leonardo]

i think you made a good choice with the canon. my dad is a professional photographer, so naturally, im as biased as him when it come to what cameras to use.
Ive never had a good experience with a nikon. they always seem to malfunction when you need it most and the camera life just pretty much sucks.

the cameras my dad uses are slightly behind the times but they work wonders. hes saving up to get a new one and hopefully when he does i will inherit one of his old canons because i cant afford the one i want and have been without one for two years.
he has two canon 5Ds, a canon 10D (that i absolutely LOVE) and i believe he has a minolta he still uses, but i cant remember what model. theyre all great cameras and have lasted quite a while and have sustained many beatings. (my dad is sort of a klutz when hes concentrated on his subject and tends to drop his cameras very often) so i know from experience that canons are tough cookies.
but on the nikon side: my ex had a nikon he carried with him to work in new york. he works on the mechanics of trains around north america. he set his camera down on the machine he was working on and it vibrated it to death, yet my dad is able to drop his canon onto hard rock or tile and it survive just fine, which doesnt say much for the sturdiness of a nikon.

so, i say canon all the way!

 

[gothra]

Thanks for the link, Mel. The section on "Enjoy digital SLR" is extremely useful to me, now I have an idea of what DSLR is about. I was very lost before when I look at the specs...was like martian language to me...lol.

Now, after some research, I think a good quality DC will suit me better than a DSLR. This is because I intend to use the camera to capture everyday pics of my geckos' activities while they're in their glass tanks; i.e. climbing on their wood, laying on a rock...etc. Sometimes, I need to put the camera right against the glass, or even down into their tank to take these pics. With a DSLR, I wouldn't be able to do that, right?

Now I'm seriously considering getting the Canon PowerShot G9. Anyone using a PowerShot? Do you think this is a good choice for me?

 

[Mel&Keith]

That is the one disadvantage to DSLRs, they are cumbersome! I have a friend who has a PowerShot S5 IS which seems to be fairly comparable as far as specs go. She gets great pics with hers. The G9 looks like a lot of camera packed in a little body. So if size is an issue, I'd say it looks like a good choice. Another choice to consider might be a Rebel series. They are still a DSLR but weight considerably less than a 40D. It's still bigger than a compact digital though... Here's a thread about the Rebel: http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=17605

 

[gothra]

Bought the G9 yesterday! Yay! Looks like I'll need some time to read up the thick instruction manual, and try remember all the buttons! The camera is smaller than I thought, not much space for me to put my fingers!

I need to rant a bit here:
Well, I charged up the battery last night; the instruction manual says it takes 1hr 45min to fully charge. So when the charger turns from red light to green light (charging finished), I took out the battery....and then my husband started mumbling, he said its common knowledge that new batteries need to be charged overnight. Now that I've took out the battery in such short time, I have ruined the new battery and it will probably die very soon!! I flipped through the whole instruction manual, and no where it says first time charging needs to be overnight (8hrs+). Am I wrong?? I hate him, I was very happy when I bought the camera last night, then he made me feel guilty as if I really had ruined that new battery!!

 

[sushikam]

I need to rant a bit here:
Well, I charged up the battery last night; the instruction manual says it takes 1hr 45min to fully charge. So when the charger turns from red light to green light (charging finished), I took out the battery....and then my husband started mumbling, he said its common knowledge that new batteries need to be charged overnight. Now that I've took out the battery in such short time, I have ruined the new battery and it will probably die very soon!! I flipped through the whole instruction manual, and no where it says first time charging needs to be overnight (8hrs+). Am I wrong?? I hate him, I was very happy when I bought the camera last night, then he made me feel guilty as if I really had ruined that new battery!!

I don't see why you would HAVE to charge it for 8 hours. I know that with some things, like new cell phones, or maybe camcorders and stuff like that require that you charge it for like 4 hours, but I don't know if it's necessarily necessary. I know one of my old Kodak's had to be charged for like 4-8 hrs (sorry, can't remember exactly), before it was used, but that's not to say that the battery would be useless if I hadn't done that.

Okay, so I just asked my fiancee what he thinks and he thinks the same as your husband, that it will be ruined if it wasn't charged for that amount of time....I hope this is wrong though, I know those batteries aren't the cheapest.

Let us know what happens, if you notice the battery dying real quick. Good luck !

 

[gothra]

Good news!

I found this bit of info on the net (my battery is lithium-based):

Copied from: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm
Lithium-ion is a very clean system and does not need priming as nickel-based batteries do. The 1st charge is no different to the 5th or the 50th charge. Stickers instructing to charge the battery for 8 hours or more for the first time may be a leftover from the nickel battery days.

This makes me feel soooo much better! :main_thumbsup:
I called my dad, and even posted on other DC forums too, it seems 99% people thinks the 8hrs+ first charging is necessary...

 

[sushikam]

YAY! Good to hear that!!! I guess listening to what the directions say is the best bet !

Now start taking some pictures and posting them for us to see !

 

[gothra]

Tried out some photo shooting yesterday, the intention was to see how the camera perform in very dim light. The daylight pics was taken in my gecko room with no artificial lighting during sunset. And then some red light pics. Note: no tripod was used~

Marly, he is quite close to the window:

And then Hardee, he is the furthest away from the window, plus he is hiding in shade:

Night-time shooting, these pics were taken at ISO 200 only, same as the daytime pics:

SiuFu:

Hardee climbing glass:

I'm very happy with the camera overall. I wanted a camera that could focus quickly and properly in very dim lighting conditions or under red lights; with the image stability function, the pics turned out ok, no blurring due to hand shakes. The only downside of this camera is its size, its a little too small. I have small hands and still, I have trouble finding space to locate my fingers!

I'll try take some bright, vivid pics next time!
p.s. The battery needed to be recharged last night...

 

[Mel&Keith]

Those pics look great Bonnie! It looks like you made a good choice. And all though they require different batteries...I'm pretty sure that the battery my Canon 40D uses doesn't lose charge if it isn't properly "broken in" like many rechargeable batteries. I typically get about 2 hours per battery shooting in small size img files.

 

[GeckoTeach]

We have the Canon Power shot S3 and I love it

 

[sushikam]

Wow, great pics! I'm jealous ! I just bought a Canon Rebel XTi and haven't taken any gecko pics, but that's because I am having a hard time figuring out the settings.

Great pics though! Keep 'em coming for sure! You look to have a pretty good hang of that camera already .