Best P&S of these 3??

[andag1]

Nikon 5700....Sony DSC F717....Olympus 5050. I need a camera that takes crisp images more times than not in automatic mode. That way I can have the confidence of attaining a semblance of quality as I improve my camera technique in the manual realm.

Does anyone have any experience with any or all of these cameras?

[decloedt]

Nikon 5700....Sony DSC F717....Olympus 5050.

I haven't used any of those, but I have owned an Olympus 3000 and a 4040. Both were excellent cameras, as I'm sure is the 5050. In fact, if I hadn't bought a Canon 10D, I probably would have ended up with the 5050 myself.

[andag1]

You're the second person I've spoken to who has made the jump to the 10D! Unfortunately my technique is still in its infancy and I'll require a good 5MP camera that takes crisp images while I develope my skills.

My Canon A40 just isn't "doing it for me." It's not terrible but I want more.

[minoltaman]

I would not even consider the 5700 or the 5050. The 717 would be my choice if you can stomach the memory cards. The speed of the lens and the relative cleanliness of the images would be the main reasons why. The swivel body and range of the lens is also pretty nice features as well.
I would also consider the Minolta A1 or 7hi in this group as well.

Go check dpreview's camera reviews. All theree are good cameras but the 717 may take the cake for you. The review section should have at least an 11 page review on each camera.

Good Luck

I own the Minolta 7hi. All of the cameras you mentioned will do a fine job. It boils down to the feel of the camera and the features/performance you want. The more comparing you do the better.

[decloedt]

I would not even consider the 5700 or the 5050. The 717 would be my choice if you can stomach the memory cards. The speed of the lens and the relative cleanliness of the images would be the main reasons why. The swivel body and range of the lens is also pretty nice features as well.

The 5050 has an f/1.8 lens. That's nice and fast. And, while it doesn't have a swivel body, the screen does pop out away from the body, and it swivels, giving you the same functionality. For storage, it can use xD-Picture Cards, Smart Media and Compact Flash, giving you a lot of choices. I'd say it's an excellent camera to consider.

[andag1]

I didn't know the 717 used cards. Thought only sticks. Yeah....I've heard good things about this camera. Fortunately I don't have to make a decision until after the first of the year. The more I look and read the more difficult a decision it seems to become.

A friend now has me interested in the 300D Rebel. It seems to be a very user friendlt camera for only a little more money. And it would introduce me to the world of DSLR's. You can choose which aperture and the camera selects the shutter speeds and exposure, etc.
Or you can choose the shutter speed and the camera selects all the "other stuff". Sounds almost fail-safe.

And if I'm going to wind up spending 1000+ anyway, why not step into the bottom floor of DSLR? Price-wise that is....from what I've seen of the Rebel it seems to take fine pictures. Almost a film-like quality.

Thanks for your input, Don!

Andy

[sheila]

I didn't know the 717 used cards. Thought only sticks. Yeah....I've heard good things about this camera. Fortunately I don't have to make a decision until after the first of the year. The more I look and read the more difficult a decision it seems to become.

A friend now has me interested in the 300D Rebel. It seems to be a very user friendlt camera for only a little more money. And it would introduce me to the world of DSLR's. You can choose which aperture and the camera selects the shutter speeds and exposure, etc.
Or you can choose the shutter speed and the camera selects all the "other stuff". Sounds almost fail-safe.

And if I'm going to wind up spending 1000+ anyway, why not step into the bottom floor of DSLR? Price-wise that is....from what I've seen of the Rebel it seems to take fine pictures. Almost a film-like quality.

Thanks for your input, Don!

Andy

Hi Andy

Definitely go for the dSLR - the Rebel is a good start to the world of dSLRs.

Cheers
Sheila

[minoltaman]

The 5050 has an f/1.8 lens. That's nice and fast. And, while it doesn't have a swivel body, the screen does pop out away from the body, and it swivels, giving you the same functionality. For storage, it can use xD-Picture Cards, Smart Media and Compact Flash, giving you a lot of choices. I'd say it's an excellent camera to consider.

It better have a fast lens. It is quite a bit shorter in focal length than some other popular 5mp cameras with it's 35-105mmeq.. ie. Minolta 7, 7hi, A1, 7, Nikon 5700, Sony 707, 717/8 718 aned 728. With a fixed lens camera, if you are spending the money, I would reccomend a bit longer lens. The Minolta is 28-200mmeq.

Re DSLR...Be prepared to drop some cash getting good glass that matches the quality and range of the Sony or Minolta offerings. Both have very good glass. The A1 IS 28-200mm eq atf2.8-3.5 and very low ca etc. You will have to spend a LOT more than a grand to get the camera body and glass to match the Minolta or Sony prosumers.

If you are prepared to dump cabbage on some glass and lose the live preview then go with the dslr of you can live with the feature set the the rebel has.

Good Luck.

[minoltaman]

A friend now has me interested in the 300D Rebel. It seems to be a very user friendlt camera for only a little more money. And it would introduce me to the world of DSLR's. You can choose which aperture and the camera selects the shutter speeds and exposure, etc.
Or you can choose the shutter speed and the camera selects all the "other stuff". Sounds almost fail-safe.

And if I'm going to wind up spending 1000+ anyway, why not step into the bottom floor of DSLR? Price-wise that is....from what I've seen of the Rebel it seems to take fine pictures. Almost a film-like quality.

The 717 uses sticks. The 828 uses cf and sticks.
First of all you need to buy a couple more lenses to make the rebel compare to the prosumers. To get lenses of the Minolta or Sony quality and speed you will have to dump a good amount of cabbage beyond the $1000. To compare it to the A1 with its IS 28-200mmeq f2.8-3.5 you will have to dump even more cabbage.

Far as manual control. The prosumer I have has a considerably larger feature set than the rebel has. All of the top prosumers you can take full manual control of. Any of the prosumers correctly used will also take pictures that atre "film like".

The rebel will not be easier to take pictures with in general. You will be loosing the live preview that is such a great feature on the prosumers. You will have to be much more adept at using manual controls to use them as effectively. The control layout and set on the Minolta is especially excellent for adjusting things manually on the fly.

If you are inexperienced with no glass i do not see any advantage to buying the rebel and some expensive glass unless you are a portrait photographer. The top prosumers will do the job for most folks.

I am not arguing the prosumer is better or worse. I think you need to fit the best camera or system to your budget and needs. If you do not have existing glass the top prosumers of today are a very good choice. All depends on what you are gonna use it for.

Good luck.

[decloedt]

It better have a fast lens. It is quite a bit shorter in focal length than some other popular 5mp cameras with it's 35-105mmeq.. ie. Minolta 7, 7hi, A1, 7, Nikon 5700, Sony 707, 717/8 718 aned 728. With a fixed lens camera, if you are spending the money, I would reccomend a bit longer lens. The Minolta is 28-200mmeq.

Re DSLR...Be prepared to drop some cash getting good glass that matches the quality and range of the Sony or Minolta offerings. Both have very good glass. The A1 IS 28-200mm eq atf2.8-3.5 and very low ca etc. You will have to spend a LOT more than a grand to get the camera body and glass to match the Minolta or Sony prosumers.

True, the lens' focal length could be longer, but Olympus also has a very nice 1.7x telephoto extender that fits on their cameras. I've gotten some very nice shots using it on my C-4040Z.

But, I've already gone the DSLR route, myself. I picked up a 10D last March, and have collected a few Canon lenses to go with it, including the 17-40L. I hope to have a 35-350L or 100-400L by early next year, too.