new camera $100-$200

jrp1588

New member
As the title hints at, I'm looking to get a new camera in the range of $100-$200. I'll be honest, about 90% of the pictures I take are of aquariums, so I'd want something that best fits those needs, but I'd like it to still be good for other things of course. I don't really care if it's a super compact camera or one of the large mega-zoom cameras.

What would you suggest?
 
My current one is about 4 years old, and is past its prime. It's started eating batteries like nobody's business, and it uses AA batteries. It doesn't have image stabilization or anything. Basically I'm just wanting the best point and shoot I can get.
 
Yeah, my current camera is a canon A540. I liked it when it was working well. I looked up the SD1200. It's one of those supercompact cameras. Would a regular compact or anything be better?
 
i liked my sanyo vpc-t700, it was $90 about 2 years ago, it took this pic which i think is decent
zoa.jpg
 
nice macro shot for a low price camera. Perhaps it's just my photography skills that are lacking. You do anything special to get that picture? I usually go to manual mode and turn my shutter speed to 1/100 or so and open up my aperture as much as possible.
010-1.jpg

this yields decent results, but nothing special.

As I said, I'm willing to spend up to $200, and I wouldn't mind something a little larger than a super compact. Any other suggestions?
 
How about zero dollars? How technical are you? :-) If you're so inclined, there's a firmware "hack" out there for Powershot cameras (which your A540 is) that enables a whole slew of features, including manual controls, making your existing camera pretty competent for taking aquarium photos.

It's really not a "hack" in that you are making permanent changes to your camera's firmware. You load CHDK onto your SD card, and set your camera up so it boots from the SD card instead of its firmware. That's really it. You can revert back at anytime. It doesn't hurt the camera's warranty, but you're warranty's already expired by now anyway.

The features that CHDK enables that are invaluable in taking macro photos are RAW support, precise manual focus, and the histogram. Yes, your camera supports them. Canon just decided to disable them on your model. :-) With the precise manual focus, you're no longer dependent on the camera's easily-confused autofocus system, and you can adjust the focus to the . And with the histogram, you can check your exposure.

I used an A590 for awhile before I finally decided to go with a dSLR. It's got limitations, of course. Specifically, it's hard to check critical focus on the LCD because it is so small, and it's hard to get good quality pics of things further than about 8"-10" from the glass. There's too much refraction.

If you're interested, check here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

Here are a few samples of the pics I took with my "hacked" A590:

BlueTort.jpg


PurplePillow.jpg


GreenBlueTipAcro.jpg
 
I messed with it for a while. My quality of pictures were about what they were before. Some of the raw features were interesting. Being able to adjust shutter speed was somewhat interesting. I couldn't really find any features that actually made my photos better though
 
I messed with it for a while. My quality of pictures were about what they were before. Some of the raw features were interesting. Being able to adjust shutter speed was somewhat interesting. I couldn't really find any features that actually made my photos better though

Well, you did say you wanted it on the cheap. :-)

I'm just curious what you mean when you say you "couldn't really find any features that actually made my photos better"? What are you looking for? Some newer cameras have an "Aquarium" scene mode, but that can be easily duplicated by knowing the proper aperture, shutter speed, ISO setting, etc., and setting them manually - something CHDK allows you to do on your A540.

Needless to say, regardless of which camera you use, dSLR, P&S, etc., there's still the same set of things you'll have to follow in order to get decent aquarium photos:

1. Use a tripod
2. Use manual focus
3. Use RAW mode so you can control the white balance
4. Use high ISO and as big an aperture as you can get
5. Take the pictures straight on, as opposed to at an angle, as you minimize the refraction through the glass and water.
6. Etc, etc.

Even a high-end dSLR with a high dollar macro lens will produce low-end pictures if the photographer doesn't know how to use them.
 
Well, the A540 already allows me to play with the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture by default. It also has manual focus, but the screen doesn't have a high enough resolution to ell when it's just right.

I thought high ISO made pictures grainy? I guess that's one setting I haven't played with much.
 
I think on my photo I just used a tripod and had the shutter open as long as possible, but I could be wrong it was a while ago, there is a website that will let you see lots of details about a picture.

http://regex.info/exif.cgi

it says that picture was 1/6 shutter speed with iso 50. so it could be just learning how to do what you want. as for a camera i would check craigslist, maybe ebay

Or if youre willing to part with another $200 you could get the setup I did for $400 to take this picture
wwzoos.jpg
 
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I think on my photo I just used a tripod and had the shutter open as long as possible, but I could be wrong it was a while ago, there is a website that will let you see lots of details about a picture.

http://regex.info/exif.cgi

it says that picture was 1/6 shutter speed with iso 50. so it could be just learning how to do what you want. as for a camera i would check craigslist, maybe ebay

Or if youre willing to part with another $200 you could get the setup I did for $400 to take this picture
wwzoos.jpg

Awesome picture
 
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