What is the best camera for $400 for Aquarium photography purposes?

[10" Red Devil]

Hello,

Was wondering in your opinion what the best camera for $400 total for aquarium photos.

Thanks.

 

[BlueCorn]

Find a used Canon G5 on eBay.

 

[10" Red Devil]

beerguy,

Really do you have any sample pics?

Thanks!

I found one on ebay that is 58minutes from being sold and is only at $125.

 

[BlueCorn]

I had a G6 for quite a while. Both are solid cameras.

If I recall correctly, all of the pictures on this page where taken with my G6.

http://gallery.hopdog.com/v/album/?g2_page=2

 

[10" Red Devil]

Wow! All I can do is drool! So the G5 is about the same then?

What about the new S2 and S3 IS are those comparible?

Thanks.

 

[BlueCorn]

Yup - G5 and G6 are very close.

I don't like the S2 and S3 because they don't have a real view finder.

 

[10" Red Devil]

But what about image quality are the S2 and S3 comparible to the G5 and 6?

Thanks!

 

[auntdeb]

We have the S2 IS and have found it to be an awesome camera all around. The best feature is the 12x zoom (real zoom, 48X digital zoom). We can take closeups of anything in the tank from across the house, if we so desire. Not that you would want it for that purpose, but the zoom comes in handy for outdoors activities, etc. Plus, you can get that camera for $299 when on sale.

Regards....

 

[PL-Reef]

I second the S2, I have one and love it. Though I don't know much about the G5, so I can't compare the two. The S2 does take good macro shots, of course not like the ones you see here, but you can get an adapter and some lenses for it if you wanted to. Check out lensmateonline.com for some lenses and photos to show you what they can do. If you want the camera for more then just tanks, it's also good for others too. I posted some photos on another thread here not to long ago, shouldn't be more then the 3rd page, check it out. If you can't find it just let me know and I can post some more.

Here it is...
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=906731

 

[auntdeb]

Just to give you a heads up, the S2 is on www.slickdeals.net today for $247. That's half of what we paid when it first came out!

 

[10" Red Devil]

Do you guys find the color to be good on the S2? I bought one from walyworld to test it out and it seems that the color is off.

It just doesnt look like the color I see with my eye. I tried setting a custom white balance and while this helps a lot it just doesnt quite get the color exact.

Funny thing is, I have this old nikon coolpix 2500 that does an incredible job of matching the colors.

 

[auntdeb]

We haven't noticed anything wrong with the color at all. This is our third digital camera and by far and away the best we've owned. I know it isn't the best there is, but for the price, I don't think it can be beat. The digital camera review sites seem to back up our thinking, also. We may soon look to upgrade and then the next step will probably be the Canon XTi (400D).

Perhaps you got a defective one? From what I remember, we had to play with some of the settings before we felt it gave us the best picture, but I don't remember what we changed and don't recall it was anything too complicated.

Hope you can get it sorted out.

 

[10" Red Devil]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8056978#post8056978 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by auntdeb
We haven't noticed anything wrong with the color at all. This is our third digital camera and by far and away the best we've owned. I know it isn't the best there is, but for the price, I don't think it can be beat. The digital camera review sites seem to back up our thinking, also. We may soon look to upgrade and then the next step will probably be the Canon XTi (400D).

Perhaps you got a defective one? From what I remember, we had to play with some of the settings before we felt it gave us the best picture, but I don't remember what we changed and don't recall it was anything too complicated.

Hope you can get it sorted out.

Yeah Im thinking I got a used one even though I bought it new, because the shutter button was very lose feeling and the date was already set despite the fact that you have to usually set it. I think it might have been damaged and then returned.

 

[auntdeb]

Sounds about right, the date wouldn't normally be set out of the box. Hope you can still return it.

 

[10" Red Devil]

I returned it thanks and I got the cash back which I did not think I would be able to do. Anyway I found an amazing deal on a Pentax IST DL DSLR.

 

[BlueCorn]

The IST is a Pentax if I'm not mistaken....

 

[Josh125]

You PM box is full

 

[10" Red Devil]

Josh,

Its empty now.

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8055898#post8055898 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 10" Red Devil
Do you guys find the color to be good on the S2? I bought one from walyworld to test it out and it seems that the color is off.

It just doesnt look like the color I see with my eye. I tried setting a custom white balance and while this helps a lot it just doesnt quite get the color exact.

Funny thing is, I have this old nikon coolpix 2500 that does an incredible job of matching the colors.

I have the Coolpix 2500 as well. It quite the little camera and takes better photos than many of my friends more expensive cameras. However, I'm in the market for something a little more advanced and better for macro shots. I'm in the same boat as you as well, wanting to spend less than $500 and trying to figure out what my best choice is.

 

[10" Red Devil]

Go with another Nikon man, that is what I have found the hard way. The other cameras cannot white balance as well as Nikon.

Although Canon is a close second!

They do have a nice Nikon 10x with macro mode. The only thing that sucks is that it doesnt have Image stabilization.