Camera Recommendations

Go buy last years editors choice, in point and shoot. Autofocus, good zoom.
Off of ebay.
I LOVE my cannon sx 230 powershot.
About 75-125 off eBay.

I like to take pics with nice composition, but I am numb on the correct camera settings to use. 2 years ago the wife bought a Nikon Coolpix P530 for around $350. If you think you want a DSLR, with changeable lenses and the like, but are more of a point and shoot person, check this thing out. It doesn't actually have changeable lenses, but optical zoom is unreal and is formatted like a more expensive camera. The pictures are fantastic at over 16MP, and the user settings will let you take some really nice pictures in lots of different situations (scenes, low light, night and multi-pic action shots) (it does OK video too). It is just a little bit too big to just tote it around all the time, but is smaller, and very much lighter than a "pro" camera. Check it out the reviews are fantastic, or there is probably a bit newer version available. They are running 200-300 right now with a quick search. On the settings I use the pics average 6meg each, or get a decent sized card with it, and for those ultra long zoom pics, I would recommend a tripod too.

I use a Nikon D7000 with an assortment of lenses from 11mm to 300mm. Unfortunately even the camera body is out of your budget.

I would suggest that you consider a used digital SLR, I still have an old Nikon D40 body that I use as a backup, it still works great. If you get an SLR don't use the auto mode, force yourself to use on of the manual modes, that's how you learn.

Whatever you choose try to get a camera that saves in the RAW format, that will allow you to non-destructively edit your images in a program such as Adobe Lightroom.

Small camera. Good belt carry pouch.
A camera WITH you, is way better than one in the truck.
Don't over do it.
The barn pics, posted here, were taken with my little cannon.
A million dollar camera, sort of defeats the purpose.
N

Dan Dunn, post: 411520, member: 911 wrote: I use a Nikon D7000 with an assortment of lenses from 11mm to 300mm. Unfortunately even the camera body is out of your budget.

I would suggest that you consider a used digital SLR, I still have an old Nikon D40 body that I use as a backup, it still works great. If you get an SLR don't use the auto mode, force yourself to use on of the manual modes, that's how you learn.

Whatever you choose try to get a camera that saves in the RAW format, that will allow you to non-destructively edit your images in a program such as Adobe Lightroom.

Beautiful picture. Thanks for sharing. I have concerns with used digital anything. I assume they can be refurbished. Has anyone had a positive experience with a particular vendor doing this?

Ken Rockwell knows his photography-

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/reviews.htm

For used equipment I would start with a reputable local camera store. You will probably pay more than on some place like ebay, but you will know the equipment works and if you have a problem you have someone to go back to.

I have a FZ28 which was the 2008 model of this camera , not a SLR, BUT a point and shoot that has a lot of features, never one bit of trouble in the eight years or so of field use.

Look for a bit older model on Amazon, etc. and that should be within budget for you.

SHG

The Sony A6000 is hard to beat. It is a mirror-less APS-C. Great camera at a cheap price. Used one should be in your price range.

Nikon Coolpix AW100 - 110 - 120
great pics from a few inches to infinity and will take HD movies
It will also geocache with onboard GPS
I stuck a 16gb SD card and it will work with any size and a micro SD with a converter card

There is "Compass", an app for your android phone that is pretty cool also.

If you're hiking then that means carrying on person = weight.
Digital SLR with lenses are bulky and heavy but give you heaps more than point and shoot.
Latter still capable of giving stunning photos in right conditions.

You mention hawk in a tree. Assume you're not meaning standing under one but from perhaps 50 plus metres?
That speaks of a zoom lens capable of quality photography otherwise you will be disappointed with results.
Some compromise is obviously reached and quickly in those scenarios.
As Dan said look for used.
However good lenses don't come cheap but there will be some bargains to be had.
Just know where to look.

Also as said, I'd encourage to learn to use the camera beyond the auto settings. Even point and shoot.

It's hard to know just what you're after and end result.
The huge photos you see that take your breath need quality gear but if enlargement is not your aim, just viewing on screen, a TV, or perhaps an A4 print then megabucks are wasted, perhaps.

Remember its more than the camera and the user is the key to good photography.
Put an inexperienced operator behind any top end survey equipment and see what productivity, output, quality you get. Same scenario with camera.

Hope you find a good compromise. It's an enjoyable past time.

lmbrls, post: 411526, member: 6823 wrote: Beautiful picture. Thanks for sharing. I have concerns with used digital anything. I assume they can be refurbished. Has anyone had a positive experience with a particular vendor doing this?

I would stay away from eBay.
Amazon used and refurbished usually allow returns.

Ken Rockwell, mentioned by Sergeant Schultz above, is an excellent resource. Another is Digital Photography Review.

https://www.dpreview.com/

Most large camera manufacturing companies have a customer relations liaison who is in charge of keeping customers satisfied. They will usually send a dissatisfied customer a "refurbished" camera in order to resolve a complaint.

I was told that these "refurbished" cameras were simply unsold overstock. Basically when the newest model is released, the manufacturer buys back all of the unsold products...breaks the packaging by slitting the plastic wrap with a razor....then sells them (or gives them away) as refurbished products. They hardly ever take the time to actually repair a product when they have a large stock of new unsold products.

I bought dozens of cameras over the course of several years at half price and every one of them were brand new. Something to look into.

Edward Reading, post: 411576, member: 132 wrote: The Sony A6000 is hard to beat. It is a mirror-less APS-C. Great camera at a cheap price. Used one should be in your price range.

If you can find a used Sony a6000/lens in VG condition for $300 that would be a nice sweet deal. One might find a a5000 for that price on Amazon which would be a good buy too.
Amazon warehouse deals have free returns. Sometimes they are New with damaged packaging.
When I was upgrading from point&shoot digitals to dslr.
The lil Sony was on the final
cut list along with the Lumix and Pentax. This was a few years back.
The Sony was the best choice but ended up buying a Pentax K-x.
My first camera in the 1970s was. K1000. Also had a Zorki that was a Soviet rip off of a Leica 35mm. Also had a Voightlander that was an East German rip off of a Leica. The Zorki was trash but the Voightlander was a nice camera for a small fraction of a cost of a Leica but still not a Leica.

I ended up getting the Pentax because all of my old Pentax manual lenses could be used again and it was a few hundred $s less than the Sony. Plus it was supposed to be waterproof and it had optical viewfinder option.
It performed well for a few years but something glitched on the screen viewfinder. Still operable.
I found out that Pentax cameras were declining in quality at this time but they were bought by Ricoh and have now improved greatly. Replaced the body with K-50.
I still have a few Canon and Sony point&shoots around collecting dust. Also still have the K1000 too and an old Yashica medium format.
Sold all my other film cameras...Rollei medium format with Zeiss lenses and Contax rangefinder to Asian photographers.

Thanks everyone. This is a wealth of information to digest.

The real gem of the discussion was Robert's comment.

Talk to someone who is already into photography...even if they deny it, they all have to have the latest camera. Usually some excuse is concocted to convince themselves that there is something wrong with the camera they are using. Might be able to get a higher end camera for very little money, then just have to buy lenses which could be used...when you eventually concoct an excuse to upgrade.

Robert Hill, post: 411716, member: 378 wrote: Sold all my other film cameras...Rollei medium format with Zeiss lenses and Contax rangefinder to Asian photographers

I shot with a Pentax 6x7 back in college when I was a budding aesthete.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_6%C3%977

I'm still always on the hunt for German rangefinders at estates sales... a lot of those came back with GI's in the 1950's.

I have a cheap Nikon D3200, a 5mp Canon point & shoot, a Kodak 120 Brownie, a Kodak 35mm rangefinder, two 35 mm Voightlander rangefinders: one folding model with an f:2 lens, and one with interchangeable lenses and a plunger-style film advance, and a Graflex 4x5 Speed Graphic with about a zillion accessories, plus a bunch of darkroom junk. I learned to load the 120 rolls into a developing tank and to load and unload those sheet film holders and develop the negatives in trays of solution, all in total darkness, when I was 7 years old. My father blindfolded me and had me practice with old negatives untill I could do it.......blindfolded. I could barely hold up that Graflex long enough to snap pics; the Brownie was much easier for a little kid and took surprisingly good pics. It wasn't 'till I was in high school that I was trusted with the Graflex on my own out of his sight.

Unfortunately, that Graflex is pretty much toast from being stored in a friend's damp basement while I was away at school years ago.

I have about 5000 Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides my old man took. About 1 in 50 is of people important to him, the rest pictures of scenery/sights that are essentially meaningless now.

My advice, take snapshots of folks that are important to you. You can find much better pics of the Washington monument, etc. on line. If you must take a pic of the Washington monument, put someone special to you in the foreground, it will mean so much more in twenty years.