What's the best professional, digital camera?

I’m looking for a digital camera that takes fantastic, professional looking pictures. Prices- under $ 300??

Answer by C-Man
Well the “professional” category of cameras runs into a much higher price range. The least expensive Digital SLR (single lens reflex) is the Nikon D50, which is an brilliant camera. For about $ 100 more you can look at the canon Digital Rebl XT and Nikon D70. But in the $ 300 range, you’re looking at consumer cameras that don’t have interchangeable lenses. Many of these take fantastic pictures, they just don’t have the features that pros use.

You might want to look at the Nikon Coolpix S6 or S4, or for a bit less money, the L3 or P4. If you can spend a bit more, digital SLRs are well worth it.

Answer by patriotnutrients
you wont find a “professional” camera for that price, but you may find a nice olympus for that price..

Answer by Cheese Face
Since you said professional, I’m assuming you don’t want a compact one, so I’ll rule out the Canon SD700. So I would recommend the Canon Powershot S2 IS. It has 5MP, Image Stabilizer, and 12x (yes, 12x) optical zoom. Don’t get so caught up in the Megapixels, because they’re not that vital. Anything higher than 5 megapixels is only noticeable on super-high-end photo/poster printers anyway. And remember, digital zoom means absolutely nothing. I would steer away from the Sony’s because they’ve pulled stunts before everywhere all of the camera LCDs died approximately 1 month after warranty ends (search Amazon DSCP51 reviews to see why, and equate new reviews to ancient reviews). The Canons tend to have the best image quality.

Answer by Panacea
You can’t get a professional digital camera in that price range.

Doubtless the cheapest camera that is professional quality is the Sony DSC-R1. This is a 10 megapixel, flat lens camera with superior optics and electronics. It takes professional quality photos under most standard situation and is a very excellent all function camera. It runs about $ 900.

Just above that are the various entry level digital SLR cameras. The best one now is the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. The kit lenses for this level of camera, typically are not excellent enough, so buy them as the body only and buy a excellent lens for them seperately. They will run you between $ 1000 to $ 1200 for the camera and a general use lens that fits your preference. Add in the cost of various other lenses depending on what other types of situations you might need (telephoto, macro, wide angle, whatever). Lenses are EXPENSIVE by the way. We’re talking $ 250 to $ 500 each lens for low end (yet acceptable) quality. For high end, try a couple grand….yikes.

If all you want to do is take decent, high quality pictures, there are many fine options, particularly among Canon products for that price range.

In particular, Canon has three new cameras that are well worth looking into: the A630 (8 megapixel), the A640 (10 megapixel) and the A710 IS.

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=913
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=914
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_a710-review/

Like all Canon products, these perform exceptionally well. The one drawback is redeye. For whatever reason, camera manufacturers (all of them) of these class of cameras don’t seem to know something about the sparkle. It can’t be too close to the lens or it reflects back off the cornea of the subject at just the right angle to produce redeye in the photo. It’s annoying as hell. Excellent photos for the most part ruined by this oversite. For God’s sake, make the stupid sparkle popup already. How hard is that? Other than that, these cameras take superior quality photos (though, not professional quality photos). They are doubtless what you are looking for.

Answer by Mandy1897
u can never go incorrect with a Canon Powershot

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Something cheap possibly,I want a digital SLR from Nikon,but I don’t know if is excellent for a beginner.

Answer by Mario
Hi! Excellent luck solving this issue. I just had a similar conundrum recently. I so know what you mean. I’m sorry i can’t help you any more:-P

Answer by Eclipse
If you are a beginner, you do not want a professional camera. Professional DSLRs start at $ 1600 and can cost as much as $ 8000. There entry-level DSLRs that are much cheaper, offer far better image quality than any point-n-shoot, and are designed specifically for people moving up from compact digital cameras.. Consider the Nikon D3000, D5000, or Canon Rebel XS, XSi or T1i. If you really do plot to eventually go pro, sticking with the Canon or Nikon system will give you a direct upgrade path to professional equipment. There are other brands such as Pentax, Olympus, and Sony among others. Though, Canon and Nikon are the two brands used by 99% of all professional photographers.

Answer by Alaska Man
Buy a Leica, best camera in the world.

Answer by Vintage Music
How much are you spending. DSLRS start about $ 450- and go up.
There is a very excellent super zoom point and shoot that has manual controls; the Canon SX10 IS. It would be about $ 380- has very excellent image quality. Brilliant on batteries.

Answer by james
Canon Rebel XS is a excellent canera for beginner.It is simple to use amd take professional look pictures.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E6JNS4?ie=UTF8&tag=greenenrgysav-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957

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