Camera Reviews Needed - Nikon and Canon

I won a contest at work this week - YIPPEE!!! They put points in an awards bank and you can choose what you would like to receive. After a massive upgrade on my television I still have enough points for a camera. This is perfect timing because mine took a dump last week. I've narrowed the options down to these and thought I'd go to Best Buy this weekend and check them out for further details. The big criteria is, of course, do they take good pictures of diecast cars? I'm not a gadget guy so I want something relatively easy to use without three zillion settings. If anyone has any experience with any of these please let me know. If you could post a picture of a redline taken with your camera that would be great. Here are the ones I'm considering:


NIKON
CoolPix S6100
CoolPix S8100

CANON
Powershot ELPH 100HS
Powershot A1200
Powershot SD1300
Powershot SD1400

Thanks!

Lane

Lane,

Check out this website. It's the best I have found for camera reviews. Hope it helps!

[url]http://www.dpreview.com/[/url]

_Allan_

Thanks Allan!

After extensive research I've decided to go with something completely different than the above choices I chose a Sony TX-10 waterproof, shockproof camera. It gets great ratings from pretty much everyone so I'm all excited for it to arrive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it takes great shots of little toy cars...........

Lane

Looks like a nice little camera Lane! I used a Sony years ago ( a whopping 2.1 megapixels) and it was a great camera. Still have it and it still works well. Yours has a nice close macro capability so you should be able to do some nice redline pics! Have fun!

_Allan_

It's supposed to arrive today. It looks easy to use which has my name written all over it. I have the patience of a two year old. Hopefully I'll have some pics tonight, I have a great new addition to show!

Lane

Looking forward to seeing what it can do Lane. I would recommend getting a small tabletop tripod if you don;t have one already. It's the best thing to have if you are taking multiple pics of redlines.

_Allan_

The new camera just arrived and I had to snap a couple quickie picks. This is straight out of the box without fooling with any settings. I'M SOLD ON THIS CAMERA!!

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/redlinefan70/DSC00040.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/redlinefan70/DSC00037.jpg[/IMG]

This is without a tripod............

Lane

Great pics Lane. Does the camera have manual settings for shutter speed and aperture?

_Allan_

Wow How did I miss this one? I'm also looking to upgrade my camera. Or Get educated. What your saying Allen is new to me as far as shutter speed and aperture????? What ever that is LOL My present camera only has 3 light settings. My lighting kinda sucks so I use the brightest setting. Now each pic is different. Same lighting same settings same angle same idiot behind the camera. LOL


[IMG]http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy338/wlwillie/IMG_0860.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy338/wlwillie/IMG_0859.jpg[/IMG]

Bob;

I'll give you a quicky lesson on shutter speed and aperture. Think of the camera as having a hole that opens and closes. Easy concept. The shutter speed is how quick that hole opens and close and relates to how much light is let in. A "fast" shutter speed, say 1/250 second and faster is good for things that are moving as it will stop the motion without blur.

Aperture is designated by the letter F and a number. The aperture is how big the hole is and again dictates how much light is let in. Aperture values are kinda misleading as the smaller the number, the larger the hole. (i.e. F4 has a larger opening than F11). The aperture is also very important for the depth of field. The depth of field is what portion of the object (front to back) is in focus. A larger aperture setting (i.e. F11) gives a larger depth of field. If you see some photos of redlines where the front of the casting is in focus and the back is out of focus, it is due to a small aperture setting. Lanes first pic demonstrates depth of field well. Your notice that the main body of the nail clippers is in focus while the handle of the clippers and the computer in the back ground are out of focus. A small depth of field causes this.

Where it gets tricky is the smaller the aperture (larger F#) the slower the shutter speed requirement is. This is why most point and shoot cameras have small F# settings. Good for general indoor/outdoor pictures but no so good for up close and personal photos. It's also a good reason why a tripod should be used as using a large F#, the shutter speed requirement may decrease to the point where without a tripod, the photo will be blurred.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask any more questions!

_Allan_