Digital Camera Choice Help... Nikon Coolpix 4300 ?

[GoldenSkeleton]

Hello All,

I\'m sure you\'ve all discussed digital camera issues before, so please be patient if I\'m repeating stuff as I\'m a newbie to this forum.

I have been looking for ( my first ) digital camera within my budget that will take decent photos of miniatures, and thought what better place to ask than where people take many pictures of miniatures all the time !

After much looking around, and even more bafflement at choice, (???) I decided that maybe the Nikon Coolpix 4300 seemed to ( in theory ) do all that I would hope for ??

So I guess my question is: Does it live up to it\'s theory ? Is this a good choice ? or would you recommend a different camera for this task? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I have to try and get it right first time!!

Many Thanks ,

Gs

 

[torifile]

I don\'t know a whole lot about digital cameras, but I did a ton of research, and the Nikon Coolpix 4300 seemed to be the best one for my needs. I was able to get a great package deal from eBay, and so far, the camera seems to be pretty darn good. No complaints yet.

 

[Duende]

I\'m not going to be very helpful...

I don\'t know much about cameras and picture-taking in general, and I had asked in a different thread about a camera I was considering, and I got a lot of technical answers that left me scratching my head (F-stop? aperature? white balance?- it was like another language!)
I was just hoping someone could look at it\'s specs and tell me- \" Yes, that camera will take nice pics if you work it right.\"

All I figured out in the end is that having a \"macro\" mode is important and having a \"super-macro\" is even nicer.
AND if you\'re working on a budget, where you buy is important. I got my Konica Minolta DiMage Z1 at Buydig.com and got a great price and excellent service and shipping was faster than the \"expected delivery\" date.
I\'m very happy with this camera, takes great close-up pics, and is easy to use for camera morons like me, but has all the manual options for people who know what they\'re doing (like my husband).
It does take regular batteries but it runs very well on them (I have another \"cheap\" digital camera which eats batteries for breakfast) and I just got some rechargables for it. Another hint- buy camera online for best prices ( be sure to comparision shop!) but accessories are cheaper in real stores (like Wal-Mart, etc.)

Well, that\'s all my advice. Hope this helps a little.

 

[MalleusMiniArt]

Well , I`ve been using Nikon 4300 for some time and I`m very happy with it. It has very good macro mode (you could take really close shots), has some preset sets of functions (good for newbies ), as well as lots of manual functions.
Those presets could give satisfying results, but for best shots I would recommend learning manual functions. For example - it`s quite difficult to achieve sharpness on the whole mini , espacially when it has sword pointing forward (or something similar). You could overcome this problem by setting manually focus to about half range and then zooming the mini a little bit (I`m not proffessional photographer but I think that at half range you`re able to achieve sharpness on the biggest depth). And remeber you could always cut unwanted backgound in Photoshop, Photopaint etc.

Cheers
Przemek (MalleusMiniArt)

 

[GoldenSkeleton]

Thanks for your help, any more pointers appreciated !

Yeah I see that buying online is the way to go. I was just getting a bit overwhelmed by all the choice having never used digital cameras before, so many ! Add to the that the fact that if it\'s a duff item that is no use to me, - I\'ll buy it ! . ( One of the main reasons I thought I\'d look at Nikon, because of their reputation for quality).

Malleus, are the photos in your cmon gallery and on your website taken with the Nikon 4300 ?

Many thanks for your help.

Gs

 

[Nelson]

I don\'t even think you need the 4300, as I\'ve got the 2200, and it still takes great pictures. Check out my gallery, because all of my photos have been taken with it. If ya want, just IM me, and I\'ll tell you the presets and stuff that I use.

 

[finn17]

You can\'t go far wrong with Nikon...

I have used everything else and still come back to Nikon

Perhaps that\'s because they just make cameras, not photocopiers, sewing machines, motorbikes, tactical weaponry and the like:flip:

 

[MalleusMiniArt]

Some pictures in MMA gallery are taken with my trusty Nikon (which is well known for it`s macro function) , some with Kodak (I can`t remember which one) , some with Olympus e20..... Currently it seems that future pics will be taken mostly with Nikon and some special ones will be ocassionally taken with 20megapixel matrix monster from a fellow photo sudio .
On the other hand I think that 3 megapixel camera is enough . I know that it`s possible to achieve good results even with 2 megapixels (altough I would recommend at least 3 megapixels)....
Good camera does not gurantee a good picture. As you can see pics quality in the MMA gallery changes with my photo experience. Discovering ways to improve your photos (like setting lights etc. ) could turn out to be fun too....

Best wishes
Przemek (MalleusMiniArt)

 

[GoldenSkeleton]

Many Thanks

Huge thanks for helping the newbie guys/girls,

You\'ve really helped me to make my mind up, when it was getting a little frazzled by the sheer volume of cameras out there!

Nikon it is,. Now if I can just paint some of my minis to look half as good as the minis in all of your galleries...

Gs

 

[GoldenSkeleton]

P.s.

oh yah, nearly forgot to add.

Yes I\'m really looking forward to having a play with the lighting/ settings etc. should be great fun !

 

[finn17]

Don\'t forget...

..to read the articles on photography in the \'Articles\' section as well. Some good tips in there

 

[GoldenSkeleton]

Originally posted by finn17
..to read the articles on photography in the \'Articles\' section as well. Some good tips in there

Thanks Finn17, Yep. I\'m only just finding my way around here but there\'s a good few days worth of reading in there, I\'m off to check some of it out now. :idea:

> Nelson, I\'d love to know some of the settings you use, that\'s a very nice offer and your results look great, . Being as technically minded as your average lemon, I can\'t seem to get the private u2u messanger thingy going and I don\'t have any instant messenger set up just yet. Could you email me or shall I send you a quick message to your email address in your profile ??

many thanks
Chris, Gs

 

[Nelson]

Sure, e-mail away....

 

[airhead]

Got the CP5000 earlier this year. (they are being discontinued and are CHEAP on ebay). 5 megapixels, macro function, lighting functions, white balance, etc. Takes a while to get the knack of it, but it is a fun new hobby.

Now, after you get your first good pic and download it onto your computer, be prepared for the shock of your life. A 25mm fig blown up to 6\" tall lets you see every mistake you made.