Camera Mayhem

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Well after looking into different memory types and asking around and getting some good feedback i thought id bring all those good answers to one topic so i cant focus" lol!

I originally had my eye on the Olympus E-500 and now i'm not so sure.
I have been recommended the D50/D80 Nikon and the Canon EOS350 however they are a little bit out my budget.

Now I've ordered my iMac i have £300 left and i could do one of these..
Buy a Camera now with my left budget or wait til 22Sep for payday and make the rest up up to £500* Total and buy a Canon or Nikon etc..

Now I've just spotted a nice cheap camera that i think could be good for me.
Kodak Easyshare P880? i could have this baby Tuesday if i ordered it.

The camera shows it can do RAW and JPEG but small print says
"* RAW editing not supported on MACINTOSH operating systems"

How can it shoot in RAW and not be usable in a Mac?
Also as I'm new to this and am looking to create a photo gallery and some A4 prints of my shoots would i need to use the RAW or just stick with the well known JPEG format? all this is confusing me and i have no idea what step i should take.

Pictures I'm hoping to take.
Landscape:
Mornings with sun coming up, all day and some low light shots
People:
As and when
Action (moving objects):
Daytime and maybe some night shots in a lamp lite street (orangery colour lights UK)
Macro:
this is something i want the camera mainly for.. bugs and flowers etc..!

Any feedback would be grateful
 
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From my understanding, some camera makers use a proprietary RAW format that requires specialized software to read it.

I assume Kodak's software doesn't run under OS X.

But you can probably use a different program to manipulate the images...
 
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so you think i could get RAW working with the mac aslong as i didnt use the bundled software with the kodak camera? maybe aperture?
 
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Aptmunich said:
From my understanding, some camera makers use a proprietary RAW format that requires specialized software to read it.

I assume Kodak's software doesn't run under OS X.

But you can probably use a different program to manipulate the images...
yeah, I've had all kinds of problems with Kodak cameras on my macs. My first digital camera (Kodak compact digital) had it's own software just to transfer photos. Then with my sister's Kodak, it had more software to transfer photos, which I suspect caused the print software for my Fujifilm digital camera to go haywire and crash every time I launched it.

In my experience, Kodak just don't make very mac friendly software, and it's software that's not needed in the first place. Honestly, these two compact digitals have put me off Kodak. My Fujifilm compact doesn't require any software to transfer, and has the fastest transfer I've yet seen on any camera. Though Kodak have pretty much built up digital photography technology from the 60's to where it is today, I feel there are much better cameras out there. I found some reviews of that Kodak you mentioned here
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinions.asp?prodkey=kodak_p880
It looks pretty good for the price.

Bloogrape, depending on your experience and photographic intent, you may not need to use RAW. If you'll be doing fine prints or looking to do it as a career, then you may need it.

I heard recently from a photographer friend that Adobe have just released a new app for digital photographers. I think it's called Lightstudio, with some nifty features. Probably something most of us should check out if there's a mac version.

I've spent some time using the Nikon D70s, and it's a fantastic camera. Nikon and Canon are pretty much the standard for DSLR's today, and I've been told that the standard lens for the D70s is the best standard lens currently available - so you're good to go and get great shots right after purchase.

I have heard some good things about the Pentax DSLR camera, which is apparently great value for the features it offers. Possibly in the same price bracket as you were looking at for the Kodak (look for a review at that link I gave ;))
 
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Thanks for your input..

I really dont know what im looking for anymore, to many ideas and not enough money to go with them. the max i can do is £500 but anything cheaper would be alot better for me.

RAW files is something id like to have but upmost importance is it must be compatable with a Mac which ever camera i go for.

If you can find me a Camera that is good in my price bracket please let me know as ive searched so many different models on these sites..

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/camera/digital-camera/1/1/categorie.html
http://www.buyacamera.co.uk/xsearch.asp?RecId=OLYCA600&pt=k

Im pulling my hair out!

Anything will be better than my current HP Photosmart E327 LOL! its so crap.
 
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I personally wouldn't bother trying to shoot raw with a kodak. I may not even bother shooting raw. But, if you must, get a canon. The best cameras you can buy for the price. Why do you like RAW.
 
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because i heard its lossless where as JPEG adds noise?
 
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All digital pictures will have noise at higher ISO. RAW requires post editing of every shot, manual aperture, ISO, frame rate etc. I shot jpeg (Rebel XT and 20D) and easily print 8x10 without a single spec of noise and could print higher if I had a larger format printer or wanted to. RAW is useful if you want to have inifinite control over how the picture comes out, but is definitely overkill for most people who with a little tweaking of the JPEG are perfectly satisfied with the photo
 
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Raw is great for professional or very meticulous amateurs as it gives total control to the photographer. It is unfortunate that the format is generally written RAW, because it makes people think that, like JPG, it is a standard and so the same for all cameras. Unfortunately, in reality it is just the word 'raw', as in, whatever comes out of the CCD. There's no guarantee that any two models, never mind brands, of camera will use the same CCD format.
 
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your guys are making this much harder for me to pick a camera...
for overal good shooting, would the Kodak P880 / Olympus E-500 / Canon EOS350D / be good enough?

infact i may go with my original idea and get a cheap camcorder and shoot movies instead altho no HD or any 16:9 that shoots in good CCD or 3x CCD :(

My head is spinning around.

out these..
Kodak P880 / Olympus E-500 / Canon EOS350D / FujiFilm FinePix S9500

which would be ideal? (i got a funny feeling you will say the Canon)
 
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The Kodak and Fuji are fixed lens SLRs, which is ok if you don't mind not having future expandability.

I've heard great things about the Canon and Olympus, tho I'd assume that the Canon has better aftermarket lens support vs. the Olympus. If I were choosing between both, I'd probably go with the Olympus, since it has better construction (I don't like that Canon uses plastic for the 350's case). That, and the Canon seems to be overpriced compared to the competition - which has nearly caught up in photo quality.

I was considering the Canon and Olympus for a my dSLR way back in March/April when I was searching, but ultimately ended up with a Pentax *ist DL which was way less expensive, has metal construction, better review LCD and takes great shots to boot. I think you can find one for about $400-450US. Shoots RAW and JPEG if you can sacrifice 2MP, and has decent lens support.

Otherwise, I would have gone with the Olympus.
 
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Olympus was my first idea for a camera and searching some more since my last post in here i will wait till payday and get the twin set Olympus E-500 Evolt kit.

Hopefully it will be ok in JPG & RAW with a macintosh system.

How are you finding the Pentax? i have heard of them but never for a camera (shows how new i am to this)
 
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the XTi (Eos400) is the XT's (Eos350) successor. You can't go wrong with Canon or Nikon.

I love my Pentax! You can check out some of my photos at photo.slyseeker.com. Unfortunately, I stupidly dropped my kit lens and am heading out to find a repairshop or a replacement. But the camera takes amazing stills, for the price (full res JPEGs are somewhat grainy, RAW is very good), it uses the same photosensor that's found in the Nikon d50 but uses fewer AF zones. The best thing about the camera is its form factor, it's smaller than the rest of the competition and has a big review LCD.

Pentax is a fairly established brand that hasn't adapted well to the dSLR professional-market; you can get their newer dSLRs (k100 or k110 for about $600US).

And if you're looking for good pricing on aftermarket lenses go to sigma4less.com.

Good luck!
 
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I recommend against RAW again. You have to edit almost every RAW picture you will get on the computer. Thats a pain. I will once again recommend to use the canon. the XTi is insane. My dad just got it into his camera store the other day. GO for that.
 

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