Christmas & Holiday Season Guide
When the holidays come around each year I am often asked about digital cameras and which models would I recommend. Being proactive I will speak to that now and in the coming days I am also going to post some special pricing for portrait sittings and print purchases as well for anyone looking for a unique holiday gift this year.
When it comes to cameras I primarily use Nikon DSLR's and Canon point and shoot cameras. I always try and have my Canon G11 in the car whenever I go somewhere. Canon and Nikon are both outstanding DSLR camera makers. I like the higer ISO capabilities of the Nikon and I began using Nikons almost 30 years ago when my grandmother gave me her Nikon F she had purchased on a trip to Japan in the 60's. Both camera companies are great, I would suggest comparing the two and deciding what fits best in your hands (basically the whole ergonomic experience). In my opinion the Nikon D7000 is the hot DSLR to go with now. Metal body, reasonable price, and a lot of camera. Put the 18-200mm Dx zoom lens on it and you're set.
I have had poor luck with Nikon point and shoot cameras. I have had outstanding performance from my Canon point and shoot cameras. I own a Canon G11 and would suggest a Canon G12 to anyone looking for a more capable point and shoot. It is a little bulky but Canon has a number of great cameras that are more compact. Nikon has the Coolpix P7000 which is designed to compete with the G12 and they look similar. The example photos I have seen from it seem to lose shadow detail in B&W mode. It may be how the images are being photographed or the camera, I don't know. Having owned a G9 & G10 I know what they bring to the table. The Olympus Pen also appears to be another good camera in this group. Identify what you want to be able to photograph then find the camera that has the features you will need to accomplish that. Tell the camera store people what you need, don't let them tell you what they want to sell you.
For complete comparisons I would look at the following sites:
For those who are going to self publish holiday calendars, books, cards now is the time to do it. I have used Shutterfly, Lulu.com, and My Publisher in the past plus there are others like Smug Mug and MPix out there as well. I think My Publisher has the best results of the three I have used so far and they are running sales right now. They just got extended through Tuesday. I would expect they will run more after that but as the holidays get closer the prices will go up. Self publishing is pretty easy, nothing to be intimidated by. For novices out there set up a seperate folder on your desk top then go through your photographs and copy your favorites to the new folder. Then after that go through new folder and edit out any images you don't like. From there then go on line and start creating. In fact that is what I need to get to now. Fire off any questions you may have and lets enjoy the holiday season.
Finally a few other tech suggestions. You always need storage if you have digital images. I like the Seagate external hard drives and right now the GoFlex models are being blown out. A 2TB model is only $130 plus places like Office Max and Staples have portable drives on sale as well at great prices. For printers I like Epson for any photo related needs and I also use Epson scanners.
Again if ther are any questions please feel free to send them along
