Need suggestions for Semi-Professional Camera (Low price-Good quality)

Veronika Th
by Veronika Th
Hello dear Hometalkers,
I have a question I believe you can help me a lot with. As most of you are bloggers and professionals, you must be quite savvy with the camera. That's why I would like to ask you for some help.
I want to buy a camera which offers good quality, vivid colors and still doesn't break the bank. I know Hometalk is more Home & Garden oriented, but still, it has the best community out there and I would really appreciate some tips and personal experience.
You girls, have some quite outstanding photos, what camera can you recommend? Anne @ creativelifeblog.com , Debbie @ Confessions of a Plate Addict ,Chaotically Creative Co. ,Tara @ Suburble , Leigh Anne Watts
  6 answers
  • Tara @ Suburble Tara @ Suburble on Apr 25, 2014
    I have a Nikon D90 - and I love it! It's no longer being made, but I believe that the D7100 is the replacement? I love Nikon; they're solid DSLRs and I've learned a lot fiddling around with my camera. Some people are die-hard Canon fans, though. It's all what your preference is.
  • Veronika Th Veronika Th on Apr 25, 2014
    Thanks, @Tara @ Suburble ,I will definitely take a look at Nikon D90 and D7100. Unfortunately, another thing I don't quite understand are the lenses. What kind of lens would I need if I get a Nikon D90? Yep, some people are definitely more fond of Canon and as a person who haven't ever seen a Nikon in action, I like Canon, too, but can't say I like one of them better.
    • See 2 previous
    • Tara @ Suburble Tara @ Suburble on Apr 25, 2014
      @Veronika Th Oh, I definitely think you could. The thing is, you're just taking a risk... has the body ever been damaged or dropped? Is the lens scratched? But there are many camera shops that sell used equipment - they could guide you in the right direction.
  • So glad you like my photos, Veronika! You are not going to believe my answer, though. I just use a little point-and-shoot...and it's old, too. It's a Cannon Power Shot SD630. Then I use Photoscape (a free download) to edit them. That's it! Good editing is the key for me. :-)
    • Veronika Th Veronika Th on Apr 25, 2014
      @Debbie @ Confessions of a Plate Addict Sounds great! Yep your photos are quite nice thanks for the advice. I will take a look at the Canon Power Shot model. Anyhow, I am a graphic designer and still, photo editing is not always my thing, but I can recommend you two online photo editing programs which, I might say, are even better than Photoscape. Pixlr.com( 3 variations ): Pixomatic is the easy-beezy one. Express is a mix of complicated effects and easy usage. Editor is somewhat similar to Photoshop CS3 and the shortcuts are even the same. Picmonkey: At first, I thought it is too simple for me, yet the filters and available effects really nailed it.
  • Leigh Anne @ Houseologie Leigh Anne @ Houseologie on Apr 26, 2014
    I'm just using my iPhone4s right now. My pictures are not great but I just started blogging so I thought I'd wait a little while then by a nice professional camera. I'm following this convo for the tips! Thanks for including me!
  • Mitziblueyes Mitziblueyes on Apr 29, 2014
    I have a Nikon d3100 it has a "guide" button that allows me at adjust setting based on what I wanted to do without knowing how to do it! Highly recommend for a beginner. My bundle was about $700 at best buy.
  • I gave up my expensive digital camera when I got my Samsung 3 smart phone about 2 years ago. I have taken some awesome shots and with all the features of panorama and even best shot feature, you cannot go wrong. Plus you carry your cell phone with you and so it makes it very easy on trips to point and shoot. I am upgrading to the Samsung 5 after the glitches are worked out because it has a 16MP camera and more features. Just my 2 cents worth...
    • @The Garden Frog with C Renee I should add for better pictures, you need at least 8 Megapixels and the really great pics you see and professional use much higher.