Choosing a New Digital Camera. Please Help.

[billyt67]

Hi all,

I have been looking at a variety of cameras for some time now and have finally narrowed it down to the 2 cameras I like best. Please let me know which one you think I should buy. I would appreciate any suggestions and/or reviews of these 2 cameras. Thanks!

Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera

Nikon D80 Digital Camera with 18-70mm Lens

[Frog]

Well these are quite different cameras with one being a good point and shoot and the other a dslr.
What kind of photography do you want to do?
Do you want to be able to get beyond the auto settings?
The G9 seems to be a well loved point and shoot.
I have the d80 but also like to have lots of control over my photos and be able to change setting from what the auto says it would be. I like to be able to change focal points, iso, aperture, shutter speed, etc. I like to shoot in raw which I don't know if the g9 does or not.
And most of all I like to be able to use the lens I need to get what I want.

[Canuck935]

Well the G9 has full manual control and RAW as well, but it is by no means any match to a DSLR in terms of image quality.

If you want small, light, shoot mostly low ISO, and don't want to bother with multiple lenses and accessories and such go with the G9. If you want much better image quality and the ability to use any number of different lenses and accessories for ultimate control of your images at the expense of being much bulkier/heavier then go with the D80.

[another view]

Hi and welcome to the site. You might find some advice already given in the Digital Cameras forums on this site and normally we'd move this thread into one of those forums, but I think the thing to discuss first would be compact camera vs. SLR. Both of them have their advantages and disadvantages (like anything else) and both are really good tools. There are actually newer versions of both cameras (Nikon D90 and Canon G10) but you might find a good deal on the D80 or the G9 because of it.

[billyt67]

Hi frog,

Thanks for the response. I travel a lot so I just like to take pictures of builiding, monumnets, etc. I dont think I would need to get pass the autosettings. The default would probably suffice. You seem very knowledgable and I greatly appreciate your advice. Thanks again!

[billyt67]

Thanks Canuck935. I appreciate your advice. I will definitely take your advice into consideration!

[billyt67]

Hi AnotherView,

Next time I will be sure to visit the digital cameras section. Sorry for any inconvenience. Thanks for the information. The members are great on this forum!!