You have attractive people in your life and you yourself may look attractive at times. In order to capture all of this attractiveness one needs a solid camera. No need to read a ton of reviews or ask your friend who minored in photography at a small liberal arts college in the northeast. Just buy one of these and start snappin’. Boom.
Ultimate/Professional
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV ($4,999): Big mack daddy of the camera world. If you want the best, can swing the $5k price tag, and more importantly, can afford all the Canon glass* you’ll need to take advantage of this beast, then look no further.
Runner Up, Nikon D3X ($7,500): Amazing camera in it’s own right and maybe even worth the $2,500 over the Canon. Obviously if you’re looking into this world of camera’s then you will most likely decide between these two based on your current lens collection. But if you’re just jumping into the high end, grab the Canon, great deal.
Prosumer DSLR
Nikon D300s ($1,699): Great value, nice little incremental upgrade from the D300 released last year (added video). Can’t go wrong.
Runner Up, Canon EOS 7D ($1,699): This is a tough one and it comes down to preference. I prefer Nikon. Others prefer Canon. Both of these cameras are awesome. Fact.
Prosumer Non DSLR
Canon S90 ($400) : Arguably the most exciting release this year. Can camera releases be exciting? Prolly not. But if they were…this would be exciting.
Runner Up, Canon Powershot G11 ($440): A bit chunky but feels great in the hand (odd turn of phrase), takes stunning photos, and is a steal at $440.
Consuner DSLR
Canon Rebel T1i ($759): Canon is on a roll and I have to give the win to the Rebel T1i over the D5000. Just buy this camera if you want to get into photography. Step it up Nikon.
Runner up, Nikon D5000 ($699): CLOSE call, dammit. Solid, very fast on the snap, great value if you want to get into the world of DSLR. Edge goes to Canon though.
Point and Shoot/Pocketable
Samsung TL225 ($299): Samsung comes out of left-field and strikes the point and shoot world across the dome piece. Built in lcd screen on the front for those adorable arm stretched out photos you ladies are so found of. Nice downward angle to avoid the double chin shot. All around great camera.
Runner Up, Canon 780is ($200): One of my all time faves. Small, solid, takes clean photos and a great value. Perfect stocking stuffer.
Conclusion
This is it folks. No need to look further. These are the best cameras right now. Yes, there are other brands besides Canon, Nikon, and Samsung. But they just aren’t as good. Nikon’s and Sony’s take just plain awful photos in the point and shoot category (soft, almost blurry photos. They are all style over substance). There are some prosumer/higher end Olympus cameras that are solid but why invest in an Olympus when Nikon and Canon lenses are so much better? Done and done. Enjoy and Merry Christmas/Happy New Year!
*”glass” is photo-slang for lenses used on DSLR/SLR’s.