Digital camera

[All Kill3r]

i have always wanted a digital camera and with my tax return loot coming soon i hope, i want to see which is best price/performance.

 

What should i be looking for in a camera? Mega pixels and zoom ?

 

 

This one catches my eye right away. 3.2 Mega pixel, which seems to be at or above most of the 'mid-range' digi cameras. whats the difference between OPT and DG zoom ? Also, it comes with a 16mb card, appox. how many pics will that hold? Should i order a bigger one and a battery charger with it ? A tripod maybe also? Ive seen lots of ppl post pics taken with digital cameras but they are blurry, is that coming from not having a tripod to be steady on or not adjusting the shutter speed corectly ? Thnx. im a camera noob.

 

 

Specifications:

Imager:1/2.7" 3.34MP CCD

Megapixel:3.2MP

Zoom:6X OPT,3.2X DG,19.2X Total

Aperture:F2.8-F8.2

Shutter Speed:3-1/1500s

LCD:1.8"

Auto Focus:normal

Manual Control:N

File Formats:JPEG,AVI

Recording Media:xD

Movies:320x240

Interface:USB

Battery & Battery life:4 AA size

Size(mm):99.1X76.3X68.6(WxHxD)

Package included:strap,16MB xD Card,Video&USB cable,4xAA Alkaline Batteries,Lens cap,Adapter ring...

Manufacter Warranty:1Y

Special Features:6X OPT,SLR-like digital camera

 

Link - http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....talog=12&depa=0

Edited February 14, 2004 by All Kill3r

[[Mmmm]Homer]

http://www.dpreview.com/ is a great site with great reviews for digital cameras.

 

My wife and I got a Canon Powershot S400 this Xmas, we love it.

 

 

 

We took a look around and decided that 4 megapixel was the standard and that we wanted something small so we would take it with us. Being able to put it in a pocket and not having to tote an accessory bag along goes a long way, and I think we've taken over 2000 shots on it since we got it. I think if I'd had a bulkier camera I'd have less than a quarter of those pictures. Sure some are natural junkers - bad light, people blinking, etc. - but I have a ton of keepers.

 

The point is that there are advantages to digital over just being digital.

 

As you can see from the review it has all kind of manual controls but I'm point and shoot with it, it does .avi's with sound, panoramas, macros, 11x zoom (3x optical), etc. I think I saw that Newegg has it for $358 the other day.

 

Tom's has a review of a $130 digital, that sounds ok.

[All Kill3r]

looks awesome Homer. Size isnt too much of an issue but smaller is always better. I was shooting to stay under 250 because ill have to order a bigger memory stick at the same time and a battery charger. Read around a bit and this seems to be the best camera out there for me. All the reviews i have read are positive and full of compliments. This is probably what ill get unless i find a better deal

 

Canon PowerShot A70

 

Rated number one by PC World for best under $500 digital camera, summed up by saying this - "A bargain-priced camera that tries to do it all--and mostly succeeds. It's ideal for situations where flexibility is more important than high resolution."

[[Mmmm]Homer]

Hmmm, I had also considered the A80 at $350, but it was basically an S400 with the tilt-out and swivel LCD, but was a larger camera. The Axx series looks to use AA batteries. The A80 comes with a 32mb card.

 

The S400 comes with a charger and its own type of rechargable battery, and a 32mb card. I also have a spare battery (~$20, no-name brand) and a 96mb card (parents got it for Xmas too). I also got a $20 Canon leather carrying case for the camera (not a bag).

 

I'd suggesting getting more camera and worry about a memory card in a couple of months. Even if you can only take 50 photos or so, that's still a bunch as long as you're not going on a vacation. The AA battery thing is kind of a turn off to me, the charger I have is fairly small (2.5"x3.5"x.75") so taking it along is easy enough, although I have yet to do this.

 

Charger is purplish thingy, battery is below the cable below it.

 

For reference my camera with the 32mb card will take:

 

Resolution - Superfine/Fine/Normal

 

640x480 - 120/196/337

1024x768 - 53/94/174

1600x1200 - 30/54/108

2272x1704 - 14/27/54

 

I usually use Fine/1024x768. With this and the 96mb card I get 284 pics with these settings.

[All Kill3r]

nice Homer, i think i will go with that one then, double the memory too Is 3x zoom enough for most pictures ? im not a photographer or anything, just wanna take some quality pictures for a change... nice find

[[Mmmm]Homer]

It looks like pricewatch lists the price of the S400 at $337.50 delivered, but check the ratings of those sellers first!

 

Pricegrabber lists $319 without shipping, again check the ratings.

 

As for zoom, the 3x optical is good, and the digital zoom to 11x just zooms in on an area of a photo so you can up it to a high resolution and Superfine setting to maintain clarity of the photo.

 

The S400 is a great camera and I'm totally happy with it. Other than it getting even smaller I can't think of anything it needs.

[Bubblegum Bandit]

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-P30. I guess I've had it about two years now. As far as the battery issue goes, don't even fool with putting the AAs in there. They burn out really fast, and don't even thing about transferring pictures from your camera to the computer with the camera powered up by AAs, the won't last five minutes. As far as memory cards go and how many pictures they will hold, it depends on the format and res you are using to take the pics. I have a 64mb and a 16mb card. 16 came with my camera and I just take it on vacation for a backup. I use jpg format and at 800x600 I can hold over 500 pictures on the 64mb and a little over 100 at the highest res my camera has, I believe it is 1280x???(what ever that standard is, I forget atm). I agree with Homer though, get the better camera and spring for the bigger card later. Pretty much all of them have the LCD on them and a way to scan the pictures you have taken. I get a lot farther with my digital than my reg camera because I can scan back through the pics and delete the bad ones. Where as with the reg film camera, you never know. My two cents, If I had the money though, I would get an SLR digital.

 

bub

[NOFX]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....y=BROWSE&depa=0

 

Is this the sony you are refering to? Im gettin a camera also, i traded my dad a camcorder for any digital camcorder off newegg under 250. Right now Im debating between that first link and possibly a 64 meg card or

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....y=BROWSE&depa=0

 

and keeping just the 16 meg card. Any suggestions?

[Bubblegum Bandit]

The first link didn't work....I doubt its the same model though. Mine is two or three years old....but works great.

[SheepNutz]

Basically, digital zoom means poop. It doesn't matter how much digital zoom a camera has, you will probably never use it anyway because if you zoom into the digital zoom range, you pics will turn out blurry and very low quality. It's all in the optical zoom. Get a good camera with high megapixels and high optical zoom if you can afford it. I have a Nikon Coolpix 2500, and it only has 3x optical zoom. I wish it was a bit higher, but for a compact camera, it's not bad. If you plan on taking photos of wildlife, I would go with something that has at least an 8x optical zoom so that you don't have to be so close to the animals. Another thing you want in a good digicam is a good flash. You want it to have a nice powerful flash so that it will fill a room easily (that will cut down on blurriness too), and you also want the flash as far away from the lens as possible. This will help cut down on red-eye in your photos. If you plan on using a tripod, get a camera with a metal tripod screw that is right below the center of the lens (example). That's about it. http://www.dpreview.com is an awesome website for checking out cameras. Have fun!

Edited March 1, 2004 by SheepNutz

[RiZad]

i use this Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z1

 

10x optical pwns

 

the only thing i know bad about it is the flash radius is small

 

[NOFX]

Sony DSC-P32

 

I dont really need anything that will zoom in on a fly 100 meters away. Just somethign to take decent pics and is small. This one is small and looks like it has quite a bit of features compared to the other 3.2MP cameras in the same price range. No optical zoom, but i dont think ill be zooming much anyway.

Edited March 1, 2004 by NOFX

[linch]

I've been considering getting a Sony DSC-P92 5MP Digital Camera. Here's the specs.... If you see any negatives please speak up.

 

-------cut/paste--------

 

The stylish, high-quality Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92 features an amazing 5.0 Mega Pixels (Effective) CCD which will able you to capture professional looking still images with excellent picture clarity with true-to-life colour reproduction. In addition the DSC-P92 offers the added convenience of using the supplied Sony NiMH rechargeable batteries or standard "AA" alkaline batteries. More Info

 

WebID: 10028605

Mfr. Part Number: DSCP92

35mm Equivalent Zoom Not Rated

AC Adapter No

Aperture Range F2.8 - 5.6

Audio Yes

Auto OFF Mode Yes

Autofocus System Multi Point AF

Battery Type 2 "AA"

Built-In or External Flash Built-In

Burst Mode Yes

Computer Compatibility Windows 98+, Mac OS 7.6.1+

Digital Media Type Memory Stick

Digital Sensor Size 5.2 MP

Digital Zoom 2X

Effective Image Size of Digital Sensor 5MP

Exposure Compensation Yes (+/- 2.0 EV)

Exposure Metering System Multi Pattern, Spot Metering

File Formats JPEG, MPEG

Flash Range Auto

Focus Range Auto Macro

Included Digital Media Size 16MB

Included In Box Batteries, Charger, 16MB MS, Cables

Interface USB

Internal Memory Not Applicable

ISO Rating 100-400/Auto

LCD Monitor Size 1.5"

Movie Mode Yes

Optical Zoom 3X

Playback Menu Yes

Product Dimensions 11.9 x 5.7 x 3.2 cm

Product Weight 259 g

Self-Timer Yes

Shutter Speed Auto

Video Output Yes - AV Out

Viewfinder Type Optical Real-Image

Warranty 1 Year Parts & Labour