Author Topic: Digital Camera Recommendations? (Read 487 times)

Gunthr · « **on:** May 13, 2002, 02:44:23 PM »

I'm ready to buy a good one. Not a professional one, but a fairly capable one that could do some macro work too. I'm looking for any recommendations ... or good experiences you've had with a particular camera, storage format, etc. I'd also appreciate any disappointing experiences you may have had with a particular camera or componant. Thanks ...

Curval · « **Reply #1 on:** May 13, 2002, 02:50:03 PM »

I'm far from being a pro, but I got a Fuji FinePix and I'm REALLY happy with it. It is small, lightweight and has great resolution.

AKDejaVu · « **Reply #2 on:** May 13, 2002, 02:53:42 PM »

I like my Sony Mavica... though I'd recommend against the Floppy Disk versions. The sacrifice of compatability vs mass storage... I think mass storage wins out.

Of course... if price is no object... Nikon has some really cool stuff out right now too;)

AKDejaVu

miko2d · « **Reply #3 on:** May 13, 2002, 02:55:08 PM »

Olympus Camedia 4040 or 3040 are great cameras and compact in size. They do have macro capability but I personaly never used it, so cannot comment.

miko

Defiance · « **Reply #4 on:** May 13, 2002, 03:02:58 PM »

Hiya's,
As Curval stated above the Fujifilm Finepix are good
I have the Finepix 2400Zoom and i love it and it is also my first digicamera
Also a m8 (mullet

) recently bought the latter one above mine and is well chuffed with it

Have Fun

Def

Kieran · « **Reply #5 on:** May 13, 2002, 03:20:24 PM »

I swear by my Sony. I have the DSC-30, it's USB with lithium batteries. Plug it into any WinXP box and you have an instant download ready to go. The flash RAM acts as an external harddrive, so all you have to do is drag-and-drop the files right into your computer. It can't be simpler.

Things to look for in any digital camera:

1. Optical zoom. You don't want to mess with digital zoom. Like interpolation on a scanner, it is merely the camera making a best guess. Better still, get a threaded lens so you can add different lens types later.

2. USB. This is a must-have. No floppy type digital camera can compare in quality of images to a USB version. More storage space = higher quality pictures.

3. Lithium batteries. These batteries last longer, charge quicker, and don't develop a memory (like NiCds). Spend the extra money and do it.

4. Resolution. 1600 rez is photo quality, and that normally is possible starting around 1.3-1.6 Megapixel rez. Even if you don't plan to print the photos you take, at least go for photo quality capability.

5. Flexibility. Many of the cameras listed above require proprietary software to download images. This can be a pain if you plan to use the camera on many different computers.

6. Price. Need I say more? You should be able to get all the above between $300-$400.

Wlfgng · « **Reply #6 on:** May 13, 2002, 03:22:18 PM »

Olympus camedia works very well with macro stuff.
it also has point filter which is great for that kind of thing.

we have the D650L. great stuff.

Kanth · « **Reply #7 on:** May 13, 2002, 03:46:18 PM »

We also have an Olympus.

Excellent little camera.

The software that came with it is very easy to use as well.

no complaints at all.

Kanthy

mipoikel · « **Reply #8 on:** May 13, 2002, 03:58:50 PM »

Canon is a good choise!

http://www.usa.canon.com/html/canonindex.html

D30

Greese · « **Reply #9 on:** May 13, 2002, 04:07:55 PM »

I'm very happy with the quality of my Nikon 9(something) series camera. I have an older one (3 years or so) but they have made some nice improvements in them nowadays. Love the picture quality.

airspro · « **Reply #10 on:** May 13, 2002, 04:17:28 PM »

My Sony Mavica takes MPG's too .

I have the floppy version , didn't know that there was one with just USB . I can buy smart media cards for it though .

Most pics that I take are e mail size . I don't do much printing pics .

SOB · « **Reply #11 on:** May 13, 2002, 06:41:00 PM »

Megapixel
Get the highest you can afford, but try to get at least a 3 megapixel camera.

Memory Type
I'd recommend getting a camera that uses Compact Flash, and shy away from those that only use SmartMedia. On what brand of CF Card to purchase, I would only recommend getting Lexar Media cards. Decide how big you want it, then get an 8x,12x, or 16x, depending on what your budget is. In my own personal experience, my 8x Lexar 128MB card is at least twice as fast as the Sandisk 128MB card that it replaced. I can't stress enough how nice it is to have a fast CF card!

Cache memory
This is something I neglected to check out thoroughly when I purchased my Nikon cameras, but fortunately, they work just fine for the type of pictures I take. If you plan on taking several quick snaps of a moving target, this is something you'll want to check out. Most cameras will allow you to take a few quick snaps, but after that you'll have to wait while the pictures are saved to the memory card - the speed of your memory card (as above 8x,12x,16x) will be a factor in this too.

Zoom capabilities
Figure out what the camera's built-in optical zoom capabilities are, and find out what options the camera has for external Zoom / telephoto lenses. Ignore digital zoom capabilities. Digital zoom sucks, and you won't want to use it if you want quality pictures.

Batteries
If the camera you decide on uses a battery pack, find out what the charge life is, and probably work another battery into your final price. If it uses AA's, get yourself two or three sets of NiMH rechargeables and a quick charger.

Other things to look at are construction, LCD screen size, ease of use in auto-mode, plenty of options in manual mode (if you want to be able to tweak stuff yourself - shutter speed/white balance/etc), and make sure it allows for screw on lenses/filters and get a UV filter right off the bat. A UV filter won't affect the picture, but will act as a protector for your camera lense.

I'm definitely an amatuer when it comes to photography, and I own the Nikon CoolPix 995 and previously owned the 990. It's worked great for me in auto mode, and is even better now that I'm starting to learn/play with the manual settings. I've had several pictures developed(printed) by online digital film places like shutterfly.com and they look as good as 35mm. Definitely look at what's out there currently, and go to a good camera shop so you can play around with the cameras and see what you like. When you know what you want, buy it online. Search places like My Simon* for good prices and places like amazing-bargains.com for coupons for online stores and hopefully you'll be able to find a nice combination of good base price plus a good % off coupon.

Well, I hope that info helps. That's pretty much all the stuff I researched/had to deal with when I made my two camera purchases. Good luck!

SOB

*When looking at camera prices on My Simon, beware the too good to be true deals. They are. Generally you'll either get the ol' bait and swich or some will even try to sell you a camera without any accessories (ie: memory card/battery/etc) and bump up the price selling them to you. I got a great price from MP Superstore, and they didn't harass me to buy accessories.

Dago · « **Reply #12 on:** May 13, 2002, 07:14:42 PM »

I have a Sony DSC-70, does excellant work, but weak in the macro area if ya ask me.

If you want good shots, the Sony line is the way to go, but be sure to check out the cameras close-up ability at the store if you will be wanting to do that kind of shooting.

dago

Gunthr · « **Reply #13 on:** May 14, 2002, 08:32:13 AM »

Guys, thanks for the responses and information. I don't understand a lot of features yet, so I've got some studying to do. If anybody else is researching for a dc, here is a good site I found:Digital Camera Reviews

lazs2 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 14, 2002, 08:34:43 AM »

what i want in a digital is good pictures, light weight, compact and good battery life and easy to use.

I have a (relatively) inexpensive fuji finepix that is very compact and uses 2 AA batteries that will take and downlowd a hundred pictures or so. Very easy to use and even takes 20 seconds of movies. It is small enough and easy enough to use that it goes with me a lot. Everyone seems to like it that tries it.
lazs