Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: BlueJ1 on September 11, 2006, 08:52:05 PM
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Im looking to buy my first digital camera. I know very little about them. I was hoping you experts out there could help me inthe right direction. It will only be used for fun. Nothing professional.
I was looking at this one. Its in a comfortable price range for me.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830134041 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830134041)
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Be sure and look at the slim pocket Canons, Nikons, and Casios. There are many great digital cameras. Just figure what capabilities you want, search via something like Google, take a look at selected models in good camera stores like Ritz, Circuit City, and Best Buy, and choose.
Although I recommend the models I use, the Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital Elph and the Nikon Coolpix 995, there are newer models of them now, and many worthy competitors. Have fun.
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Originally posted by BlueJ1
Im looking to buy my first digital camera. I know very little about them. I was hoping you experts out there could help me inthe right direction. It will only be used for fun. Nothing professional.
I was looking at this one. Its in a comfortable price range for me.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830134041 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830134041)
Simple... I have several digitals, from compact pocket sized to SLRs. My choice, if I could only own one camera that can do anything from family snapshots to shooting contest winning images in low light...
Fuji finepix S5200. Probably the best value vs performance non SLR on the market.
(http://www.dpreview.com/news/0507/Fuji/fuji_s5600zhand-001.jpg)
Used pricegrabber to find the best price... As low $225!!
Butterfly Photo (http://www2.butterflyphoto.com/shop/product.aspx?ref=pricegrabber&sku=FUJIS5200)
Does it take great photos? You bet!
(http://home.att.net/~c.c.jordan/DragonFly2.jpg)
(http://home.att.net/~islandphoto/Paddling.jpg)
(http://home.att.net/~islandphoto/TwilightEgret.jpg)
My regards,
Widewing
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Stunning, Widewing! Great photos and great response.
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I have a Canon SD500...Not bad for price, very durable, fits in the pocket nicely, and has great video and digital zoom...Im extremely happy with the purchase
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there are many good digital cameras on the market, but before you buy online, go to a store and handle them, see what you like about the way they feel, work the controls, ask questions, etc.
bought a nikon D50 last spring but thats the kind of camera i was looking for to replace my two 35mm SLRs.
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Originally posted by Halo
Stunning, Widewing! Great photos and great response.
Thanks. With a little practice and an eye for the shot, anyone can take photos like these with the Fuji. It's a great little camera and it's inexpensive. It uses XD cards, typically $35-$40 for a Gig of storage. Also, I suggest rechargable NiMH batteries. Duracell makes 2650 mAh AA batteries (the camera needs 4) that'll last for up to 400 photos on a charge (in this Fuji). There are quick-charge rechargers that'll recharge 4 batteries in 15 minutes. I carry 3 charged sets when I take the camera out.
Camera, batteries w/charger and a 1 gig XD card would cost less than $300.. And the camera comes with the USB cable and Fuji software suite too. The camera also comes with a neck strap. For those interested in super-high res images, this Fuji also processes in RAW.
By the way, did you notice the "flak" damage to that dragonfly? His left-rear wing took a beating...
My regards,
Widewing
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That s5200 is a very good camera. It has now been replaced by the even better S5600 and that is also pretty cheap. You cant go wrong with either one of them unless they are to bulky for you.
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I'd recommend Canon or Nikon. When looking at features, don't worry about "Megapixels" when they advertise size. Unless you're going to be blowing up pics to poster sizess, 5.0-6.0 megapixel is more than enough.
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Thankyou very much guys.
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I have a degree in photography and have studied available digital cameras in great depth before purchasing.
I have an old Canon S400 Elph (pocket 4 mp) and an 8 mp Nikon Coolpix 8400 (top of the line of the sub-SLRs).
I love both cameras and am happy with each.
The most important aspect to any camera is that it can only take pictures if you have it with you;
if you are only going to own one camera make sure that it easily fits into you pocket.
I cannot emphasize this enough.
I never hesitate to take it with me if I think there’s a chance I might take pictures or movies.
18 months ago my pregnant wife spent a month in the hospital and our baby was born baby spent 7 weeks in the NICU.
I carried that thing in my pocket all day long for 11 weeks and I hardly noticed it.
Now they make them even smaller.
The picture quality of some pocket cameras is about 95% of that of much bigger and more expensive cameras.
Do not be swayed by mega pixels.
The picture below was taken with the 8 MB Nikon and reduced to HALF of the width and height.
(http://hallbuzz.com/images/7_12_06_knik_glacier_1632.jpg)
The picture below was taken with the old 4 MB Canon and reduced to 45% of the width and height.
(http://hallbuzz.com/images/homer_2006/7_22_06_funky_rocks_1024.jpg)
Even 4 mp is overkill.
Another thing to consider is movie modes.
The newer Canons will take 640x480 WMP compatible movies at 30 or even FPS.
My Nikon does as well, but only in QuickTime.
QT is slightly better quality, but a pain to edit on a PC.
Get this: PowerShot SD450 (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=11939)
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Eskimo those are very impressive shots, particularly the clarity in the first photo of the forest trees and mountains in the distance. Those are the quality of photos I would like to attain.
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Originally posted by xrtoronto
Eskimo those are very impressive shots, particularly the clarity in the first photo of the forest trees and mountains in the distance. Those are the quality of photos I would like to attain.
Thanks, clarity comes from a good lens and any old tripod.
Note the little tripod on the baby back pack:
(http://hallbuzz.com/images/7_19_06_anni_daddy_back_pack.jpg)
So,
Once cropped and reduced to practical web size, which pics were taken with the pocket Canon versus the Nikon:
(http://hallbuzz.com/images/7_19_06_flower.jpg)
(http://hallbuzz.com/images/7_19_06_mushroom.jpg)
(http://hallbuzz.com/images/7_19_06_joan_still_life_1.jpg)
(http://hallbuzz.com/images/7_19_06_joan_still_life_2.jpg)
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I just ordered this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120041 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120041)
I thought the price fit me for being that its going to stay with my parents when I leave for bootcamp in December.
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Originally posted by BlueJ1
I just ordered this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120041 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120041)
I thought the price fit me for being that its going to stay with my parents when I leave for bootcamp in December.
I approve. Good camera, good buy.
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Good camera BlueJ.
I have an older version by the name of A510. Only 3mp but those are 3 good mps. Now that i have the DSLR camera i mostly use it for partys etc and it ususally lives in the glove box in my car. I still take the majority of the pics with it.
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Now then..what shall I look into for memory?
P.S. Having you guys saying good buy is almost the same as bringing home a new car to your dad and him saying good buy.
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I bought two 1GB Sandisk SD cards. They fit both my canon and Nikon so it was the perfect choise for me. They are cheap, reliable and fast enough.
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BlueJ I picked up 2 1GB cards for $18 each from Amazon.
They'll hold something like 400+ pics on my cameras max setting or do 8 minutes of video each.
Total with shipping (they arrived in 2 days) was under $50 which you can't beat in the store.
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Thankyou kindly.
Just checking, but I can save the pictures to my computer right? Then put them on a CD-RW ?
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yulp
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Thanks again.
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(quote) Just checking, but I can save the pictures to my computer right? Then put them on a CD-RW ? (unquote)
Yeah, but don't put anything you don't want to lose ONLY on a CD-RW. When you get 300 megs or so of pics you want to permanently keep, copy them to a CD-R. And then make a CD-R backup of that CD-R.
Nothing is forever, but some things last longer than others.
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Originally posted by eskimo2
The picture quality of some pocket cameras is about 95% of that of much bigger and more expensive cameras.
Do not be swayed by mega pixels.
Even 4 mp is overkill.
This is true, unless you want to print a picture. 4 mega pixels is not enough to print a good 8x10
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Originally posted by ByeBye
This is true, unless you want to print a picture. 4 mega pixels is not enough to print a good 8x10
Sure it is... I've printed 30"x20" crisp, sharp posters from 4 megapixel cameras. Just be sure to save the image as an uncompressed Tiff image instead of a jpeg. 3 megapixels is more than adequate for an 8x10.
My regards,
Widewing
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Originally posted by Widewing
Sure it is... I've printed 30"x20" crisp, sharp posters from 4 megapixel cameras. Just be sure to save the image as an uncompressed Tiff image instead of a jpeg. 3 megapixels is more than adequate for an 8x10.
My regards,
Widewing
I highly doubt that you could get a "crisp", 20 x 30 print from a poket 4mp camera.
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Originally posted by ByeBye
I highly doubt that you could get a "crisp", 20 x 30 print from a poket 4mp camera.
It's not a pocket digital, unless you have extremely large pockets. In this case, it's a Fuji S5100.
Image size right off the camera is 2272x1704 pixels (11.1 megs). Perfectly adequate for 20x30 prints. My 5 megapixel S5200 does beautiful 24x36 poster size prints.
A 3 megapixel camera is perfectly adequate for 8x10s. Typically, 3 megapixels will produce an image measuring 1656x1242, with 1536x1024 being ideal for 8x10 photos.
My regards,
Widewing
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Originally posted by Widewing
It's not a pocket digital, unless you have extremely large pockets. In this case, it's a Fuji S5100.
Image size right off the camera is 2272x1704 pixels (11.1 megs). Perfectly adequate for 20x30 prints. My 5 megapixel S5200 does beautiful 24x36 poster size prints.
A 3 megapixel camera is perfectly adequate for 8x10s. Typically, 3 megapixels will produce an image measuring 1656x1242, with 1536x1024 being ideal for 8x10 photos.
My regards,
Widewing
I'm talking about photo-quality prints ( like a 35mm film shot would print)
If you set your picture's print output @ 300dpi, a 3 meg image size, as viwed for print without enlarging the picture, would be around a 4x6 in size.
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There is more to consider than just megapixle size. Megapixls are something that the marketing departments of camera companies have latched onto and programed the public with. Sensor quality and size, not to mention the lense, has more to do with a clean picture than a large megapixle count.
There is an excelent artice on sensors and picture quality Here (http://luminous-landscape.com/essays/sensor-design.shtml)
Here's an excerpt:
Visible light is found in the wavelengths between a 400-750nm (.4 to .75 micron). Obviously, an individual pixel (photo site) can't be anywhere near this small and still record photons. Today's smaller digicams feature sensors down to about 2.2 microns in size, and as we all know can be quite noisy. At this small size they simply can't capture enough photons as compared with their inherent noise level. DSLRs offering 8-12 Megapixel on APS sized sensors seem, therefore, to have settled in the 5-6 micron level and offer an optimum combination of resolution, low noise and moderate cost.
Full size sensors and medium format and on up can have better light gathering capabilities and can get even better noise levels than pocket cameras or even APS sensor based cameras can. An 8 or 10 megapixle digicam will not have the same print quality as an 8 or 10 megapixle DSLR. The bigger the print, the more you will notice the difference.