digital camera help!

[killa]

Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions.I was thinking I would spend around $200 to $300. I dont know much about digital cameras so any info would be helpful.Thanks!

[DougP]

> Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and
> was wondering if anyone has any
> suggestions.I was thinking I would spend
> around $200 to $300. I dont know much about
> digital cameras so any info would be
> helpful.Thanks!

Shop around for a camera that suites your needs. Do you point and shoot or do you mess with all the settings going for the perfect shot? Personally I have a Sony digital SLR (10MEG) with a 1GiG flash card. I can print 8x10 photo quality at home. As long as it doesn't break I will never need a new camera.

Doug

[killa]

> Shop around for a camera that suites your
> needs. Do you point and shoot or do you mess
> with all the settings going for the perfect
> shot? Personally I have a Sony digital SLR
> (10MEG) with a 1GiG flash card. I can print
> 8x10 photo quality at home. As long as it
> doesn't break I will never need a new
> camera.

> Doug
I prefere to mess around with the settings.I dont like things to automaticall do things on there own.If apicture turns out bad I like it to be my fault not the cameras.

[markschrier]

Hey Killa,
My wife and I really had a hard time figuring out what camera we wanted. We went nuts for six months or more looking at all the options and looking at consumer reports. Most of the time the cameras in the articles were out of date by the time the articles came out. We finally just said the heck with it and bought a Canon Powershot A530. 5 mega pixels, plenty of zoom and macro, big enough to hold in my hands comfortably, and on sale at Freddie's for under $200. We are totally happy with it. Now you can find 'em with a 512mb memory for that price or less. I guess I'm trying to say just go for something inexpensive and see if it works for you, without getting so analytical that you stall out like we did.

Good Luck shopping,
Mark

[killa]

How good is the picture quality with a 5 meg camera?

[markschrier]

I guess I don't know what you need to do with your pictures, but we took it on vacation and it took some great pictures. Set for Large format (2592 X 1944), pictures can be zoomed in on real well, with plenty of clarity IMHO.
Mark

[filmboydoug]

Provided Link: Imaging Resource


The research you'd ever want to do here...

[killa]

> I guess I don't know what you need to do
> with your pictures, but we took it on
> vacation and it took some great pictures.
> Set for Large format (2592 X 1944), pictures
> can be zoomed in on real well, with plenty
> of clarity IMHO.
> Mark
I just want one for basic picture taking.Also of course for posting pics on the forum.Im just worried about getting one and being dissapointed with the picture quality.

[ultimatebuzz]

Provided Link: http://www.dpreview.com


> How good is the picture quality with a 5
> meg camera?
5 megs will get you a really good 8 X 10,[at walmart] no problem. the question is, how much manipulation are you wanting to do, and what software are you going use. shooting in a RAW format is the best. 7 to 8 megs are better; but now you have to look at sensor size, 10 megs are of course better, then if you want to be able to change lens...MORE MONEY... are you confused enough YET...???? now go to the link. for your confusion has JUST BEGUN..enjoy

[LeoF]

Provided Link: my web site...


> Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and
> was wondering if anyone has any
> suggestions.I was thinking I would spend
> around $200 to $300. I dont know much about
> digital cameras so any info would be
> helpful.Thanks!

If you're looking to spend $200 to $300, you won't find a high quality SLR type of camera. You're in the point and shoot category. Having said that, there are numerous cameras to choose from in that range. As with all cameras, lens quality is more important than anything, though in the case of digital cameras, there's also the quality of the CCD device. It's nice to get as many Megapixels as you can, but if the shots are not sharp, megapixels are wasted. Better to have 3 or 4 megapixels with a good lens, than 7 Mpixels with a bad lens. Again, in this price range, it's hit and miss. Check out reviews of sub-$400 cameras, many of which can be purchased for $100 or $150 less than listed prices. When I looked for a camera, I was concerned with a handful of features. I wanted macro capability, decent optical zoom (ignore digital zoom, you can do that on your computer by cropping the image), and slow shutter capability to take good pictures in low light (still shots of course - anything moving will be a blur). I also wanted to be able to save tiff images as well as compressed jpegs. Some cameras don't do tiffs, only jpegs. So, settle on your most important features, then start comparing. As for brands, Nikon, Olympus, Canon and Fuji all make decent point and shoot cameras (especially their midline models). I've never been too impressed with "computer brand" cameras - Sony, HP, etc... And I've not been impressed with Vivitar or most off brands. If you really want to experiment for a while, try a Kodak. They are really cheap, and they take decent photos. I don't think they're on par with the four above, but not bad for the price. Good luck with your research. It's a pain, but you will make a more informed purchase decision. BTW, I purchased an Olympus D-550, 3.1 Mpixel about 3 or 4 years ago, and still love it even though it's a bit dated, now. With 3.1 Mpixels, 3x5's and 4x6's look great. 8x10's aren't bad, but you do notice slight pixelation up close if you look real close, but setting on a table and just glancing at it, it looks great.

Cheers,
Leo

[killa]

[dzach]

Unless things have changed, for $200-300 you will only be able to get an automatic-type camera. Some may have manual settings, but they are intended to the point and shoot.

SLR cameras are where you get into the manual features. These probably begin around $500 for a base model.

Megapixels do not matter as much as the marketers would like you to think. Two key points here:
1. MPs are really important if you plan to blow pictures up for prints. You will have difficulty seeing the difference between a 3 mp picture and a 6 mp picture taken with the same camera at a 4x6 print size. At 8x10, the 3 mp picture will look grainy/blocky, while the 6 mp will still look sharp.
2. MPs are not the only factor that impacts picture quality. The lens plays a big factor. I have an older 4 mp Canon with a larger lens and it takes MUCH better pictures than our new 7 mp camera with a small Zeis lens (wife wanted the Sony because it is much smaller).

Another suggestion is to look for a good optical zoom (min 3x), not digital zoom.

Cameras are a very personal choice. It seems that all will take reasonably good pictures. If you are a casual user then you are probably in a good price range. Go to BB or CC and try them all in your range. Ask the staff to print a few samples.

dzach

> Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and
> was wondering if anyone has any
> suggestions.I was thinking I would spend
> around $200 to $300. I dont know much about
> digital cameras so any info would be
> helpful.Thanks!

[hongrn]

> Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and
> was wondering if anyone has any
> suggestions.I was thinking I would spend
> around $200 to $300. I dont know much about
> digital cameras so any info would be
> helpful.Thanks!

CNet has loads of reviews right here:

<A HREF="http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_came...l?tag=promo.dc">http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_came...l?tag=promo.dc</A>

Hong

[jimgriffin]

> Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and
> was wondering if anyone has any
> suggestions.I was thinking I would spend
> around $200 to $300. I dont know much about
> digital cameras so any info would be
> helpful.Thanks!

Consider the Canon A620 which is a 7.1 meg camera with a fold out display. It has recently been superceded by the A630 (8 megs) and A640 (10 megs) models so the A620 can be brought for just over $200 on closeout. The A620 received very high ratings in last years <A HREF="http://www.dpreview.com">www.dpreview.com</A> tests.

[markschrier]

I'm sure that the 5 meg camera will work great for posting pics on tech talk. I hope to get the stage monitors I've been planning built so I can show 'em off on tech talk.

I was taking closeups at about 5cm from subject with clear results. Looking through the subsequent postings,it's easy to see the slippery slope of how much camera is enough. I'm glad we went with the keep it simple syndrome. What ever you decide, I hope you make a choice you'll be happy with.
Good luck,
Mark

[unknownuser]

> Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and
> was wondering if anyone has any
> suggestions.I was thinking I would spend
> around $200 to $300. I dont know much about
> digital cameras so any info would be
> helpful.Thanks!

I have a Fuji FinePix S9000 and love it. It is the model right before you get into a DSLR. It has most of the features that a DSLR has but with a fixed lens. It has a hot shoe, cable release, adjustable LCD screen (so you can see what you are shooting when shooting above people). It is a 10.7x optical zoom, 9MP, and can shoot RAW. It does both CF and XD cards (so you can have two cards in at the same time). When I got it, it was $569 before the $100 rebate...so for $469...I believe that I got a very good deal on a camera that fits MY needs. I found that J&R had the best price.


(Originally posted by: A/V Dude)

[jonathan]

> Iam thinking of buying a digital camera and
> was wondering if anyone has any
> suggestions.I was thinking I would spend
> around $200 to $300. I dont know much about
> digital cameras so any info would be
> helpful.Thanks!

Pentax K100D with 2 Lens Kit...I am soooooo impressed with this camera and its lenses, it has been getting rave reviews by its users.