Digital Camera Info.

JH

I've been using my father's digital camera since he bought it last year. It's a HP 618 Digital Camera. I use it alot, even too much, so I was thinking of buying my own. Technology changes so fast, that I don't really know what to buy. I like quality pictures, since I have photoshop, I like photography.

The HP 618 camera my father bought last years cost about $500 Canadian. The pictues are quite good and it is simple to use.

Does anybody know what make or model would be a good buy? I'm ready to put about 500$ for the camera. I definitely want a zoom to it. I noticed that cheaper models don't have it.

So, any ideas for a decent Digital Camera?

Thanks !

Lady Lee

Things to look for

Both Optical and digital zoom - as high as you can get.

3.1 megapixels or more

some newer models allow you to save in formats that are not lossy compresions like jpg. If you want to print some of your images the lossy compression deteriorates the image during the compression so look for something that saves images as tif/tiff as well as jpg

Ideally get a camera that that has an easy transfer to your computer.

Well that is what I want in my next digital - still looking for my ideal camera in the price range you are looking at

Billygoat

JH,

I have a Nikon 4300 Coolpix. It's tiny (about the size of a fat pack of ciggies), 4.0 megapixels, 3 times optical zoom, 6 time digital zoom, one button transfer capabilities too. It's a fairly complicated camera for a beginner, but since you've got a bit of experience under your belt, you may like it. We purposely got it so I could "grow into" it. I didn't want to have it a year and then get bored with it. (But I want something more complicated as I'm hoping at some point to go professional.) Anyways, it takes fabulous shots and I really enjoy it. The downside is the rechargeable battery (Li-ion) needs to be recharged quite a bit and sometimes it's hard to get a good shot if you're trying to capture a quick "moment". (The camera takes it's time taking the shot.) I think it can make shots up to 11x14 size, but personally the quality is good enough to where I think it could go larger if necessary.

But I highly recommend it and think you'd enjoy trying it out. Have fun shopping!

Andi

PS: I don't know where you live (US?) but you might try your local Best Buy. The rebate we got on our camera and accessories took about $300 off!

RubaDub

I would recommend at least 2 megapixels. If you are going to want bigger that 5x7 inch prints however, then go to 3 or higher. I have a 2.1 Olympus and it is comparable quality to a simple 35mm camera in the 4x6 inch range.

But megapixels are only part of the equation. I would only buy one from a company that makes camera optics, like Olympus, Fugi, Nikon, etc. The picture will only be a good as the quality of the lens.

Also, the OPTICAL zoom is far more important than DIGITAL zoom. Digital zoom simply reduces the resolution of the picture: optical zoom retains the resolution for a much sharper picture. Look for about a 3x optical zoom which will give somewhere in the range of a comparable 35-100mm zoom in 35mm land.

***** Rub a Dub

JamesThomas

JH, I shopped for weeks before choosing the one bought. Cannon S45 is great. 4 mega pixels and 3x optical zoom (I would not go less than 3x optical). It has lots of bells and whistles and is a well built camera. However, for me it was just a little too big (if size was not an issue this would certainly have been the one to buy). I wanted something really tiny that I could take anywhere. I decided on a Konica KD-400. 4mp, 3x optical. about the size of a pack of cigs. All stainless still case with sliding lens cover, built to last. It doesn't have some of the manual overrides the Canon has, but so far I love it. Canon just came out with the S400, similar in size to the KD-400, this looks like a hot little number too, but probably $100 more than the Konica. Here is a great site: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs.asp Lots of info and reviews. JamesT

Francois

I like my Sony for several reason, not the least of which is that it has an internal disk drive. I just pop a diskette into the camera and I'm off to the races. When I'm done, I take the diskette out and put it into the drive in the computer. No cards, no cables, no muss, no fuss. It has both kinds of zoom. Flash. Auto shutter release. Etc. It was bought several years ago, so I won't go through all the technologicals since I'm sure they've changed. But perhaps you should at least look at the Sony.

francois

Billygoat

Oh...I forgot. I know Sony makes a lot of cute, easy to use cameras that are very popular. But my suggestion is to follow Rubadub's advice...stick with those companies that make camera optics like Canon, Nikon, Minolta etc. If they don't make regular cameras, it might not be a good idea to invest in their digitals.

Also, check out some of the websites. I just realized my camera is about $200 cheaper than what we paid back in December (with the rebates!). (www.nikonusa.com etc.)

concerned mama

I have a Canon S40 and I am happy with it. I couldn't get good pictures when I was trying to take fast action shots (dancing) without enough light, but I think I was asking too much of the camera.

gcc2k

Oh...I forgot. I know Sony makes a lot of cute, easy to use cameras that are very popular. But my suggestion is to follow Rubadub's advice...stick with those companies that make camera optics like Canon, Nikon, Minolta etc. If they don't make regular cameras, it might not be a good idea to invest in their digitals.

Not really applicable in this case. The better Sony models have Carl Zeiss lenses, arguably some of the best optics out there. Panasonic is another example, using Leica optics.

The best buy on the market at the moment has to be the 4Mp Nikon Coolpix 4500, it's $399 after a $200 rebate in many places.

RubaDub

Oh...I forgot. I know Sony makes a lot of cute, easy to use cameras that are very popular. But my suggestion is to follow Rubadub's advice...stick with those companies that make camera optics like Canon, Nikon, Minolta etc. If they don't make regular cameras, it might not be a good idea to invest in their digitals.

Not really applicable in this case. The better Sony models have Carl Zeiss lenses, arguably some of the best optics out there. Panasonic is another example, using Leica optics.

Yes, I failed to mention that Sony and Panasonic use very good lenses. Point well taken.

***** Rub a Dub

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