Need help choosing a digital camera!!

[buddy's_mom_29]

Okay, I'm getting a digital camera for Christmas, but I haven't a clue what to look for! And neither does anyone in my family, so I'm turning to you all All this different megapixel, resolution, memory, zoom, etc. has got me more confused than ever! What do I need just to make good pics? I don't need to be able to make a one-minute movie, like some of the ones I've looked at. I have a video camera for that. I just want to make really good looking pics, but it doesn't have to be all technical and multi-tasking or anything:rolleyes: I looked at a couple nice ones today, a Kodak, can't remember the name, but it was 3.1 megapixels, 16MB memory, 3x zoom, 1.8"LCD view panel (which makes those 1.5 min. videos) for $299. But I don't even think I need all this. I just want sharp pics!! Help!! Thanks!:D

 

[Maniago]

I have an HP Photosmart, 3.3 mega pixal, 3x 2(something) digi zoom.

You can check out the gallery pic or my website and see the pictures it has taken. It is very easy to use. I wont quote the price I paid, :eek: , I'd feel silly now. If you want really sharp pics you will need a higher meg card.


The one minute or so videos are not that good and up the price when you can get more zoom or mega pixals...... IMO they just arent worth what you give up

Oh great!:rolleyes: while looking for a camera simalar i found this


http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/hpdirect/shopping/scripts/generic_store/generic_subcategory_view.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1405506425.1038622050@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdiadcglijfmhhcfngcfkmdflldfgf.0&category=digital_cameras&subcat1=photo_enthusiast&cat_level=1



Now I NEED a new camera:D and I can blame it on you

 

[Matt S]

I purchased a digital camera a couple of months back after doing a lot of research.
I didn't want to spend a heap of money & I also didn't need a camera that had every feature under the sun.
I just needed a camera that would take nice clean sharp images & that was easy enough to use.
Also I only needed a camera that would create good pics up to a maximum of about 8" x 10" size when printed.
In the end I got the Olympus D-520 zoom, which has 2 megapixel, 3 x optical zoom, 2.5 x digital zoom & is a compact enough size to take everywhere.
(In Australia this camera is called the C-2 Zoom).
Here's a couple of reviews.....
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/d520.html

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/d520z-review/index.html

I'm really happy with the camera & have used most of the features it has including movie & macro modes....
Here's a couple of sample pics...
(Keep in mind the pics have been resized to appear on the web.)

http://www.cressfieldboxers.com/images/11-02/3flowers.jpg

http://www.cressfieldboxers.com/images/backofcar.jpg

http://www.cressfieldboxers.com/images/11-02/daisy.jpg

http://www.cressfieldboxers.com/images/10-02/aeban.jpg

Good luck with your choice & be sure to make use of Steves Digicam site, it has a heap of reviews & sample pics etc. etc.

 

[Boxerworld]

All this different megapixel, resolution, memory, zoom, etc. has got me more confused than ever!

Resolution and megapixel are related. The resolution refers to the number of pixels that are used to display a photo (like 1280x960 for a 1.3 megapixel, 1600x1200 for a 2 megapixels, 2048x1536 for a 3 megapixels etc). A megapixel is 1 million pixel photo.
*Usually* when the resolution is high, the photos have more details and you can have larger prints. Unfortunately things are not simple and one of the most important things is the lens. A 3 megapixels camera with a bad lens will take bad photos compared to a 2 megapixels camera with a good lens...
With a 2 megapixels camera, you can print nice 4x6 and even good 8x10. If you want larger print sizes, you need more megapixels.
About zoom, only the optical zooms are interesting. Forget the digital zooms as they only crop and enlarge pictures, something you can do with a graphic program (and the pictures aren't sharp).

I just want sharp pics!!

You need to read online reviews and see the test pictures yourself
Matt's Olympus D-520 zoom is known to be a very good camera. It uses AA batteries which is a good thing as you can find them everywhere and they aren't expensive. The "problem" (not really) is it uses Smartmedia memory, a format that has been discontinued in favour of the new xD-picture card memory.
Another good camera is the Canon A40 (2 mp also). It uses CompactFlash memory, a cheap memory that is used on many cameras so you can use it on a new camera later and it accepts many accessories. You regret you can't take a picture of the whole building? No problem, attach the wide angle lens to your camera. Not enough zoom for taking photos of a bird? Get the teleconverter. Of course it costs to get them but at least it is possible.
Here's a review of the A40: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/a40.html
Fuji produces great cameras too, like the 2650 you can see at
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/fuji_2650.html

Good luck!

Olly

 

[Scorpio]

I just got a new camera for my Birthday, its a Canon Power Smart S200 digital elph. I am still learning about it. its small and light rechargable battery. 2.0 megapixel CCd and high quality and 2x zoom lens. Take movie pictures with audio. It has a lot of features, its not top of the line but I am not a photographer either Read a lot and check a lot of them out. Good Luck

 

[Jennifer -Pharaoh's Mom]

I did a lot of research and found that I liked the OLYMPUS digital cameras the best. A good second was the Sony Mavica's. They are a bit larger and bulkier than other smaller versions, but the Mavica's instantly save all pictures to Floppy Disks, making them a lot more user friendly, as you don't need any "special" software to upload or download them to a computer. You simple take the picture, remove the floppy once it's full, and then use ANY computer to view them by inserting the floppy into the A drive. Very simple and they take MARVELOUS pictures!!! We use them at work.

The Olympus cameras are expensive and smaller, using a memory chip like most camera's do. They are EXCELLELNT, high quality, cameras.

We actually wanted a camcorder, so we bought a JVC camcorder with a digital camera mode. It works as BOTH a camcorder AND digital camera. We love it!

Jennifer

 

[newark]

Sony all the way!

We just bought a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P51. Paid $399.99 in Canada, plus taxes. I couldn't be happier with it!

 

[Boxerworld]

Originally posted by Jennifer - Pharaoh's Mom
the Mavica's instantly save all pictures to Floppy Disks, making them a lot more user friendly, as you don't need any "special" software to upload or download them to a computer.

Most digital cameras do not need any special software to transfert the pictures to a computer: they are automatically recognized by the computer as a remote hard disk. You can't get more user friendly than plugging a usb lead into your camera.
Using floppies means very slow access speeds, low reliability (it's mechanical unlike flash memory) and no capacity (only 1.44 mb, so the pictures have to be very compressed, which means low quality).
With my Olympus C120 & C920Z I have a 128 Mb card. In a few minutes all the 128 Mb of pictures can be downloaded using the USB cable. If I had to use floppies, I would need 89 floppies (not easy to carry) and it would take hours to download them.
Also, not all computers have a floppy drive: all the new Mac do not have them, same for some laptops.

Olly

 

[Boxerworld]

We are almost in 2003 and the majority of computers have at least Windows 98 nowadays. I just looked at the web site stats of November and only 2,5% of visitors use Windows 95 (on a total of 92,358 different visitors) so yes, most cameras are recognized by the computers. My computers are old (the oldest is a celeron 500 now), do not run the latest windows and they recognize the camera quite well.
By the way, I looked at some reviews of the camera you mentioned & they made for interesting reading.
From dpreview, the most famous digital camera site:
"The camera also had a 'fuzzy' or soft appearance to images, and every image had that "video capture" feel to them, inability to capture fine details and subtle colours was also apparent. But you must decide for yourself, see the samples gallery.
I'm afraid to say that in no way is the imag quality of this camera up to the quality exhibited by other cameras in it's price range."
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyfd91/page6.asp
From Steves digicams:"Overall I like this camera but its image size and quality isn't quite up to par with its peers."
http://www.steves-digicams.com/fd91_pg2.html#conclusion

Olly

 

[Rowdy's Dad]

I bought an Olympus C-700. It is only 2.1megapixels and was a little on the expensive side($450), but it has a 10X optical zoom and can take a photo quality 8x10. The camera stores the photos in JPG format and the computer recognizes the camera as a removable disk drive. I can download 100 pictures in a couple of seconds and then clear the cameras memory by deleting all pictures on the removable drive. It came with software for handling the photos, but I don't use it. I am more comfortable with my computer's photo editing software.